:success in academe

I was working with a client last week who made what she believed was an error in judgment that she also believed would ultimately cost her the possibility of achieving her goal of becoming a tenured professor.
First, let me be up front about the tenure process. It has its good points.  And it has [...]

At the end of the 4-day International Coach Federation (ICF) conference, in the last time-slot on the last day, there was a new and curious breakout session.  It was entitled “The Practice of Silence,” and was described as a chance to draw together the learning and experiences of our time at the conference, “the opportunity [...]

Last week, I returned from the International Coach Federation's annual conference in Long Beach, California.
Over the course of the next few days, I will share with you some of the learning I have taken away from that conference, learning that may prove useful for you, as well.
I did something different this year. I [...]

This may seem like a shameless plug for coaching, and perhaps it is. But folks really need to know that help is available and that, despite so many cultural messages to the contrary, getting the support you need is a good thing.  It could help you keep your job, for one thing.  And [...]

For those of you interested in the issue of tenure reform, check out this article in Inside Higher Ed written by Hank Brown, president of the University of Colorado.  They recently completed a full scale review of the tenure process and came up with 40 recommendations which not only affect how one comes to be [...]

Listening to many of my clients and friends in the academic world, I find myself wondering about the nature of the beast.  What is it about higher education that makes these institutions so incredibly difficult to work in?
I’m sure there is no one answer that will speak to it all. Rather, there must be many [...]

How do I procrastinate?  Let me count the ways?  (Oooh.  That’s a lot!)  Here are some of mine and some of my clients'.  Are any of them true for you?

checking email more than two times a day, when the incoming email you’re expecting is not [...]

Perhaps you can help me figure something out.
Why do you do what you do? Why are you pursuing a degree? Why did you get into the academic life? Why are you finishing your Ph.D.? Why are you applying for university or college positions? Why choose a tenure-track [...]

Remember when you were a kid, when you had a buddy or a bunch of buddies? Everything was easier with a buddy. Play. Homework. Chores. Challenging your fear. Getting in trouble. Dancing. Pretty much anything you wanted to do or had to do was more easily done when a buddy was alongside you. [...]