Is academic life really like this?
You thought it would be an intellectually stimulating environment where you could share your love of ideas with students and colleagues, surrounded by books.
You want to be a good teacher, to inspire students, yet the day-to-day experience is frustrating. You find yourself facing students more interested in the piece of paper at the end than in learning.
Most of your discussions with colleagues are about administrivia, those students, or institutional politics.
No one seems to care about your research or your ideas. You are struggling to find time to even think big thoughts much less write about them.
And yet …
You know that research and writing are really important to keeping your job and getting promoted. And you worry that dissatisfied students and colleagues will also harm your career.
You might even be wondering if you’ve made a mistake and need to find a different job altogether.
Wait!
An academic career can give you the intellectual stimulation and autonomy that you want.
Some of those students do want to learn. Your colleagues do have intellectual interests.
It is possible to love your academic job. It is even possible to have a life outside your academic job and be a successful academic.
No, really. It is. I know some of these people. Heck, I live with one.
What you need
Perspective
Clarity
and a Plan.
Some concrete steps you can take to gain control of your academic life.
How coaching can help
Autonomy is great but sometimes you need someone to bounce ideas off; help you make decisions about priorities and processes.
In many ways you are like an elite athlete. You have talent. You work hard. And you wouldn’t be where you are if you weren’t among the best at what you do.
But I can’t think of one elite athlete that doesn’t have a coach, or several coaches.
The coach observes the athlete’s performance and works with them to figure out what needs to be improved and the best way to improve particular aspects of their performance.
The coach encourages them and provides a reality check.
The coach might recommend particular races as preparation for bigger races later on. Or even recommend that a different event might be a better fit for their strengths.
The coach isn’t out there running the same race. The coach is on the sidelines observing, encouraging, planning, strategizing. Working with the athlete to help them perform at their best when it counts.
You can only get so far on talent and hard work
Coaching gives you perspective and clarity; the foundation of happiness, effectiveness, and higher productivity.
Through coaching you can reconnect with your passion for ideas and turn that into more publications, stimulating intellectual collaborations, and better teaching.
Coaching can also help you figure out your best contribution to administrative governance tasks. You can say “no” to some requests while still pulling your weight.
You still have to work hard. Write papers. Prepare classes. Go to meetings.
And you still need all those great ideas and conceptual skills.
I just help you build the habits that lead to the best performance, set goals, make plans, and generally get there more effectively.
How it works
A session is one hour and we talk on the phone.
I listen, ask questions to help you move forward, and help you explore options, decide priorities, etc.
In each session we try to come up with concrete actions you can take. I follow up our call with an e-mail summarizing the key issues and action steps.
We can accomplish stuff in just one call but you’ll benefit more from a longer commitment. That way you have soft deadlines for doing things and someone to be accountable to.
I’ll never yell at you or chastise you for not making progress. But I will help you figure out what’s getting in your way and help you get back on track.
Every 4 sessions we’ll review things and make sure that you are still getting value.
How many sessions will I need?
Honestly, I don’t know. I suggest that you buy 4 at a time. That’s enough to make some significant progress and then assess.
You might want to work with me over an extended period of time. It depends on the nature of the issues you are dealing with.
Like an elite athlete, you might work with me more intensely in the run-up to some important event — a grant application, a promotion — and then less intensely the rest of the time.
We can work out what will work best for you during our calls. And check in regularly to make sure coaching is still effective.
I don’t want you to keep paying for something that isn’t working.
How much is this going to cost?
A 1-hour session is $150.
If you buy 4 sessions at a time, you get a 15% discount. That’s $510.
If you book 4 sessions and decide after the first session that you really don’t need more than one, I’ll refund you the difference. All you have to do is e-mail and ask. Though I’ll probably come to the same conclusion and e-mail you to offer a refund.
If you’re not sure you need a coach on an ongoing basis, but you have an issue you think I can help with, go ahead and book one session.
We can get a lot done in an hour. If you decide after that session that you’d like to continue, I’ll invoice you for the next 3 at the difference between the 4 session and 1 session rate, so you still get the 15% discount.
Remember: The people who win Olympic medals are talented, hard working athletes who deserve all the credit for winning those medals. But every single one of them works with a coach.