A review of the trends in doctoral education reveals that the focus has been on what supervisors should do in supervision and very little on ways of being in the supervisory relationship. A new direction for doctoral supervision foregrounds the importance of mindfulness traits that well-regarded supervisors embody in their highly valued relationships with candidates, that tacitly establish rapport and create a supportive interpersonal environment that is conducive to the candidate's intellectual insightfulness and developing scholarly identity. These traits are capable of being learned by supervisors, regardless of the disciplinary setting, and may inform the professional development of doctoral supervisors.