Are you an intellectual badass, but worry you might be in over your head?
Are you secretly feeling like an imposter? Do you know you can do it, but didn’t realize all you were getting into? Are your best ideas and research studies stuck in your head? Do you know what you want to do, but have no clue how to begin?
As a professional in academia you are used to being judged for your brains and intellect. If you took on a new promotion, job change, or project and suddenly feel a bit lost, it doesn’t mean you aren’t smart. You’re simply experiencing “temporary incompetence,” which is normal in any transition. The bigger the transition, the longer the period of incompetence. Sorry, I know you hate that idea. I do, too.
None of us know what we don’t yet know, BUT, you can take very intentional and strategic steps to put the temp in temporary so that the incompetence is replaced by competence, and then by excellence. Natural and fluid elements come with time, and insights, learning and growth accelerate in a coaching relationship. Just because you are alone in your role does not mean you have to work alone. I’m here to help as your coach and confidant.
I help great people do extraordinary things through coaching.
I work with academics all over the world to help them transition into senior leadership roles. These roles may vary from complex projects that involve managing peers, multi-site programs, academic administration, or even leaving the academy to run organizations.
I help leaders develop their new teams, and bring new life to old teams. I help by transitioning the collection of individuals into a team. A team that will learn how to work together with joy, a clear sense of meaning, and purpose, and the tools to achieve their greatest potential together.
I also work with individuals and teams looking to develop their ideas into tangible research profiles and grant projects.
Who is going to succeed with coaching?
You will find coaching to be the catalyst that launches you if:
- You are ready to do some hard work to achieve the results you want.
- You know you have the capacity for greatness, and you know you need some help, too.
- You are willing to vulnerably and honestly own the good, the bad, and the ugly about yourself for the sake of powerful growth and change both personally and professionally.
Does any of this sound like you?
Who works with a professional coach?
People transitioning into a complex role:
- Faculty member transitioning out of academia into leading a global multi-million dollar organization.
- Dean transitioning to a Provost position.
- Department chair transitioning to a Dean position.
- Faculty member transitioning into departmental leadership position.
- Faculty member transitioning into a project leader over peer colleagues collaborating on a complex project.
People developing new teams:
- New academic administrators creating and leading a professional staff, often for the first time.
- Faculty members transitioning into leadership of post-docs, staff, and/or students through a grant-funded project.
People developing new research and grant proposals:
You don’t have to have a PhD to have a pretty great idea. Whether it’s your first grant or your 50th, and whether the PhD after your name stands for doctor of philosophy or persistent, hard-working and determined, it’s always helpful to have someone push you to strengthen your thinking and bring your lofty ideas into tangible steps with a sensible budget.
- People developing their first research grant proposal for funding submission.
- Seasoned project leaders developing a complex, multi-faceted project.
- Mid-career faculty members expanding solo scholarship to collaborative scholarship.
- Early-career professionals looking to establish their research profile.
Are you ready for coaching?
If you identify with, and can honestly own, at least five of these characteristics you are likely a great candidate for coaching with me. You are:
- Sharp. Concepts come quickly, and you develop plans to implement them even faster. You are usually 3 steps ahead of everyone else, and your brain works faster than you choose to talk. You often prefer to read than listen to someone talk because you can read and absorb information much faster than others can share information. You may have had an academic arch-nemesis in grade school (the one who always beat you at speed drills, or read 3 books on the last day of the reading contest), or you were someone else’s. It’s possible you compared yourself to peers of similar acumen, and so you didn’t realize you were actually something special until adulthood.
- Responsible. You deliver. You get stuff done. You are the one people go to when they want to get something done right, which means you do far more than your written job description. You believe a deadline is actually a deadline, not a suggestion. You deliver when you say you will. Your word matters. You hold yourself accountable, and you are self-motivated. It doesn’t mean you are a super-human, but you’ve been called that at least once.
- Humble. You know you aren’t perfect. Learning and growth drive you. You understand people should be valued. You do not consider any task beneath you. Your value and worth is tied to who you are, the many ways you serve, and not to the tasks you accomplish.
- An explorer. Maybe you’re not a natural risk-taker, but you explore all of the potential and consider things from multiple perspectives. You do your research before settling in. You actively pursue the crazy, the unheard of, the unchartered waters to find the best solutions.
- Curious. You ask questions. Learning delights you. You want to know more, to conquer new knowledge, and to play with ideas.
- Cutting edge. New questions, new approaches, new angles, and new methods come naturally. You don’t want to do what has already been done. You want to contribute something new.
- A starter. You love to develop ideas, things, or people. You start new things. You may be the type who then sustains and runs it, or you may relish the idea of passing it off to trusted colleagues and start the next great thing.
- Playful. You are fun, in your own way. You believe that work should actually be fun, and yet you may be one of the most serious people you know. You never met a mundane task you didn’t want to infuse with a little pizzazz. You may have turned grading or reviewing into a competitive game of office bingo, or you just may love it when others bring the fun and you’ll join in. You’ll either play, or play along, as long as the work gets done with excellence.
- Joyful. You love “fun facts to know and tell.” You smile easy and often, even if you are reserved. More than three people have seen you laugh so hard you can’t talk – whether from exhaustion in a late night working session, after hitting too many brick walls in a brainstorming session and throwing out an incredibly stupid (or genius) idea, or about something hilarious your kid said.
- A game-changer. Your ideas really could change the world, and make it a better place. Cliche as it may be, you have said at least once in your life “go big or go home!” You have big dreams, big goals, and the brain to make it happen.
- Have tenacity.You are determined. Your game face inspires people. You do not give up, even when others may tell you to. You fight for the somethings you care about – whether it was the top grade, the spotlight, the role of principal dancer, or just being picked on the team. Just because you fell down a few times…or maybe smacked straight into a wall does not stop you. You are the epitome of “if at first you don’t succeed – try, try again.”
What do the data say about coaching?
Gee, I thought you’d never ask. Actually, I totally knew you’d ask. You are the type to want facts. The International Coach Federation (ICF) is the place to find the latest research on the validity and power of coaching.
Search for what you care about in the free section of the research portal. Click here to go directly to the ICF research portal.
Are you ready to see what the possibilities are?
What do you think? Are you ready to accelerate your progress both personal and professional? Are you ready to cohesively bring meaning and purpose into your life and work? If you are ready for coaching fill out my contact form to start the conversation.
If you’re intrigued by coaching but didn’t find yourself in my list, it’s ok. I’m probably not the right person for you, but there are literally thousands of certified coaches worldwide. I can try to connect you to someone else, or you can search the database of coaches at the International Coach Federation site.