Category: Newsletter

I’ve worked with a lot of academic staff over the past two decades. As a manager I have discussions about personal development, performance, individual ambitions and how I can support colleagues to achieve their goals.

I encourage colleagues to reflect on their progress at regular stages in their careers. And one staple question is:

“Given your time again, what would you do differently?”

As staff become more experienced their responses become simpler.

The question they tend to provide an answer for is:

“What early career mistake will you never make again?”

What I have ended up with is a collection of many different conversations that all seemed to be saying similar things.

So, here are the 4 profound mistakes that academic faculty should avoid in their careers.

Mistake #1: Not prioritising writing

Not understanding the impact that writing can make on career progression as an academic is the number one mistake I hear.

It’s understandable as academics write a lot as part of their work. It’s easy to think that the writing bit of the job description is being satisfied.

But writing has much more to offer than the promise of some research articles. Writing promotes orderly thinking and it is a superb vehicle for reflection. You can have a conversation with your thoughts and explore topics in complete privacy.

Our minds are fallible and we don’t usually have the capability to remember the detail of our thoughts in the long-term. Writing that detail down means that you can revisit the the experience at a later date and develop new insight on a situation.

To get this benefit you need to write regularly. And that means making time to write.

Establish a writing schedule that you commit to. Select tools that will help you write in different environments – on the bus, in a coffee shop, in the doctor’s reception lounge, etc. Develop your own system that enables to review what you have written, and supports you to chart your own progress.

The sooner that you commit to writing, the sooner that your writing quality shall improve. Better quality writing leads to better quality thinking, and this drives better quality research.

Mistake #2: Not being strategic when networking

It can be frustrating when trying to find partners for funding applications. First you have to drum-up interest. Then you have to ‘court’ potential partners to gauge interest. Then you might have to manage political sensitivities between different stakeholders.

This all takes a considerable amount of time. And most academics I have spoken to wish that they had not dedicated as much time to networking. Given their time again, they would have invested more in the relationships.

As humans we prioritise working with people who we trust. Which means that even though you have honourable intentions, if the other party doesn’t know you, it is unlikely that they can trust you. And even more unlikely that they will partner with you.

On the other hand, look at how many opportunities seem to be available to certain networks. People who work together, who know each other, who can get to work quickly. The trust has already been established, saving time and making that process more efficient.

Try not to be too transactional with your time. Choose to help people who have the same interests as you. As you work together the mutual trust will build, and you can then work on joint projects such as journal articles, funding bids, etc.

Mistake #3: Not teaching your research

Plenty of staff have told me that they spent far too much time on research in their early years as an academic. And by this they mean writing papers, writing funding bids (that usually were unsuccessful) and taking on as many PhD students as they could find.

The teaching component of their job became secondary, and in many cases it became a chore. The administration always bunched-up at the wrong time. Their marks were late. Professional services colleagues became exasperated with them.

This was mainly due to fear-mongering from senior academic figures, who offered the advice that papers and funding were the priority over everything else.

In some ways there is some truth that research needs an investment of time for it to flourish. And success in funding applications is often correlated with academics who have an established track record of scholarly outputs.

But it does assume that ‘the basics’ are in place. Your teaching needs to be under control; don’t be in the situation where you are at the mercy of organisational demands, slave to inefficient ways of working that are dictated by people who do not have to service academic demands. Look critically at yourself and your teaching. Organise and optimise it. And this means teaching your research.

The outputs from your research will serve as solid content that engages students and makes the learning experience unique to you. It reinforces your authority in the subject.

But using the process of research as a teaching approach can be extremely powerful. Set assignments that require the students to conduct peer-review. Have them evaluate your writing. Include them as co-investigators in your day-to-day scholarly activities.

Using your research is one of the best ways to optimise your teaching workload, while maximising the value of the learning experience for your students.

Get your teaching under control!

Mistake #4: Not being focused

When you are young, energetic, enthusiastic and hungry for opportunity, it can be hard to just say “no”.

The academic environment is rich with opportunities. It is also a collegiate environment in the main and this means that there are lots of times when colleagues ask for help.

Bearing in mind Mistake #2 (Not being strategic when networking), choose your collaborations with care. Take the investment mindset and evaluate your options.

How aligned with your own agenda is the proposed work?

Will the collaboration help you advance? If not right now, can you see it helping in the medium term?

Traditional wisdom says publish widely.

Get known. Solicit citations. Look prolific.

After many years of assessing academic CVs for promotion or recruitment, I can tell you hands-down that I would rather see evidence of a focused theme in an academic’s scholarly record, than a large volume of disparate, disconnected research articles.

External funders want to ensure that their money goes to the people who can extract the most value from the money. They want academics who are focused and who can demonstrate authority.

As you mature as an academic you can afford to ‘spread your wings’ a bit. But if you want to optimise your route to Professor, you need to focus.

Focus on who you work with.

Focus your research so it’s clear what your expertise is.

Focus on optimising your teaching.

–

I’ve had variants of this conversation with lots of junior academics. Sometimes it works straight away – the story resonates and the academic can get to work implementing the advice.

Sometimes some adjustments need to be made, often to the research focus. I generally advise academics to think about how they can establish a core component of their research that has a perennial demand for activity.

This is really quite important in technology-based research such as Computer Science. And while topics such as cloud computing, big data, the Internet of Things, blockchain and myriad other trends can be lucrative (academically), don’t forget the value of demonstrating performance in core topics such as performance, quality of service, and validation, to mention but a few.

I wish that somebody had written this article for me 20 years ago.

I am sure that I could have made good use of the advice!

I used to believe my colleagues’ stories.

I’d just moved from the manufacturing industry into academia. I was an engineer that used a lot of technology in my job. I wanted a change and became a computer science academic.

I was 30 years of age and had some life experience. But I was a new entrant into academia, and I was in listening mode.

I was soaking up all of the advice and stories that my new coworkers were telling me.

Because listening is good isn’t it?

• I was present.
• I paid attention.
• I started to believe their stories.

After all, they had much more experience of academia than me.

This felt great. Everyone was giving me the benefit of their experience for free.

After a while, some of their stories didn’t give me the results that I expected.

• Some of their advice didn’t work.
• Some of their ‘suggestions’ seemed just wrong, especially when I compared it with my own experience.
• And I shouldn’t have written off my previous work experience as having no use in a new environment.

This is what I think now:

To get ahead as an academic, you need to audit your environment.

Take a critical look at your peers, your managers, your subordinates.

Evaluate every stakeholder you interact with.

If you don’t, your outcomes are entirely determined by other people.

This is absolutely fundamental if you have ambition.

• If you adopt the lessons and mindset of your colleagues without question, you will find it difficult to be promoted.
• If you listen to their stories about how the institution does not support them, you will start to think the same.
• If you believe that you can’t progress, you won’t progress.

But if you audit your environment, you’ll find that you are:

• Clear about your routes to success.
• Empowered to build a successful network of contacts.
• Able to select genuine opportunities, rejecting activities that drain your energy to fulfil the agendas of others.

After making this mistake, here is my advice.

#1. Understand What You Want

So many people limit their ambitions. They see an organisational hierarchy and accept that there is only one route for progression.

They work hard at their jobs and wait for the next promotion opportunity.

• Sometimes they get the promotion.
• Sometimes they don’t.

Time passes, and feelings of underachievement creep in. They conclude that it must be the fault of the institution.

But let’s face facts.

Our environments have their own agendas.

• To be sustainable.
• To be excellent at research and teaching.
• To make a difference to society.

And employees have their agendas too. Generally, most people focus on the objectives that the institution sets for them.

So, their agenda is the institution’s agenda. 

Full stop.

Accept this, and you shall be completely at the mercy of your environment.

If you want to progress, you need to identify what you want to achieve.

• Professor? You had better start building your scholarly network of contacts.
• Institutional leader? You might focus on inspiring and motivating individuals and groups of staff.
• Manager? You would focus on developing your people skills.

Once you know what you want, you can then start to work out what skills and experience you need to develop.

Instead of your annual appraisal being led by your line manager, why not take your agenda to them? Ask them for support.

Show how you can take the initiative.

#2. Understand Your Role

It’s important to understand your place in the organisation.

• What does the institution ask of you?
• What does the institution support you to achieve?
• What do different stakeholders expect from you?

Read the official job description for your role. Think about the things that you do, that are *not* part of your job description.

• Can these activities help you achieve what you want?
• Does your role afford you the opportunity to engage in activities that support your agenda?

One common misconception that I encounter during staff development sessions with junior academics is that they are not paid to engage in research.

In the main, academic staff are employed using student fee income to teach. As part of their academic responsibilities to teach, they must engage in scholarship.

Scholarship is “the acquisition of knowledge”.

But many institutions require academics to conduct research.

Research is “creating knowledge”. Research is funded externally.

So, you are not paid to conduct research.

You are paid to be a scholarly teacher.

But you must deliver research to progress your career. And research requires external funding.

To advance your career, you must invest time in soliciting external funding for research.

Once junior academics understand this, they can decide how they want to realise their ambition.

Take the time to understand what is expected from you.

#3. Understand Your Surroundings

This final piece of advice is crucial to avoid long-term dissatisfaction.

• You should now have an idea of what you want.
• You should now understand what is expected of you in your role.

Now you need to examine your environment with a critical eye:

• Are you surrounded by successful people?
• Do you have access to the facilities that support you to prosper?
• Are you inspired to achieve more?

Don’t give up if you cannot answer “yes” to all of the above. These questions might direct you to ask:

• How can I work with a successful academic team in my institution?
• What connections do I need to make, to gain access to the equipment that will help me succeed?
• How can I re-frame poor performance as a challenge for me to improve my environment?

But of course, the time may come when you feel that opportunities are not available in your current environment.

And if you can’t change your environment, you need to change the environment that you work in. 

But at least you will know what to look for in a different institution.

Back in my early days as a junior academic, I lost ground by listening too much. I believed my colleagues and the stories they told.

I trusted their judgement.

After a while, I realised that their perspective, although it was shared and true to them, was not for me.

My environment was inhibiting what I could achieve, by constraining my ambition.

By telling me what couldn’t be done.

Don’t make my mistake.

Audit your environment. Invest the time so that you can:

1. Work out what you want.

2. Understand your role.

3. Understand your surroundings.

That’s how you will realise your ambition.

University academics bear the mantle of not only advancing knowledge through their research but also shaping the minds of future generations of society.

The dual objectives of enhancing research quality and boosting student satisfaction are inextricably linked to the continuous personal and professional development of academic faculty and their managers.

As managers, it’s crucial to explore the specific actions that develop our academic staff effectively.

We can do this by identifying areas for improvement and then actively engaging in strategies to address any gaps.

By doing this, we’ll support faculty to become the leaders who shall play a pivotal role in fostering an environment where continuous improvement is not just encouraged but ingrained in the fabric of the institution.

Using stories from the field, I’ll explore some of the concrete steps that academic managers can employ to support their faculty in achieving excellence in research and teaching, thereby enhancing overall student satisfaction.

These narratives not only illustrate the principles in action but they also highlight the human element of academic leadership and its impact on faculty and student success.

1. Creating a Supportive Environment

I recall a department chair, who made it a point to personally congratulate faculty members on their achievements, whether it was a published paper, a successful grant application, or positive student feedback.

This simple act of acknowledgment had a profound effect on the department’s morale and motivation. Their approach underscored the importance of recognising and celebrating the hard work and success of academic staff, fostering a culture where continuous improvement was valued and encouraged.

2. Promoting Open Communication

Another inspiring example comes from a faculty retreat organised by a dean of research. She dedicated a session solely to open discussions about challenges and opportunities for improvement, without any set agenda.

This session not only provided academics with a platform to voice concerns and share ideas but also led to the development of a peer support group focused on innovative research-informed teaching methods.

This group became a cornerstone for faculty development within the department, showcasing the power of open communication in catalysing positive change.

3. Implementing Targeted Development Programmes

In my early years as an academic, I benefitted greatly from a development programme specifically designed for junior academics.

This programme, initiated by the Pro Vice Chancellor for Academic Development, included workshops on research methodologies that were directly relevant to my field, as well as seminars on effective teaching strategies.

The personalised nature of this programme played a crucial role in my professional growth, enabling me to enhance my research and teaching capabilities significantly.

4. Advocating Mentoring

A professorial colleague of mine shared how being mentored by a senior academic transformed his career.

His mentor provided him with invaluable guidance on balancing teaching responsibilities with research ambitions, which helped him secure a prestigious research fellowship grant.

This mentorship experience not only accelerated his professional development but also inspired him to become a mentor himself, perpetuating a cycle of growth and support within the department.

5. Fostering Collaborative Research Initiatives

A memorable example of fostering collaboration comes from a cross-disciplinary research project between the departments of Event Management and Logistics and Computer Science.

Facilitated by the department heads, this initiative brought together academics with diverse expertise to tackle a complex research problem.

The collaboration not only resulted in innovative findings but also provided students with a unique opportunity to engage in interdisciplinary research, greatly enhancing their educational experience and subsequent employability.

6. Prioritising Teaching Excellence

A colleague known for his innovative teaching methods once shared how feedback from a student-led evaluation prompted him to rethink his approach to lecturing.

This feedback led him to incorporate more interactive elements into his classes, such as seminars based on ‘wicked problems’, using technology to enhance learning such as real-time polls, and virtual group discussions.

Over time, these changes resulted in significantly higher student engagement and satisfaction, illustrating the impact of prioritising teaching excellence and responsiveness to student feedback.

7. Implementing Robust Evaluation Systems

Reflecting on my career as an academic manager, I have realised the most significant benefits when I have focused upon the processes of rigorous evaluation.

‘Proper’ evaluation is underrated and often neglected.

When I have initiated comprehensive evaluation methods that include both quantitative and qualitative feedback mechanisms, I have discovered valuable insights.

In particular, my investment of time into evaluating holistic academic staff performance made significant inroads into diagnosing areas where improvement was needed.

One particular case involved an academic who, while being an internationally recognised researcher, struggled to engage undergraduate students.

Over time, this became a significant issue for the academic, whose other work started to be adversely affected due to his worsening mood.

Armed with specific feedback, I was able to tailor a development plan that significantly improved his wellbeing at work and subsequently his teaching effectiveness.

8. Setting Clear, Measurable Goals

Working with a junior academic who had taken a career break, we set clear, measurable goals for her research output and student satisfaction ratings.

By tracking her progress against these goals, we identified early on a need for additional support in grant writing.

This targeted intervention led to her securing a significant research grant, which improved her confidence, advanced her research, and also contributed to the department’s reputation for excellence.

Conclusion

For academic managers, developing their academic faculty is a multifaceted endeavour that requires a thoughtful, personalised approach.

By establishing a supportive culture, implementing targeted development programmes, enhancing research and teaching quality, and utilising data for informed decision-making, managers can significantly impact their faculty’s growth.

This, in turn, elevates the overall quality of education and research at their institutions, leading to greater student satisfaction and institutional success.

In essence, the development of faculty should be viewed as a strategic priority, integral to the institution’s mission and vision.

Ultimately, it is academic managers, through their leadership, that possess the unique opportunity to inspire and facilitate this development, crafting a legacy of excellence and innovation in higher education.

Further Reading

I have distilled over two decades of working in Higher Education into the ADVANCE method for data-driven transformation.

You can read all about it for free on Kindle Unlimited, or purchase a paperback copy.

Well, this is the tenth edition of The Productive Academic – how time flies!

I thought that this would be a good time to briefly review the topics that have been covered so far.

If you have joined recently, this edition should give you quick and easy access to previous articles.

Newsletter 1

Starting with newsletter edition number 1 titled “How to Use Potentially Wasted Time in Your Schedule to Write and Successfully Publish More Research Articles”.

This articles provides tips for academic staff struggling to find time for writing publications.

Key suggestions include committing to writing for 10 minutes daily, writing for oneself without worrying about mistakes initially, separating the writing and editing processes, investing time in outlining articles, and utilising small snippets of time effectively.

It also emphasises the importance of consistent effort and effective habit formation to succeed in academic writing.

#9: 4 Fears Faced By Academic Managers And How To Eradicate Them

Newsletter 2

Newsletter edition number 2: “7 Easy Ways To Streamline University Assessments, Reduce Your Workload And Enhance Student Learning”.

This article outlines strategies to simplify assessment processes in academia.

These strategies aim to lessen the marking load on faculty while improving student learning outcomes.

Key approaches include establishing clear assessment criteria, using automated grading tools, implementing peer and self-assessment, focusing on essential feedback, embracing formative assessments, and enhancing learning with multiple answer questions.

The article emphasises efficient assessment methods that can save time for academic staff and benefit student learning.

For a more comprehensive understanding, you can read the full article here:

#9: 4 Fears Faced By Academic Managers And How To Eradicate Them

Newsletter 3

Newsletter edition number 3: “4 Mistakes Made By University Academics That Guarantee Their Journal Article Will Fail the Peer-Review Process”.

This identifies common errors academics make in their journal submissions.

It stresses the importance of aligning the article with the journal’s audience, adhering to formatting rules, constructing arguments with scholarly rigour, and avoiding spelling and grammar errors.

The article serves as a guide to enhance the chances of article acceptance by avoiding these pitfalls.

To delve deeper into these points, you can read the full article here:

#3: 4 Mistakes Made By University Academics That Guarantee Their Journal Article Will Fail the Peer-Review Process

Newsletter 4

Newsletter edition number 4: “3 Strategies to Foster a Culture of Servant Leadership in Academic Development”.

In here I discuss fostering servant leadership in academia.

It outlines three key strategies: leading by serving, cultivating empathy and understanding, and promoting lifelong learning.

The article describes the importance of academic leaders embodying service values, understanding staff needs, and encouraging continuous growth and learning.

It suggests that these approaches lead to a thriving academic community through collaboration and innovation.

#4: 3 Strategies to Foster a Culture of Servant Leadership in Academic Development

Newsletter 5

Newsletter edition number 5: “How to Engage Time-Pressed Academic Staff in Research-Informed Practice as an Academic Manager”.

This newsletter edition explores strategies for encouraging busy academic staff to integrate research into their teaching practices.

It suggests setting the institutional context, focusing on efficiencies in research-informed practice, utilising technology in learning, and modelling best practices.

The post emphasises the importance of understanding and adapting to faculty needs and preferences to foster a culture of research-informed teaching.

For more insights, you can read the complete article here:

#9: 4 Fears Faced By Academic Managers And How To Eradicate Them

Newsletter 6

Newsletter edition number 6: “Cultivating a Culture of Innovation: 8 Underrated Traits from Productive Academic Departments”

I explore traits that foster innovation in academic settings.

The article describes embracing diversity of thought, cultivating a growth mindset, encouraging risk-taking and failure tolerance, developing effective communication skills, being agile, promoting collaboration, managing time and workflow efficiently, and nurturing supportive leadership.

The article underscores these attributes as crucial for driving proactive thinking and innovation in academia.

For a more in-depth exploration of these traits, visit the full article here:

#6: Cultivating a Culture of Innovation: 8 Underrated Traits from Productive Academic Departments

Newsletter 7

Newsletter edition number 7: “How Successful Academic Faculty Use Journal Paper Rejections As A Method For Building Their Resilience” discusses turning journal rejections into resilience-building experiences for academics.

It covers strategies such as embracing failure, learning from feedback, cultivating a growth mindset, building supportive networks, setting realistic goals, diversifying submission strategies, and prioritising self-care.

These principles guide academic faculty to use setbacks as opportunities for growth and success in their careers.

For a more comprehensive understanding, you can read the full article here:

#7: How Successful Academic Faculty Use Journal Paper Rejections As A Method For Building Their Resilience

Newsletter 8

Newsletter edition number 8: “How Academic Faculty Can Use Their Teaching Role To Establish A Research Track Record” offers six principles for academic faculty to integrate research into their teaching.

These include using research-based pedagogy, involving students in funded research, integrating research into course curricula, using teaching for research dissemination, applying action research in teaching, and establishing collaborative research networks among students.

This edition explains the synergy between teaching and research, enhancing the educational experience and advancing knowledge in academia.

For a full understanding of these principles, you can read the article here:

#8: How Academic Faculty Can Use Their Teaching Role To Establish A Research Track-Record

Newsletter 9

And finally, Newsletter edition number 9: “4 Fears Faced By Academic Managers And How To Eradicate Them” addresses common fears academic managers encounter and strategies to overcome them.

It covers fears of confrontation, resistance to change, inadequate resources, and failure.

The post suggests building a culture of trust, effective change management, optimising resources, and embracing risk-taking.

It advocates using a coaching mindset to foster open communication, continuous improvement, and innovation in academic management.

For a detailed read, please visit the full article here:

#9: 4 Fears Faced By Academic Managers And How To Eradicate Them

 

To an outsider it might seem crazy, but it is common for university academic faculty to keep their research separate from their teaching activities.

This separation is becoming increasingly reinforced by universities, who are responding to external pressures such as national league tables, to manage staff performance closely.

Faculty teaching performance can be measured by reported student satisfaction, student attainment and progression for instance.

Research performance might be measured by the amount of external income generated and the volume and quality of research outputs published.

The problem here is that these measurements create discrete objectives, which then become targets for academic faculty.

If faculty want to progress their careers, they are often tempted to pursue one set of objectives to the detriment of the other.

As such, research-oriented faulty and teaching-oriented faculty emerge, further reinforcing the cultural separation of teaching from research.

However, it is possible to develop research and teaching alongside each other.

It is just unfortunate that the know-how and experience to achieve this is not more widely understood by academic faulty.

The trick is to think about how teaching responsibilities can be transformed in a way that enables research to be developed and sustained in the long term.

This article describes six principles that academic faculty can adopt as part of a strategy to use their teaching as a vehicle for establishing a track-record of credible research activity.

Principle 1: Incorporate Research-Based Pedagogy (Research-Informed Teaching) Into Teaching

Many academic faculty rail against any mention of pedagogy; it can be perceived (unfairly) as being lacking in science or rigour.

However, such a perspective can severely limit an academic’s ability to really transform their teaching to support their research.

Enquiry-based Learning (EBL/IBL) is an example of a pedagogical approach that actively utilises the processes of research as a means for learning.

Students who experience EBL tend to form cohorts who foster a culture of curiosity and critical thinking.

This intellectual maturity is markedly different from that which can emerge from more didactic approaches to teaching and learning.

It also permits academic faculty to pose research-based questions that the students can relate to and subsequently engage with.

Students can support faculty by engaging in primary research, experimentation, data analysis and rigorous evaluation.

This enables academic faculty to provide a much richer learning experience for students while also increasing research capacity.

Principle 2: Involve Students In Funded Research

Beyond teaching, research active faculty can actively involve students in externally-funded research projects, thereby transforming the learning experience into a dynamic research environment.

Through mentorship and guidance, academic faculty can empower students to undertake independent research projects within larger projects, contributing not only to the students’ academic development but also offering valuable contributions for the academics’ research agenda.

Academic staff can establish undergraduate research programmes or internship opportunities that provide students with hands-on research experience.

Collaborative endeavours with students lead to joint publications, poster presentations, or even participation in research conferences, significantly bolstering the faculty’s research track record.

Principle 3: Integrate Research into Course Curricula (Research-Led Teaching)

A proactive approach to bridging the gap between teaching and research involves infusing course content with the latest research findings.

Academic faculty can stay current with literature in their field and while integrating relevant studies into lectures and discussions.

This not only enhances the credibility of the course but also fosters a research-oriented mindset among students.

Expanding on this strategy, faculty can utilise case studies, guest lectures by researchers, or incorporate discussions on recent publications to create a dynamic and research-focused learning environment. 

Additionally, encouraging students to critically evaluate and discuss current research articles within the context of the course content can further instil the importance of research in their academic journey.

Faculty who use this approach need to be careful not to assume that students will learn the processes of research through osmosis – academic faculty talking about research cannot properly convey the learning that comes from experiencing the processes of research.

Students become more capable when they experience and practice the processes of research, so Principle 1 is a faster route to faculty realising the benefits of students as researchers.

Principle 4: Use Teaching As A Platform For Research Dissemination

Faculty members possess a captive audience in their students, offering a unique opportunity to disseminate research findings effectively.

Integrating their own research into lectures, seminars, or class discussions allows faculty to share their expertise with a wider audience.

This not only enhances the visibility of their work within the academic community but also opens avenues for collaboration and networking.

To enhance this approach, academic faculty can organise research-focused workshops, seminars, or conferences, inviting experts in the field to contribute to the academic discourse.

Such events not only provide a platform for faculty to showcase their research but also foster a culture of research dissemination within the academic community.

This is an effective way of providing an inspiring learning experience as it is straightforward to include students within research dissemination activities.

However, the real transformation occurs when students become actively engaged in the production of research outputs alongside academic faculty.

Principle 5: Using Action Research In Teaching

One of the symptoms of academic faculty keeping their teaching and research separate is that the processes of research are not replicated in the design or delivery of teaching.

It is not unusual for academic faculty to maintain a didactic, prescriptive approach to teaching and learning, while engaging in cutting-edge methods and processes for their research.

Action research is commonly used in the business community as a reflective and systematic approach to reviewing, evaluating and enhancing practice.

But if the domain of business is replaced with teaching, faculty can increase their teaching effectiveness while simultaneously contributing to research outputs.

By initiating action research projects within their own classrooms, faculty academics can gather valuable data and insights, which can inform their broader research endeavours.

For instance, faculty can collaborate with colleagues to conduct action research across disciplines.

This interdisciplinary approach not only enriches the research process but also allows for a more comprehensive understanding of the educational impact of various teaching strategies.

Principle 6: Establish Collaborative Research Networks Amongst Students

One important principle that informs all of the principles above is that of collaboration.

Universities talk endlessly about how collaboration is an important aim that delivers the necessary enhancements for teaching and research.

Unfortunately, much of the collaboration is aspirational and not realised.

Fostering closer working with students, viewing them more as research assistants, does establish a culture of collaboration.

Students have no need to become embroiled in historical political agendas and thus they are free to collaborate with other cohorts to further their research objectives.

In turn, collaboration can bridge disciplines and empower research progress to accelerate.

The resulting student research networks can create a platform for the exchange of ideas, resources, and collaborative projects, thereby enhancing the impact and reach of academic faculty’s research contributions.

Conclusion

Using teaching activities to develop a credible research track record requires academic faculty to adopt a multifaceted and intentional approach.

By adopting research-based pedagogies, involving students in research activities, integrating research into course content, disseminating findings through teaching, engaging in action research, and fostering collaborations, academic faculty can integrate their teaching and research.

This holistic approach not only elevates the quality of education but also contributes significantly to the advancement of knowledge, positioning academic faculty as accomplished and recognised scholars in their respective fields.

Ultimately, the synergy between teaching and research creates a fulfilling and impactful academic journey for both academic faculty and students, enriching the university community as a whole.

Academic faculty are increasingly expected to produce high quality research outputs at a significant volume. Publishing research results is vital for successful careers in academia.

But as many faculty know, academic journals with excellent reputations do not accept articles easily.

Once the hard work of research has been completed, the process of publishing the results can be fraught with difficulty, disappointment and frustration.

As a profession, academia has a significant proportion of individuals who grapple with self-doubt and imposter syndrome.

Add in some rejections from journal editors, and despondency can creep in and erode the self-confidence of faculty.

However, with the correct mindset, rejections can be reframed into opportunities to develop personal resilience.

This article describes 7 principles to establish that help academic faculty transform journal article submissions into a method for building personal resilience.

Become more resilient and thrive in your academic environment.

1. Acknowledge And Embrace Failure

• Understand that rejection is an inherent part of the academic journey.
• Acknowledge your feelings of disappointment, but do not let them define your worth or capabilities.
• Embrace failure as a stepping stone towards improvement and success.

If you don’t submit articles for publication, you can’t succeed.

Rejections mean that you are engaging with the process.

Being consistent leads to more opportunities for eventual success.

2. Learn From Feedback

• Analyse the feedback provided by reviewers constructively.
• Identify specific areas for improvement in your research or writing.
• Use feedback as a roadmap to enhance the quality of your future submissions.

Not all feedback is helpful.

But don’t be despondent.

Focus on the feedback that helps stimulate new ideas for how you present your work.

And if you submit more articles, you’ll receive more feedback.

3. Cultivate A Growth Mindset

• Adopt a growth mindset by viewing challenges as opportunities to learn and develop.
• Understand that intelligence and abilities can be cultivated through dedication and hard work.
• Embrace challenges with a positive attitude, focusing on the journey of improvement rather than fixating on immediate success.

Disappointment is an emotional reaction. Work to remove the emotion from your thinking and take the rejections at face value.

Long term success comes from a succession of incremental positive steps.

Use the rejections to create your own personal improvement plan.

4. Build A Supportive Network

• Connect with colleagues and mentors who can offer guidance and share their own experiences with rejection.
• Establish a support system that encourages open discussions about setbacks and resilience.
• Seek advice from those who have successfully navigated through similar challenges.

The single biggest factor that successful faculty cite is their experience of working with role models or mentors.

Find someone who has more experience than you.

Talk to them.

Engage them in productive conversations.

Help them where you can.

Over time, your network will grow and the benefits it can provide will compound.

5. Set Realistic Goals

• Break down your academic publishing objectives into manageable, achievable goals.
• Celebrate small victories, such as completing sections of a paper or meeting specific milestones.
• Realise that success is a cumulative result of consistent effort over time.

Ambitious faculty often have ambitious goals.

Make sure that you have smaller goals that enable you to achieve and experience success.

6. Diversify Submission Strategies

• Explore different journals and publication outlets to increase your chances of acceptance.
• Consider interdisciplinary collaborations to broaden the scope and appeal of your research.
• Adapt your writing style to align with the preferences of different journals.

Realise that journal editors are actually running a business. They need to publish articles that engage their audience.

So, invest time in reading back-issues of a journal to familiarise yourself with it – your articles can then be presented to match the style that the audience wants to read.

7. Prioritise Self-Care

• Recognise the importance of mental and emotional well-being.
• Take breaks when needed and engage in activities that bring joy and relaxation.
• Foster a healthy work-life balance to prevent burnout and maintain long-term resilience.

It can be tempting for academic faculty to go ‘all-in’ when establishing a publication track-record.

A concerted effort to improve is essential for success. But don’t become obsessed, otherwise the quality of your work is likely to suffer.

Conclusion

By reframing journal paper rejections as opportunities for growth, academic faculty can cultivate resilience that serves as a powerful asset in their careers.

Embracing failure, learning from feedback, fostering a growth mindset, building a supportive network, setting realistic goals, diversifying submission strategies, and prioritising self-care are actionable steps that can empower faculty to overcome setbacks and achieve lasting success in the dynamic world of academia.

Academic departments and their faculty are assumed to be innovative.

In an environment where students are constantly learning and research activity is externally funded, innovation is expected.

Such an environment actively seeks out change to develop and incubate the next set of new ideas.

For many Faculty though, the culture of innovation is less evident.

Burdened by teaching and administration, and the constant need to ‘deliver’ against external measures of performance, the pursuit of innovation can seem elusive.

Traditional wisdom usually paints a picture of Faculty who can blend their academic prowess with technical expertise, to become innovation machines.

While it can be difficult to visualise how Faculty can transform themselves to become productive innovators, there are a number of traits that innovative academic departments tend to demonstrate.

Here are 8 of the qualities that can inspire Faculty to re-think how they innovate by transforming their own outlook.

1. Embracing Diversity of Thought

One of the most underrated traits in academic settings is the ability to embrace diversity of thought.

Innovation flourishes when individuals from different backgrounds, disciplines, and perspectives come together to collaborate.

Encouraging interdisciplinary interactions and valuing the unique insights each person brings to the table can spark creativity and drive innovation.

Academic departments are notoriously siloed in many institutions.

Innovative Faculty ignore the politics, actively seek diversity and secure success.

That’s how they foster innovative thinking.

2. Cultivating a Growth Mindset

A growth mindset is the belief that intelligence and abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work.

In academic environments, where the pursuit of knowledge is fundamental, there are countless examples of Faculty working hard and being dedicated to their teaching and research.

But, hard work in itself is not enough.

Faculty with a growth mindset are more likely to embrace challenges, persevere in the face of setbacks, and view failure as an opportunity for learning and improvement.

A culture that encourages a growth mindset can create an atmosphere where experimentation and exploration are celebrated, driving innovation forward.

This is a shared responsibility for Faculty and their leadership.

It will require norms, traditions and “the way we do things around here” to be challenged.

3. Encouraging Risk-Taking and Tolerance for Failure

Innovation is often born out of experimentation and risk-taking.

However, fear of failure can be a significant impediment to taking risks.

Academic departments that foster a culture of innovation must also cultivate a tolerance for failure.

This involves acknowledging that not every idea will succeed, but that the process of exploring new possibilities is invaluable.

Encouraging calculated risks, learning from failures, and adapting strategies can lead to breakthroughs that redefine the boundaries of academic knowledge.

4. Effective Communication Skills

Innovation at scale is not a solitary endeavour.

It requires effective communication and collaboration.

Underrated in academic settings, effective communication skills are essential for translating complex ideas into accessible language, fostering collaboration, and disseminating innovative findings. 

Academic departments should prioritise the development of communication skills, ensuring that Faculty can convey their ideas not only to their peers but also to a broader audience, including students, policymakers, and the public.

And the best way to do this?

Teach your research.

5. Be Agile

The academic landscape is constantly evolving, with new technologies, methodologies, and paradigms emerging regularly.

An underrated trait for fostering innovation is agility.

Departments that can quickly adapt to changes in the academic environment, whether technological, cultural, or pedagogical, are better positioned to seize emerging opportunities and stay at the forefront of their respective fields.

This adaptability requires a willingness to embrace change, a forward-looking mindset, and the ability to navigate uncertainty with confidence.

6. Promoting a Collaborative Environment

In successful departments it is the collaborative spirit that is a catalyst for groundbreaking innovation.

Creating a culture that values and promotes collaboration is an underrated but crucial trait in academic departments.

Collaborative environments foster the exchange of ideas, provide diverse perspectives, and allow for the pooling of resources and expertise.

Whether through interdisciplinary research teams, joint projects, or cross-departmental initiatives, academic institutions can harness the power of collaboration to drive innovation forward.

7. Time Management and Efficient Workflow

Innovation requires time and effort, but an often overlooked aspect is the importance of effective time management and workflow efficiency.

Academic departments benefit from adopting strategies that optimise the use of time, minimise bureaucratic hurdles, and streamline processes.

How can you use technology to improve your quality assurance processes?

How can you accelerate the development of research-inspired curricula?

How can you maximise the quality of discussions in meetings?

Being successful at innovation requires departments to focus on getting the boring obligations under control.

By creating an environment where Faculty can focus on their core work without being bogged down by administrative complexities, academic departments can enhance productivity and create the conditions for innovative breakthroughs.

8. Nurturing Supportive Leadership

Leadership within academic departments plays a crucial role in shaping the culture of innovation. 

The majority of Faculty prefer to be led rather than managed.

Supportive leadership that values and encourages the pursuit of innovative ideas is often underrated.

Leaders who provide mentorship, create opportunities for professional development, and champion a culture of openness and inclusivity can inspire Faculty to push boundaries and explore novel avenues.

And it’s not just the Faculty leadership that can lead.

By fostering a positive and empowering leadership environment, Faculty can share the load by coaching and mentoring academic colleagues to perform at their best.

Conclusion

Departments that continuously innovate exhibit the confidence to take risks.

Environments that foster innovation embrace diversity, cultivate growth-oriented thinking, communicate effectively, promote collaboration, demonstrate agility, focus on efficiencies and embed supportive leadership behaviours.

So, what risks are you going to enable today?

Contemporary faculty have considerable workloads, especially those employed in teaching intensive universities.

Institutional strategies often include Performance Indicators such as quality of student experience, volume of income generation and quality of research outputs. These performance indicators eventually become targets for individual faculty, creating tensions between conflicting priorities.

As Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) compete to increase the number of students recruited, while improving the quality and visibility of research, university managers strive to communicate the importance of a high quality student experience.

Faculty can respond in a number of ways. Some focus on teaching, to the detriment of research and scholarly activity.

Others focus their attention on research and pay less attention to the student experience.

Some faculty become scholarly in their subject, but neglect the professional practice of serving their students with effective and engaging teaching.

So, how can academic developers and managers sell research-informed practice to time-pressed faculty?

They can’t excel at everything, all of the time…

Taking a research-informed approach to teaching can actually be the most effective way of balancing competing demands.

Here are some compelling reasons why it is a good idea for faculty:

• Being active in discipline research keeps faculty at the leading edge of knowledge creation creation.

• Research as a process is an efficient way of teaching, particularly in fast-moving subject areas.

• When research is applied to practice, faculty are responsive to the different needs of their students and this improves attainment.

But these advantages can be difficult for faculty to imagine if they have a lot of teaching and administration activities.

Here are some steps to make your case more convincing:

• Set the context

• Focus on efficiencies

• Teach technologies

• Find (or become) a champion

Set the context

Often, faculty are not aware of the institutional strategy. Take some time to relate the strategy to the day job.

Explain the conflicting performance measures. Find out what the orientation of each faculty member is.

What do they spend the majority of their time and effort on?

Do they want to change the balance of their work?

Are they empowered to make the changes they desire?

Focus on efficiencies

Research-informed practice can be viewed as ‘yet another thing to do’. Some faculty might even tell you that they are not interested in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

Highlight examples of how teaching your research content can help save preparation time, while making the teaching more engaging for students.

Show how using the processes of research, applied to the student learning experience, can highlight new, more efficient methods of practice.

Engage faculty and students in conversations about assessments.

What works.

What is ‘authentic’ for a particular subject.

What positive differences to the learning experience can assessment make?

Teach technologies

Virtual Learning Environments, online conferencing and a range of constantly evolving software tools are available to support new ways of learning.

Faculty don’t have the time to evaluate the use of every tool.

Especially if they are teaching all of the time.

Take the initiative and discover best practice in technology enhanced learning, and implement pilot studies to establish examples of technological innovations that faculty can put straight to work.

Demonstrate the technology and support faculty as they implement the changes necessary to achieve time savings, while improving the student experience.

Model best practice

Use the processes of research to ensure that your own work is rigorous and repeatable.

Create systems that genuinely save time – this will make it easier to win faculty hearts and minds.

Find (or become) a champion

We are all different.

Some things come easy to us.

Some things are more challenging.

When you find good practice, celebrate the discovery and use it as an example.

Look for enthusiastic, early adopters. Celebrate their successes and support them to become the persuaders.

Or, role model the change yourself.

Lead the change

Persuading faculty to adopt research-informed methods can be difficult.

Develop a case that conveys how the processes of research, applied to the academic role, can save time and increase quality.

• Set the context

• Focus on efficiencies

• Teach technologies

• Find (or become) a champion

Be rigorous.

Create systems.

Role model best practice.

Lead the change.

Learning and managing academic and research staff in universities can be challenging.

“Herding cats” is a common description of the role.

But what if you need staff to change how they work?

What if there are financial pressures to increase performance?

What if the student experience or research quality has to improve?

Understanding how staff respond to management is important. Traditional managerial styles and controls tend not to work too well in academic environments.

For the best outcomes, think collaboration over hierarchy.

And that’s where servant leadership can succeed. It’s a transformative approach that can benefit both staff and students.

Here are three strategies for building a culture of servant leadership.

1. Lead By Serving

Academic leaders live the values they instil in others.

Actively seek opportunities to support staff. Demonstrate that service is valued. Collaborate in projects and be present in both formal and informal settings.

Be committed to ensuring the well-being of staff. Promote the use of mentoring to support junior staff, and the sharing of responsibility. This will foster a sense of community.

Managerial approaches can alienate staff and undermine change initiatives.

Reject the traditions and believe in your staff.

2. Cultivate Empathy And Understanding 

Empathy is a cornerstone of servant leadership.

Academic staff respond positively when their needs and concerns are listened to. Showing that you understand their perspective, and strive to respond with compassion, can help facilitate change in university environments.

To create the space to listen, facilitate mechanisms for regular feedback. Staff surveys are important, but not the whole solution. Arrange opportunities for both group and one-to-one sessions.

Build coaching capacity amongst staff. Encourage open dialogue so that leaders can understand all the nuances that different staff present.

And get stuck-in, working collaboratively to address issues.

Would a traditional manager do this?

3. Promote Lifelong Learning 

Academia is a dynamic environment and staff need to constantly adapt to change.

We might assume that universities are learning environments. But there are often examples of dysfunctional systems, outdated processes and arcane working practices (“how we do things around here…”). 

This suggests that organisational learning is slow.

Servant leadership promotes growth and learning.

Leaders who listen to staff needs understand what development is required. They support staff to learn – and that means making mistakes and experimenting.

Academic staff relish the opportunity to develop themselves. Harness this to facilitate effective, collaborative change and innovation.

Be inspired by lean start-up practices. Take action, learn from mistakes, improve and iterate.

As a community.

Service For Success

Fostering a culture of servant leadership in academic development requires you to:

1. Be intentional about serving others.

2. Cultivate empathy. Listen.

3. Promote a growth mindset.

By embracing these strategies, academic leaders can create an environment where collaboration, understanding, and continuous learning are prioritised.

This contributes to the holistic development of staff and students, creating a positive and thriving academic community.

Writing academic articles is time-consuming. Let’s see how we can guarantee that an article is rejected by a journal publisher.

As an academic it’s important to build a solid track record of high-quality journal publications. If we understand why articles are rejected by journal reviewers, we can write articles in a way that avoids some of the most common errors.

Unfortunately, many academics continue to make mistakes such as expecting a journal’s readership to be interested in their work, without understanding what the audience wants to read

Here are some other reasons why academics struggle to make actionable progress.

• The article does not comply with the formatting instructions
• The literature review section lacks critical evaluation
• The article contains spelling, grammatical and typographical errors

Don’t despair though. Follow these steps and you will dramatically enhance your chances of having your articles accepted for publication.

Here’s how, step by step:

Mistake 1: Your article doesn’t fit the journal

Journal publishers work hard to establish a brand that their readers trust. They present content that is relevant to their audience. If you submit an article that doesn’t fit, it won’t get accepted.

Journals usually have a section on their website that describes the range of topics that they accept.

Often though, this description is not detailed enough.

Take the time to read previous issues of the journal.

Get a feel for the topics that they publish.

Do these topics match your work?

If so, go to Step 2. 

If not, find another journal and repeat.

Mistake 2: Your article isn’t formatted correctly

At first sight this is pretty basic.

But lots of articles are rejected outright because they have not followed the formatting instructions.

References must be correct.

Page lengths must not be exceeded.

Figures must be legible.

What would you do if someone sent you an article to review that did not comply with your rules?

Yes, you would reject and spend your precious time on the articles that had followed the instructions.

Make use of typesetting tools such as LaTeX and referencing packages to present your work in the best light possible.

Mistake 3: Your arguments lack rigour

If you get to this stage, you have avoided a lot of the fundamental mistakes.

Next, check that your arguments are scholarly.

Have you have cited other research literature to support your arguments?

Is the cited work directly relevant?

Not some spurious work that attempts to make the article look academic.

Pay attention to how you write the text of your literature review section. Most of the sentences in this section should be justified and contain a citation. Make every word count towards your argument.

And at the end of every argument is a conclusion.

Don’t leave the reader ‘hanging’, wondering what you actually mean.

Mistake 4: Spelling and grammar errors

All the hard work has been done now.

You are already way ahead of those who haven’t followed the previous 3 steps.

But don’t get complacent.

Spelling and grammar mistakes are a sign to the journal editor that you don’t care enough to present good work. Does this mean that your science lacks care as well?

Separate proof-reading time from the actual writing.

Let the work sit on your desk, while you work on something else. When you return to your article, you will have a fresh perspective.

You might also seek help from a ‘writing buddy’. They help proof-read your work, and you return the favour to them when they write.

So:

• Do your homework
• Read the formatting instructions
• Craft scholarly arguments
• Get help with proof-reading

By following these steps you will avoid the four most common reasons for having your article submission rejected outright.