A year of blogging later
I help researchers start impactful and satisfying research programs, without the overwhelm or fear of failure. Click here to find out more.
Well, this is post #52. One full year of posts!!! I had no idea how this would go when I started, but I knew that I wasn’t about to start with videoing myself 😬 to start talking with you (though I haven’t ruled that out 😅).
As I shared in my very first post, I have transformed my research program more times than I care to count, and I’ve reinvented myself with each transformation. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that any of those transformations and reinventions was smooth and that they didn’t cost me something. Sometimes the cost has been sideways looks from colleagues, sometimes the cost has been old collaborators, and sometimes the cost has been a seemingly clear career advancement pathway.
Looking back on these previous transformations, I can say that they were worth it, but that’s only because I am well past most of them now. However, as I am still working through my latest transformation to business owner and entrepreneur, I find myself regularly questioning if I am moving in the right direction. Am I offering something that people want? Am I the right person to make this offer? Will this whole thing work out?
Most days, I can answer these questions positively. It’s the hard days when nothing seems to be working, when someone makes an innocent comment that I take as a full-blown critique of everything I’ve done, and when I question my very sense of self, that stick out in my mind.
It’s on these days, after I’ve taken a moment to spiral (because everyone is entitled to the odd spiral), that I remind myself that this is all part of the process. I’ve had these moments of doubt before, and I made it through. I am a much better business owner today than I was when I started two and a half years ago. I KNOW researchers could use support in designing a research program for REAL impact. I must be patient.
So, if you also find yourself in the part of the transformation where you can’t see how it all works out, here are a few more reflections:
You need to start. Thinking about transforming isn’t making it. You will never be ready, so you can’t feel ready. Just take a step and trust that you will figure out what to do as you go.
You need a stake in the change. If there is nothing to lose, there will be nothing to gain. I am not suggesting re-mortgaging your house, but risk something.
You need a gentle ear. Everyone needs someone who is undeniably on their side, will sit with them in the mess of reinvention, tell them that they have a good idea, and that you will figure out how to make it happen.
You need accountability. It is easy to put your transformation on the back burner. It helps to have someone to share your plans with and to report your progress.
This brings me to my final point about transformations in the academic world. We tend to believe that, as people with PhDs, we can/should do everything by ourselves. While this is true in theory (mostly), just because we can learn things the hard way doesn’t mean that’s the right choice. There are lots of people with expertise that are different than ours that we can learn from to make our professional lives better.
I help researchers, like you, build impactful and satisfying research programs in a system that isn’t designed to make this easy. I take away the guesswork and help you design a work plan that is going to get you tenured and promoted, while also seeing the societal impact of your work. I help you to future-proof your work in a time of uncertainty, from government funding to AI.
Thank you for making it all the way here. As a special recognition of my first year of blogging, the first three people to complete this survey (after today) will be gifted a Discovery Call so you can learn a little more about the kinds of services I offer and if we are a fit for each other.
*Be sure to provide an email in the survey that you check regularly 😉.
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