Blogging...
Like the rest of the self-obsessed world, I've started
a blog.
I'm hoping that this will be an easy forum for newsletter readers to
have a
dialogue with me and other graduate students, post-docs and faculty.
Be
sure to ask questions, raise issues and make comments on the blog.
Check out a few of my posts:
• Against Depression
• Lowly Adjunct Professors
• Breastfeeding Scientists
Please come by and visit regularly - comments are appreciated: http://successfulacademic
.typepad.com
Collegiality:
The Tenure Track's Pandora's Box, cont.
Likeability is important, of course, from your first day in graduate
school until your promotion to full professor. Did professors want to
chair your dissertation and serve on your committee? Did they write the
glowingly inflated letters of recommendation that are de rigueur nowadays?
Did they place that quick phone call to a friend on the hiring committee
and sing your praises?
If you got the job, you probably had your doctoral program faculty rooting
for you to succeed. The attitude of an eager, appreciative and promising
acolyte probably comes naturally to you. However, now that you're
a faculty member, your stance needs to change. Your role is no longer
that of a promising student but of a talented junior colleague.
Here are ten more tips to add to last week's first six pointers:
7) Mom was right: if you can't say something nice don't say it at
all.
Gossip may get you in trouble. Listen, but don't contribute,
to colleague-bashing. Take mom's advice and keep mum.
8) Be a good listener.
The rules of collegiality are similar to the
rules of dating. A conversation has gone well when the other person has
done most of the talking. Don't confide secrets and antipathies
until you know which colleagues are completely trustworthy and discrete
(and this can take years). A good rule of thumb is to reveal no more
than is revealed to you. Don't spill your guts too early. Take
this advice one step further, and strive to be your colleagues' confidant
(without getting caught in the middle of turf wars and popularity struggles.)
Over time, people will share sensitive information with you when you
listen empathetically and keep secrets confidential. It's good
to know sensitive information.
9) Give positive feedback publicly.
Sometimes, make your concrete, focused compliments in front of a
third party (such as right before a faculty meeting begins). Remember
tip number four about reading your colleagues' work? After reading
their latest articles, you're planning to share specific, appreciative
comments. Make them public when appropriate. There's no need to
fawn – you're letting your colleagues know the ways in which
their work has an impact on your thinking. People will sniff out an apple-polishing
fake, so make sure that any praise is genuine. Congratulate peers for
winning awards, getting grants, and other successes. Gracious self-confidence
is appealing.
10) Seek out mentors.
Everyone longs for expert guidance and it is clear
that the careers of academics with devoted mentors proceed more smoothly.
Finding a mentor is more likely to happen if you're reaching out
via your practice of collegiality. Don't expect an uber-mentor:
it is more likely that guidance will come from many sources in a variety
of forms. One member of your department will explain the history of the
political divisions within the department (the theorists vs. the methodologists;
the empirical vs. the qualitative researchers, etc.). Another may be
willing to read your manuscripts (and you should jump at this opportunity).
11) Find a likeable side of everyone.
Look for things you like and respect about your colleagues – even
if you have to dig deep to find something appealing. People like people
who like them. Even the strident curmudgeon with detestable politics
may be a dog-lover or know a great lasagna recipe.
12) Leave your door open.
Friendly availability is highly valued in
most departments. Avoid campus when you need to write, and reserve tasks
that require less focus for your office. Check your email in the department,
then escape with your laptop for an hour of rough drafting. It's
a good sign when people stick their heads in to chat, so stop looking
at your watch.
13) Don't talk too much at meetings.
Everyone respects those wise
souls whose group comments are thoughtful, occasional and succinct. If
there are 10 people at the meeting, make sure that you speak less than
one tenth of the time. Ask good questions. Don't pontificate. Most
rational humans hate meetings; so don't make them longer than necessary.
14) Make friends.
If you're lucky, you'll develop one or
two true friends in the department, folks with whom you can share your
frustrations and anxieties. However, it is important to seek out friends
who are outside the 'family' – especially if it is
dysfunctional. It takes time and effort to make friends outside the University,
but it is essential to your mental health. Make it a priority to join
a yoga class, running group, pottery course or another activity you feel
like you don't have time to pursue.
15) Don't get angry: get tenure.
If your department is a deep
and venom-filled snake pit, suck it up or get out. One of my clients
with a prestigious position is coping with a batch of particularly arrogant
and narcissistic colleagues. She uses me as her outlet for complaints
and co-strategist for political battles. Having a ventilation system
helps her stay focused on her work. We spend some of our time fantasizing
about the stinging retorts she'll give once she has tenure. We
spend time planning her fifth year job hunt. She's started a diary
to collect her most outrageous stories of these professors' perfidy.
A truly horrid department is a good reason to look for another job sooner
rather than later, no matter how prestigious your program or the university.
16) Finally, realize that no one can follow all these rules!
We all
show bad judgment, make social gaffes and occasionally lose our self-control.
Moving on after mistakes, rather than obsessing endlessly, is one of
the hallmarks of a successful academic.
You can do it!
Mary
McKinney, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist
Academic Coach
www.SuccessfulAcademic.com |
In Next Week's Newsletter:
Tips to Keep You From Wasting Your Summer
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