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Folks:
The posting below gives some great tips on developing collegial
relationships with your colleages . It is by Mary McKinney, Ph.D.
of Successful Academic Coaching and it appeared in the June 6
and June 13, 2005 issue of The Successful Academic News. Please
visit Mary's web site at http://www.successfulacademic.com for
additional tenure track tips and dissertation writing strategies.
© 2000-07 Mary McKinney, Ph.D. - All Rights Reserved. Reprinted
with permission.
Regards,
Rick Reis
reis@stanford.edu
UP NEXT: Understanding Senior Faculty Needs
Tomorrow's Academic Careers
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Collegiality: The Tenure Track's Pandora's Box
If you are a junior faculty member, you have a good sense of
how high the tenure bar is set. Publishing, teaching and service
- you know where you stand in these areas. However, there is an
elusive, unquantifiable fourth component in the promotion and
tenure equation: collegiality. How are you doing in that arena?
Are you respected? Seen as a "team player?" Generally
well-liked?
Bottom line: do your colleagues want you around for the foreseeable
future?
If you are a graduate student or post-doc, it is never too early
to begin learning the rules of collegiality and paying attention
to the culture and politics of your department.
You know (or have heard about) people whose tenure battles have
been won or lost on the basis of popularity.
Collegiality is the Pandora's box in the room at the tenure vote.
A few weeks ago, an assistant professor called me for a coaching
consultation after his third-year annual review. During the review
process he'd expected to talk about his teaching and publication
record; his Chair's main criticisms caught him completely off
guard.
"People don't feel like they know you," she said. "You're
seen as being rather un-engaged and peripheral to the department."
The gist of her advice was that he needed to become better known
and liked by his colleagues, because he wasn't viewed as a member
of the team. He was completely taken aback: he'd never expected
he'd be told to schmooze.
"What should I do?" my new client asked me. "I
never thought that tenure might depend on having lots of lunch
dates."
Here's what I told him: Lunch dates are important. And succeeding
politically is based on two factors: common sense and self-control.
Exercise both.
Practicing common sense and self-control requires several tactics.
When I started to list tips I came up with 16 - way too many for
one newsletter. So here's the first installment of six tips.
1) Remember that whiners are boring.
You don't need to be falsely cheery, but keep your complaints
to a minimum. Nod sympathetically when people complain to you,
but don't play the "I've got it even harder than you"
game. Everyone is busy, and most people are overwhelmed. Who needs
to hear about it?
2) Walk the walk.
Pay conscious attention to the image you want to project: mature,
eager, curious and calm are good traits to start with. If you
cultivate your sense of humor you're more likely to be popular.
Anxiety, anger, desperation and insecurity are unappealing traits.
3) Get to know your colleagues by asking for advice.
Most people love giving advice (take me, for example). You're
not expected to know everything already. Ask your senior colleagues
for suggestions about successfully navigating academia. What tips
do they have for teaching, publishing, time management, negotiating
departmental politics?
4) Get to know your colleagues by getting to know their work.
This is an important and under-utilized strategy. Getting good
feedback in academia happens much less frequently than it should,
and everyone craves credit for their efforts. Read your colleagues'
work and let them know that you understand and appreciate their
contributions. They will respond gratefully if you provide thoughtful
responses and sincere praise. Be specific with your compliments.
For example, say "I really liked your new article in Journal
X. Your ideas about Y made me think about my own work on Z."
5) Do invite people out to lunch (unless you're just starting
your first year - in which case wait a month or two and see who
takes the initiative to invite you out on the 'first date').
Because you've read their work - you have read their work, haven't
you? - you can ask them informed and interesting questions. Remember
that lunch has gone well if your colleague has done the vast majority
of the talking.
6) Don't make enemies with important people.
This is the most important rule and it can be very difficult to
follow. In the mystery novel "The Titian Committee,"
author Iain Pears describes his character Professor Roberts in
the following way: "He was a man who had learned early in
life that you cannot arrange matters so that everybody loves you
simultaneously. That being the case, the best you can do is to
ensure that those who dislike you can do you no harm."
Relate well!
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!
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