So you have either begun your academic career or are on your way as an academic, navigating your career journey and find that along the way, there are many questions about career advancement in higher education. Drawing from an experienced academic professional will inform how to best leverage your time, remain focused and continue to foster rewarding collaborations!
Welcome to Academia!
You and others engaged in academic networking have realized that this requires developing a special skill set and a strategic plan to be successful on this journey. Dr. Loren M. Hill can assist you with your questions now and in the future.
Academic networking proves beneficial as you wind your way along the academic career track. Recognizing the significant contributions each one of these individuals can make to your career, giving them the appropriate opportunities to guide you and/or an advocate for you so that you can optimize your time and efforts. After all, if you are engaged in research activities, community outreach, serve as a faculty committee member, committed to service initiatives, serving as a mentor to students-all in addition to being a professor, further complicated if you are on that tenure and promotion track, you already are balancing a lot! Managing one’s time appropriately and staying focused on the processes and outcomes becomes critical to realizing your goals as an academic.
So let’s discuss how the roles of mentor, coach, sponsor and champion differ in this context. More importantly, let’s assess what you currently see as a needed role to be added to your career support team.
Mentor
A mentor is an invaluable member of your career development and career advancement success. Identifying or being selected by a mentor at your institution provides timely input as you engage in your professorship and other related activities. The value of the mentor-mentee relationship can inform not only professional development opportunities, but also reveal funding and additional training opportunities that will broaden your academic networks. Setting aside regular meetings with your mentor to discuss and review your professional development plan, anticipate together opportunities that may be on the horizon to support your plan, seek specific guidance and/or to discuss any concerns that you may have. Through this relationship, one will be able to identify solutions to their own career advancement in higher education, the challenges encountered and hone those problem-solving skills through the open dialogue offered here, rather than within a supervisory role. Allow Dr. Loren M. Hill and her team to introduce you!
Coach
An academic coach delivers highly personalized one-on-one sessions focused on improving an academic’s skill set and performance metrics. This may involve preparing for a presentation, for a test, being an effective communicator, focusing on goal setting and/or to assure continuity as one moves along their individual development plan. Schedule a session today to explore the value of coaching to assure that there are goals set and practical approaches to realize them.
Sponsor
When opportunity knocks, the sponsor can make sure you are at the right place and the right time. This individual will put you forth for opportunities that are in alignment with your specific professional goals and/or that will contribute to supporting your individual professional development. This relationship can be a real game changer in your academic advancement. The Sponsor-sponsored relationship will further insert you into disciplinary networks, maybe even multi-disciplinary networks, depending on the sponsor.
Sign up today for a free consult to learn more.
Champion
An academic champion is another valuable member of your team. Most academic champions are involved in a formal selection process that further introduces academics to additional institutional, departmental or research immersion experiences. This champion is a guide that may serve as a liaison between all the other roles discussed above, lending assistance as a mentoring team member, primary contact for a specific program or initiative or as an adviser with whom you can seek additional counsel.