Doldrums of associate professorhood, how do I get out of the funk?

[AJ_Katz]

Hey all, I received P&T last year. Overall, I really enjoy what I do for a living, am excited about some of our new grants, and would consider myself a high performer. One of my long-term goals is to go into administration, so I've also sought out experiences on committees in my department and in the university-level. It has been a struggle to get placed onto committees of relevance, as in the first few years I was assigned duties typically assigned to a staff person. We had a change in our department head a few years ago. Our new department head is home grown and not very forward thinking in how he runs the department. In fact, he was initially unsupportive in allowing me to be chair of some of the important committees in our department, despite my significant contributions to work by those committees on initiatives. As a woman, I'm frustrated by this feeling of hitting a glass ceiling. Is it like this in all departments and universities? I'm feeling like I want to just throw in the towel and give up on the academic path completely. It's odd...  I feel great support from colleagues at other universities when I attend our national meetings... often getting asked if I've been tapped for leadership roles yet. So it befuddles me that I don't get some of the same support and encouragement at my own university. I've been daydreaming about handing in my resignation and am finding it hard to do any work lately. Are these the doldrums of associate professorhood that so many people have written about?  How do I get out of this feeling of apathy and disappointment?

[arcturus]

OP - I hear you.  Some of what you are experiencing is the typical emotional let-down after achieving a major milestone. But it is likely that much of it is due to your particular circumstances. Your department head may still be thinking: "protect junior faculty from too much service," without realizing that such a stance is not appropriate for all people. Indeed, not only may it stifle creative input, it can result in less recognition for the people who are doing the actual work. So, I recommend you keep asking for local assignments that help build your administrative skill-set, but you may need to look for opportunities beyond your department. There may be college-wide or university-wide committees that you can volunteer for, or be nominated for. While you need to be careful not to volunteer for the busy-work ones, these committees provide the opportunity to be noticed, which can lead to more leadership roles. At the same time, you can explore opportunities at the national level. Does your field have a national/international society? Can you run for office (most academic societies have a variety of leadership roles)? Have you mentioned your interest in administrative roles to your support network? People often get nominated for leadership roles based on recommendations from colleagues. In the meantime, do your best on the activities that you enjoy and keep the research and grants active. Promotion to full professor will be based on your research productivity, not your service activities.

[polly_mer]

If you want to be an administrator or leader, look for areas where you can contribute and people are looking for help.  As arcturus wrote those opportunities may have to be outside your current department for now. 

I disagree with arcturus on waiting for nominations or focusing solely on research while waiting.  It's true that you won't get promoted to full based on service.

However, it's also true that one way to build a national reputation among the people who matter is to take on positions of increasing responsibility within the professional societies.  I know solid researchers who were recruited to other universities at the associate/full level based on their network from their work on committees in their professional societies.  If people know you have experience and a willingness to step up, then it's much more likely you will be offered leadership opportunities.

[Vkw10]

Have you mentioned your interest in chairing committees to other tenured faculty in your department, even casually? Making more senior faculty aware of your interest may lead to them suggesting you to department chair. It's easy to re-appoint the same people, but when those reliable people suggest I give someone else a chance, I listen to them.

Look outside the department, too. Are there college or university committees or task forces that need representatives from your department? Building connections outside the department can help with long term goal of going into administration.

[AJ_Katz]

Thanks to all of you for these supportive responses and letting me vent. The good thing is that I have recently been appointed to chair an important committee in my department and have also recently been elected to a university-wide committee of importance. My frustration is with how much drama and struggle it has taken to get to this point. For example, a senior administrator suggested that I talk to the department head and let him know that I'd like to chair that committee.  I did just that and was immediately told no. Then a month later, I happened to have an outside work discussion with the head's former PhD advisor, who is also still an active faculty member in our department.  I talked with him about my interests and that I'd really like to get more formal recognition for my efforts to create a new academic program by being appointed chair of a committee; he was extremely supportive.  After that, the advisor talked to the department head and a week later, I was appointed chair of that committee. Similarly odd was when I was elected to the university-wide committee, I wrote to my department head to let him know about this great news (it's a good thing to have someone from our department on that committee) – he responded by scolding me about how I had written my email using "I" too many times and that I needed to say "we" more so that people don't see me as being too "curt".  So, unfortunately, I don't think an excuse of trying to shelter a junior faculty member fits this scenario.

However, it's also true that one way to build a national reputation among the people who matter is to take on positions of increasing responsibility within the professional societies.  I know solid researchers who were recruited to other universities at the associate/full level based on their network from their work on committees in their professional societies.  If people know you have experience and a willingness to step up, then it's much more likely you will be offered leadership opportunities.

That's very helpful to know. I've always tried to prioritize getting that committee experience at my institution over the society, but clearly that example shows that the outside networks may be equally important.

[Ruralguy]

Your Chair seems to generally fit the mold of being truely visionless.

It sounds like you have been successful in meeting your goals. This rarely comes without drama. The trick is not making the drama anything but a side show that everyone will soon forget.

[Vkw10]

When a high performer is encouraged to use "team talk", it's often because moderate and low performers are worried that they look bad in comparison or will be expected to do more themselves. If that's the case, you can either shrink down into the crowd or keep standing out above the crowd.

Take a moment to recognize that the negativity may stem from a bit of jealousy, then move forward. And, develop the habit of publicly recognizing others for their successes, because that makes it harder for others to be negative about your successes.

[polly_mer]

We lost two high performers this month due to a bad manager; those folks went where they were appreciated.

[AJ_Katz]

When a high performer is encouraged to use "team talk", it's often because moderate and low performers are worried that they look bad in comparison or will be expected to do more themselves. If that's the case, you can either shrink down into the crowd or keep standing out above the crowd.

Take a moment to recognize that the negativity may stem from a bit of jealousy, then move forward. And, develop the habit of publicly recognizing others for their successes, because that makes it harder for others to be negative about your successes.

That's really interesting. The idea of jealousy has crossed my mind, but I had never thought about the team talk in that way. While I am hesitant to adopt the "team talk" language when it is not truly a team's efforts, I really appreciate the suggestion to point out accomplishments of others. That seems like a great strategy that will give others the spotlight more.

[marshwiggle]

When a high performer is encouraged to use "team talk", it's often because moderate and low performers are worried that they look bad in comparison or will be expected to do more themselves. If that's the case, you can either shrink down into the crowd or keep standing out above the crowd.

That's the essence of how unions operate; they dislike things like merit bonusses or anything which acknowledges that some people are much more productive than others.

[Hibush]

It sounds like the tricky situation of having a supervisor whose direction needs to be accommodated, but whose advice is not necessarily what you should follow if you want to meet your own goals. You will have to find that balance.

Regarding committee assignments and potential glass ceiling, there are two things that come to mind.

One is that if you aspire to administration, you want a record of setting good goals and executing. If there is a specific committee that you want, come up with a plan to get there and execute on it. Waiting to be invited or nominated is the exact opposite! Tell the people who make the decisions that you want to serve, and what you would contribute. Get your colleagues tell the decision makers that you'd be good for that role.


The second is more gendered. It is common for women on a committee to be stuck doing a lot of hard, time-consuming work but getting relatively little credit for it. Make sure you don't fall into that pattern. It is not that people insist on this distribution, it just feels normal to too many people and ew do it unconciously. Get on committees that do things that are valued by the people you hope to impress. Make sure your name is associated with the positive product of the committee. You don't want to be known as the dutiful worker bee if your goal is increasing responsibility. Don't serve on too many committees either, just the ones that reinforce the image that you have power and influence.   

[Ruralguy]

Also, there tends to be an anti-ambition standard in academia, a least if its not ambition directed in getting a big grant or solving a big problem in the field, etc..  We've all often heard "don't choose the dean/chair/etc. candidate who seems to want it to much." I think that's bs. I'd rather have someone who wants to do the work rather than someone who is a very nice person, but delays in getting important things done because they hate that sort of work.  Although certainly you want chairs, deans, etc. who have an even temperament to go along with competence. But ambition and "wanting to do it" seem more like a "plus" to me so long as the person is not an incompetent, grasping, a-hole.

[PI]

This department head sounds visionless and also insecure. I can recognize this pattern since we had someone like this. These people are also usually biased in decision making. Our's had a habit of giving positions to people who are low or medium producers and keeping away anyone who had new ideas (and dared to share them publicly) away from leadership roles. Multiple very strong people ended up seeking and getting external offers as a result. OP, hang in there and keep doing what you are doing now.

[bento]

OP, it sounds like things are looking up since your first post.  But:

I think you may be going about things in too rational a manner.  Academia is more like the mafia than most of us wish.  Making your intentions known straightforwardly may not always be the best way to realize them.

Your current chair is not interested in ramping up your service commitments, for whatever reason.  So you had a conversation with that person's mentor, and voila: committee chair position you had been coveting.  So there's a lesson.  Then you got elected to a university-wide committee, and emailed the chair reporting that as a big win for all.  The response sounds like it was churlish.  There's another lesson.

Finally I have to say that the path into administration is not always through intensive service work.  Administrators seem to fall into their positions from a number of odd angles, among which personal connections are very prominent.  If you can find a glitzy initiative to associate yourself with (new program development, interdisciplinary grant, etc.), that is likely to serve you better than any number of hours on standing committees.

[lightning]

The funk is normal. Give yourself a little time to dial it down. It took me more than a year to get out of the associate professor doldrums. Trust me. You will feel invigorated when you make your comeback and the invigoration will be contagious. That takes me to my next point. The best leaders invigorate and elevate the performance of everyone around them, not because of some pedantic management process or other Leadership School nonsense, but partly because the leader is respected and the others around the leader simply feel a reason to elevate their efforts. This begins with you having energy and getting out of the doldrums and being excited about coming to work.