Big Careers Without the Tears:
How to Take Charge of Your Work Life and Start Thriving in Academia
The registration for the inaugural run of this course starting 26th of February 2024 is closed. You can sign up for the waitlist and get notified next time I run the course. 👇
What is the course all about?
Do you know the feeling that your work is in charge of you rather than the other way around? Feeling spread too thin, spending time putting out fires and helping others? Life has become so rushed that there is no time to breathe – let alone time to do the things that move the needle towards your ambition of making a change in the world that extends beyond academia. Academia lacks role models, support, and resources to help women be in charge of their careers and make important contributions to research, students, and society. I want to change that – and this online course is the first step on our woman-centered journey toward a more empowered academic work/life.
Who is it for?
This course is ideal for post-tenure female academics at the crossroads of their mid-career. In particular, those who no longer want to feel like they are spreading themselves thin on unrecognized tasks and instead wish to begin focusing on defining and advancing their research, so they can achieve the joy, impact, and recognition they deserve. "Mid-career" means that you are post-tenure in a permanent position, such as lecturer, senior lecturer, associate professor, full professor, or similar.
Course Description
This four-week course provides you with practical shortcut instructions, coaching questions, and exercises on how to take control of your work/life and career in academia. You’ll learn to define your unique research profile and “zone of genius,” so that you can work with what you do best in the way that works best for you. You’ll learn to envision your ideal career and dream research project and get tips on how to plan and raise the money to make it a reality. You’ll learn to take charge of your time so that you work smarter – not harder. And finally, a lot of beautiful dreams, visions, and plans have been killed by the inner critic and lack of confidence. Therefore, importantly, you will also learn to quiet the inner critic enough to be able to pursue your academic aspirations with more confidence.
Big careers without the tears: 4 shortcut modules
Course features
The course runs for four weeks and includes four modules. You will gain access to one module per week via email and in the FB group. Weekly coaching calls are on Wednesdays at 15:00 CET. All modules and coaching calls are recorded, and you get access to the recordings for the duration of the course and two weeks extra.
How It Works:
Every Monday morning, you will receive a recorded session about the module of the week and three different assignments related to the module. It will take a maximum of 1 hour to watch the module and complete the assignments.
Every Wednesday afternoon, we meet for a 90-minute 'community, conversation, and coaching' session.
Every Thursday, you answer a feedback form which I use to tailor the next week’s module to your needs and wants.
“Community, Conversation, and Coaching” Sessions
We meet weekly to share our real-life experiences and help each other brainstorm practical solutions to the struggles we face in relation to the theme of the week. My role is to facilitate the conversation, ask coaching questions, and provide a safe space for community building.
Exclusive Facebook Group For Online Course Participants
All recordings of module teachings and “Community, Conversation, and Coaching” sessions will be available in an exclusive Facebook group for course participants. This group offers the opportunity to ask questions, get them answered, and share experiences. The FB group is a big part of the community element. It will be live and active for the duration of the course and then closed again two weeks after the course ends.
Why is this four weeks course FREE?
I've wanted to create an online course for some time, and now, I'm finally doing it. My vision is to see lots of cool, wise women participating because I believe the world need more female academics in leading positions within academia - and it needs more research created by thriving female scholars. To help support more mid-career women in academia, I want this course to be shaped by your input and feedback to make it the BEST online resource for post-tenure academics globally. While I'm not charging money now, I do expect your engagement through weekly feedback and a testimonial at the course's end. This is a unique opportunity as it will be the first and last time I offer it for free; next time, the price will be set at approximately 247 euros.
Who Am I?
I'm an associate professor in organization and management studies and an academic coach who has guided many women in academia to clarify their academic profiles, replacing self-doubt and setbacks with excitement, purpose, and productivity. My coaching approach is enriched by the principles of Women-Centered Coaching developed by Dr. Claire Zammit.
What Am I All About?
I focus less on traditional masculine approaches such as goal setting and pushing through, and more on nurturing female values like community, connection, process, and creativity. I believe that to enact change in our lives, we must work with intention, shift our mindsets, and enhance our practices. From my own experience – having navigated through near-burnout twice as a post-tenure academic – I am passionate about helping others craft the academic careers they've dreamed of. I've successfully secured over 1 million euros in research funding, served as head of a section, been involved in professorial recruitment, published consistently, and still found joy and time with my family, friends, and hobbies outside academia, such as yoga, nature walks, arts and crafts, writing poetry, and yes, indulging in the guilty pleasure of Netflix!
Q&A
Q1: Who is this course for? This course is specifically designed for mid-career, female academics looking to take charge of their work and career, sharpen their research profile, and step confidently towards their career goals. I have a loose definition of mid-career, which includes post-tenure academics but also academics that may not have reached tenure yet, but work as a PI with responsibility for bigger projects/teams or work in a managerial role with responsibility for other people. It is not for early career scholars, who typically work on their own projects. (I am developing something for early career researchers a little later in the year).
Q3: How does it work? Each Monday starting on the 26th of February you will receive via email a recorded video with my instructions for the week. It takes 15-30 minutes to watch and you can watch it in your own time. Each Wednesday starting on the 28th of February you are invited to join a live session of “Community, coaching and conversation”. It starts at 3 pm CET/2 pm UK time and takes 90 minutes on Zoom. Even the live session with be recorded so if you can't make it live, you can watch the recording at your convenience. On Thursdays, I ask you to fill in a short survey for feedback. You will be invited to a Facebook group, where you can find all recordings and engage with the other amazing female academics in between the sessions.
Q4: Do I need to participate live? What if I am not available for a session? You don't have to participate in all the live sessions. Everything is recorded, so if you miss a session you can always catch up at a later time. I do hope you will follow along and participate as much as you can to get the most out of the course, but it is designed to be self-paced and flexible to participate in.
Q5: What is the focus of the course? You'll learn to define your unique research identity, create a vision/plan for your work, manage your time effectively, tackle the inner critic, and much more. Each week focuses on practical strategies to take charge of your academic journey and coaching conversations in the group to help you thrive in academia.
Q6: How do you facilitate a trusting environment with so many people? Full disclaimer, this is not an intimate group setting or a 1:1 coaching, but an online course designed to make a change for as many mid-career, female academics as possible. You are not expected to be vulnerable if you don't want to. I will design the live sessions in a way where we engage with coaching questions through journaling and those who want to are welcome to share. This has worked really well before. I will also to some degree organize break-out sessions so it is possible to talk in smaller groups. And keep in mind, those who are participating are cool and wise mid-career, female academics - just like you! I of course encourage confidentiality for all participants.
Q7: I don't have time, what do I do? I know you have a busy schedule! The course is designed to be impactful yet manageable, requiring about 1-2 hours of your time each week. Think of the course as a first step in protecting some time for YOUR priorities for a change.
Q8: How do I sign up? Sign up below to register, if you have not already. Registration ends Saturday at 8 pm CET!
Q9: Can I share this with colleagues? Yes, please do! The more, the merrier.
When you sign up to the waiting list you also agree to receive my newsletter. Once a month I share news from my work as writing and career coach for academic women. I welcome you to a community of free stuff, interviews with experts, workshops, and more. I will send you a couple of emails at the beginning of our new friendship, but I promise that I will not spam you forever and you can unsubscribe anytime.👍