Episodes
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Celebrating 10 Years & Season Reflections on Meaning, Identity, Care, and Leadership
This is a special episode because itâs not only marks the end of the current season, it also celebrates 10 years of the Changing Academic Life podcast, The first podcast episode went out on 3 July 2016 and it has now reached 156 episodes by late June 2026. In this episode I start off reflecting on the podcast as a service contribution towards trying to create a better academia and the reminder that small actions can have big impacts. A big thank you to my guests and listeners, and for your feedback as exemplified in a supportive email I just received from Eleanor, among others. And I ask listeners to share the podcast and consider informal discussion groups. I then go on to reflect across the 11 season episodes, highlighting themes of meaning and joyful effort, evolving identity, navigating academic âgames,â bureaucracy and corporatization, better leadership grounded in trust, deep listening, and care and wellbeing. My last invitation is for you to make one small intentional change towards your better academic life and creating better cultures.
00:00 Welcome to the Podcast
00:32 Ten Year Milestone
02:21 Why Keep Going
03:58 Listener Messages Matter
05:59 Share the Podcast
06:38 Season Episodes Recap
12:30 Meaning and Joy
14:37 Identity and Agency
17:01 Bureaucracy and Leadership
19:47 Listening and Care
24:48 Intentional Next Steps
26:36 Closing Thanks
Previous CAL100 episode from Feb 2024: Celebrating 100!
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Deep listening is a foundational yet undervalued skill across all our supervision, leadership, and collaboration relationships. My motivation for this episode came from some recent workshops experiences, conversations with colleagues, and posts from others that have all highlighted the importance of listening in different ways. This is a multi-voice episode, weaving together insights from past conversations with Christian van Nieuwerburgh, Oscar Trimboli, and Michael Bungay Stanier. Together we explore how we can cultivate better listening.
Good listening starts with how we show upâour wellbeing, intention, and undivided attentionâand practical preparation such as reducing notifications, hydrating, and breathing. Good listening then is a way of being, staying curious longer with open âwhatâ questions, checking what support is wanted, and resisting âadvice monstersâ that push premature solutions. We also discuss the relational, developmental and productivity costs of poor listening, and I close with Oscarâs five levels of listening and Michaelâs exhortation to stay curious a little longer. The invitation to you is to consider how you might practice deeper curiosity and presence for better listening where you are.
00:29 Why the Focus on Listening
05:36 Listening Starts with Listening to Ourselves
13:27 When the Content isn't the Real Content - Curiosity and Questions
18:05 Christian on Optimal Matching
20:58 Michael on our Advice Monsters
26:39 Michael on the Problem with Rushing to Advice
29:59 How We Ask a Question Matters
33:44 Relationship Costs of Poor Listening
42:52 Oscar's Five Levels of Listening
44:23 Wrapping Up
The Full Podcast Episodes:
Michael Bungay Stanier on the power of curiosity and taming your advice monster
RW8 Asking good questions, empowering good people
Oscar Trimboli (Part 1) on being better listeners (CAL61)
Oscar Trimboli (Part 2) on how to listen deeply (CAL62)
Christian van Nieuwerburgh on Bringing Back the Joy (CAL142, S8E7)
Related Links:
Uni of Glasgow Outstanding Catalyst Mentors â Padlet with testimonials (Kay Guccione)
Narelle Lemon, Deep Listening: Are You Being Helped, Hugged or Heard? Jun 9 2026
The Thriving PI Summit â free online event June 29-Jul 2 2026 â organized by Ana Pineda. Free registration.
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Missing episodes?
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Mike Levin is a Professor of Biology at Tufts University in the US and leads the Levin Lab and pursues research across cancer, birth defects, regenerative medicine, AI, synthetic morphology, and philosophy, unified by a central aim: understanding how minds become embodied and scale across biological and synthetic systems. Mike explains his early inspirations and his practice of looking for what is ânot in the textbook,â challenging dominant paradigms and treating scientific frameworks as metaphors that both reveal and hide phenomena. He describes navigating academia by separating creative exploration from pragmatic communication, strategically and slowly rolling out disruptive ideas as data accumulate, and connecting new ideas to what others value. He discusses building and managing an interdisciplinary lab, sustaining high publication output through intensive work, persisting through rejection, and advising students to envision long-term outcomes and not give up. This conversation will inspire you to also ask new questions.
00:29 Episode Introduction
04:24 Introducing Mike, the Levin Lab and the Embodied Minds Research Agenda
06:30 Early Curiosity Origins - TVs and Bugs
09:45 Fresh Eyes Method
11:48 Hidden Capacties of Algorithms
13:21 Beyond Disciplines
15:07 Navigating Academia Your Way
17:08 Curating Radical Ideas
20:21 Two Minds Strategy and Being Realistic
24:45 Understanding Communities, Building Your Own Community
26:09 Slow Curated Rollout Dial
29:32 Imposter Syndrome Reality
29:58 Data Over Opinions
32:11 Interdisciplinary Metaphors
34:44 Rethinking Scientific Categories
36:23 Hiring For Discomfort, Building a MultiDisciplinary Team
39:14 From Crazy To Obvious
41:07 Seeding Lab Communication
43:51 Partnering With Model Systems
45:06 Sharing Science
45:51 Productivity And Sacrifice
47:22 Stress And Best Job
49:19 Speaking to Young Researchers
50:55 Never Give Up
Related links:
The Levin Lab website and Starter pack: Introductory materials to the lab's academic work
Tufts Allen Discovery Center
Mike's personal Blog: Forms of life, forms of mind and Google Scholar page
Podcast Exploring the origin and nature of minds in the physical universe and YouTube channel
TED conversation about "The electrical blueprints that orchestrate life"
Advice he gives to his students
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Dr Raffael Himmelsbach and I discuss his unorthodox path from a political science PhD at the University of Lausanne into science policy and research-adjacent leadership roles across multiple countries, including work with the Center for Digital Life Norway and co-directing a Vienna Ludwig Boltzmann Research Group on wound healing. He describes moving away from a publication-driven track toward designing programs, coordinating networks, and working with people, and reflects on the discomfort and courage required in ambiguous roles where goals and success criteria can be unclear. Drawing on large-scale, multi-institution collaborations, he discusses stakeholder management, the risks of equating success with spending and visible activity, and the importance of creating safety and âattractivenessâ for collaboration. He shares practical tools such as participatory lab manuals, structured check-ins, and âparking lotâ rituals, and reflects on leadership beyond positional authority, the tension between expert and leader identities, and the value of coaching and self-leadership as he now transitions to leadership coaching and organisation development consulting.
00:29 Introducing Raffael
03:38 From Political Science to Science Policy and Responsibility
10:03 Finding his Happy Place in a Research Adjacent Role
17:53 Becoming more Professional, Accepting Being Uncomfortable
22:03 Coordinating Multidisciplinary Multisite Projects
28:14 Key Learning About Courage
32:10 Knowing your Stakeholders, Defining Success Beyond Activity
35:18 Bootstrapping Collaboration Through Safety and Attractiveness
41:23 Lab Manual As Social Contract
44:14 Participation and Shared Responsibility
46:28 Leadership Without Command Control
50:50 Rituals That Make People Seen
53:39 Leader Identity vs Expert Identity
59:01 Drawing on Experience to Help Others
01:01:27 Third Space Roles and Future Academia
Related Links:
Raffael Himmesbach Consulting and LinkedIn profile
Raffael's report on The Centre for Digital Life Norway at Nine Years: Insights from the Legacy Workshop
Ludwig Boltzmann Research Group Senescence and Healing of Wounds
Raffael Himmelsbach, We need to talk about leadership transitions in science, LinkedIn blog post Jan 2026.
Richard Van Noorden, Some hard numbers on scienceâs leadership problems, Nature 557, 294-296 (2018) doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-05143-8
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Connecting to Christian van Nieuwerburghâs idea of âjoyful effortâ and discussions at the University of Graz Research Culture Campus Fest about supportive, inclusive research cultures and prioritizing meaningful work over productivity, this episode revisits an episode from January 2025 on research identity, meaningful work, and funding. I explore the tensions between our autonomy to pursue intrinsically motivating, value-driven research and systemic constraints such as funding calls, promotion criteria, shifting national priorities, and restrictive deliverables that can conflict with participatory principles. Using examples from Katta Spiel on focusing on what you want to do not what is strategic, Mark Reedâs impact principle about purpose, and Stuart Reeves on low-cost research styles, I talk about our choices to play or not play the funding âgame,â including reframing proposals, and the risks of taking on less-meaningful projects. I close with reflective questions (summarized in nine steps by Rachel Ratz-Lubashevsky) to identify what âlights you upâ and guide decisions.
00:34 Motivating the Relevance of Revisiting this Episode
04:56 Rachel's Summary of the 9 Simple Steps to What Lights You Up
08:28 Introduction and Reflection on Academic Freedom
09:56 Replay from Katta Spiel Part 1
10:40 Mark Reed's principle for engagement and impact
13:23 The Tension Between Personal Values, Identity and Systemic Expectations
15:07 The Reality of Funding Proposals and Strategic Game
16:40 The Impact of Funding Conditions on Research
18:27 The Dilemma of Playing the Funding Game
21:07 Choices for How to Play the Game
27:52 Choosing Not to Play the Game
29:42 Reframing Research Identity and Conclusion
Related Links:
Uni Graz Research Culture Campus Fest report and LinkedIn post about it
Rachel Ratz-Lubashevskyâs LinkedIn post summarising the 9 steps
CAL Podcast episodes I mention:
Christian van Nieuwerburgh, Johanna Stadlbauer, Katta Spiel part 1, Mark Reed and Stuart Reeves part 1
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Christian van Nieuwerburgh is Professor of Coaching and Positive Psychology at the Centre for Positive Health Sciences at the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland University of Medicine and Health Sciences, and a practitioner providing coach training and consultancy for the education sector, among other roles. His âcoach on a motorcycleâ identity is about aligning all parts of his work and life as a âpracademicâ.
Universities, he argues, should be joyful, safe, inclusive places where students and staff flourish despite constraints like performance metrics and burnout. He talks about wellbeing as foundational for us to be able to do good work, about how a coaching approach is ideal for setting up learning environments that build autonomy, self-efficacy, and connection, and about the importance of intention. Intention, he says, is central to how we show up because âintention directs attention,â helping others feel seen, valued, and heard. Throughout, he provides lots of practical suggestions for how to check in with our own intentions and choices. We discuss supervision and learning conversations, shifting stances from directive to facilitative and dialogical, optimal matching of support, asking what help is needed, cultivating presence, and using small reflective choices (purpose, calendar/energy audits, recharging activities) to bring joy back to academic work.
00:29 Episode Introduction
03:33 Christian's Student Dream to Academic Reality
05:51 Embracing the Pracademic Coach on a Motorcycle
07:25 Bringing Joy Back to Universities
12:40 Joyful Effort Meaning and Energy
19:29 Wellbeing Beyond the Business Case
23:58 Intention Directs Attention
29:54 Coaching Supervision and a Caring Professor
34:16 Undivided Attention Matters
36:00 Supervisor as Coach
38:34 Beyond the Expert Hat
41:04 Dialogical Career Conversations
48:32 Matching Support to Needs
50:54 From Surviving to Adding Value
53:36 Practicing Presence Daily
57:23 Joyful Effort Closing
58:17 Outro
Related Links:
About Christian:
The âCoach on a Motorcycleâ. You can also find him via his RCSI web page, Google Scholar page, and on LinkedIn and Instagram.
People Christian mentions:
Prof. Cathia Jenainati, Uni of Gloucestershire
Prof. George Khairallah, American University of Beirut
Dr Paige Williams, Uni of Melbourne
Christian's books and articles:
See https://coachonamotorcycle.com/books/ for all his books
van Nieuwerburgh, Christian and Biswas-Diener, Robert, Radical Listening: The Art of True Connection, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2025.
van Nieuwerburgh, Christian, Radical listening: two big ideas and six core skills that could help you connect more deeply with others, The Conversation, June 2025
https://theconversation.com/radical-listening-two-big-ideas-and-six-core-skills-that-could-help-you-connect-more-deeply-with-others-256289
van Nieuwerburgh, Christian and Williams, Paige (Eds), From Surviving to Thriving: A studentâs guide to feeling and doing well at university, Sage Publications, 2022.
van Nieuwerburgh, Christian, An Introduction to Coaching Skills: A Practical Guide, Sage Publications, 2013 (2025 4th Ed).
Lynden J, Gallaghan G, van Nieuwerburgh CJ (2024), "Bringing joy back into higher education: the potential contribution of coaching". International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, Vol. 13 No. 3 pp. 378â393. (PDF available here)
Other articles:
Buckingham, Markus and Goodall, Ashley, Work-Life Balance is a Myth. Do This Instead. Time Magazine, June 6 2019.
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Designing Your Intentional Sabbatical: Purpose, boundaries and career sustainability.
This is Part 2 of my conversation with Bethany Wilinski, an associate professor of teacher education at Michigan State University. Building from Part 1, where Bethany described her own sabbatical experience, here the the focus is on how to more intentionally design your sabbatical (also relevant for any leave) by starting with purpose, priorities, and desired feelings rather than a to-do list. Bethany outlines practical boundary management strategies to protect your time amid ongoing responsibilities while on sabbatical. These include clarifying expectations in advance, shifting cognitive load to students, and batching meetings into limited windows. She makes a great case for how we can use sabbaticals as a chance to test systems and carry changes forward: balancing structure versus unscheduled time, normalizing rest and reading as productive, and using sabbatical (and other types of leave) to reset habits around health, work rhythms, and scarcity-driven opportunity-taking. Bethany also also reflects more generally on academiaâs lack of positive reinforcement, her sabbatical-planning coaching business, and the need for sustainable career choices and incremental culture change.
0:29 Introduction
03:55 Starting With Purpose and Priorities Before Tasks
07:34 Mapping Obligations And Boundaries, Setting Boundaries
12:31 Reducing Cognitive Load, Taking Control of Scheduling
14:51 Structure Rest And Reading
18:25 Mid Career Reset And Scarcity
22:01 Career Choices In Uncertain Times
24:12 Lessons From Parental Leave
26:22 The To Do List Never Ends
29:35 Validation And Sustainable Culture
35:58 Starting A Coaching Business
39:21 Changing Academia From Within
41:18 Outro
Related Links:
Bethanyâs Michigan State Uni webpage
Bethany Wilinski Sabbatical Coaching
Bethany on LinkedIn
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Bethany Wilinski is an associate professor of teacher education at Michigan State University and a sabbatical coach. In Part 1 of our conversation, she describes her own sabbatical experience. She talks about how earning tenure in 2022 after the pandemic, young children, and family losses left her burned out and questioning her workâs impact. Initially she planned an âexpectedâ research sabbatical in Tanzania and applied for a competitive yearlong Fulbright, but soon felt unease about starting a major new project and disrupting family life. After seeing a colleagueâs Florence sabbatical report, she reframed sabbatical as restoration and family reconnection, chose Bordeaux France for one semester, and returned reenergized and eager to reengage without resuming frenetic pace. She discusses shifting identity beyond career, setting boundaries, pausing before saying yes, focusing on finishing work, and unlearning academiaâs hidden curriculum of constant striving.
00:29 Introduction
04:09 Burnout After Tenure and Initial Sabbatical Plans
09:14 Navigating Doubts After Submitting and Expectations
14:03 Post Tenure Pressure
18:18 Slowing Down For Family
24:19 A Different Sabbatical Vision
30:14 Restoration Mindset Shift and Choosing Bordeaux France
33:16 Returning Reenergized
35:59 Identity Beyond Academia
37:52 Boundaries and Saying No
41:26 Essentialism and Finishing
43:19 Hidden Curriculum Unlearning
48:37 Support Systems and Guardrails
52:09 Designing Your Sabbatical
52:33 Outro
Related Links:
Bethanyâs Michigan State Uni webpage
Bethany Wilinski Sabbatical Coaching
Bethany on LinkedIn
[Book] Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, Crown Currency 2014.
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What if a corporatisation approach could actually make academic life better? Looking across the episodes so far this year I see three themes: shifting from âIâ to âweâ by treating research as a team sport; developing a new kind of leadership focused on enabling others through self-awareness, humility, authenticity, kindness, and clear roles; and adopting new ways of working that reduce bureaucratic hierarchies. These point to new ways of working. Drawing on Masud Husainâs 2025 editorial on corporatization and âbullshit jobsâ, and Jayne Priceâs discussion of holacracy and Corporate Rebels, I remind us, as if we need reminding, of how our current arbitrary and onerous bureaucratic processes take us away from our core work. I then explore what we could learn from holocratic approaches that move from bureaucracy and control to trust and self organised teams, as captured in Corporate Rebelsâ eight trends (purpose over metrics, networks of teams, supportive leadership, adaptation, freedom with accountable trust, distributed decisions, transparency, and talents/mastery). I invite us to experiment with being academic rebels exploring new ways of working with new forms of leadership. There might actually be forms of corporatisation that could be useful for our sector.
00:29 Reflecting on Conversations so Far in 2026
02:08 Theme 1: Mindset shift from I to We
02:55 Theme 2: Critical Role of Leadership
05:09 Theme 3: Needing New Ways of Working
07:19 The Rise of Corporatisation and 'Bullshit Jobs' in the Academic Sector
10:17 Learning from New Approaches in the Corporate Sector?
13:31 Exploring the Arbitrariness and Impact of Bureaucracy and Heirarchies
14:13 Example: Different Approaches to Bureaucracy around Teaching
16:39 Example: Different Approaches to Booking Holidays
17:48 Example: Booking Work Related Travel
20:05 Example: Bureaucracy and Control of Funding Bodies
22:39 Example: Bureaucracy, Micromanagement in Professional Organizations
25:15 Better Ways from Holocracy and Coporate Rebels?
29:33 Requires New Forms of Leadership
34:09 Eight Trends in This New Coporate Way
39:16 What Can You Imagine for Your Situation?
Related Links:
Sarah McLusky on diverse careers, purposeful events and effective communication (CAL135, S8E1)
Jayne Price on making work work better (CAL137, S8E2)
Jen Heemstra on Accidental Leadership (CAL 138, S8E3)
Strengths as Superpowers - Replay (CAL123, S6 E17)
Masud Husain, On the responsibilities of intellectuals and the rise of bullshit jobs in universities, Brain, Volume 148, Issue 3, March 2025, Pages 687â688.
Brian Robertson, Holocracy
Corporate Rebels
Diederick Janse & Marco Bogers, Getting Started With Holacracy: Upgrading Your Team's Productivity, 2020, AbeBooks
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Prof. Jen Heemstra from Washington University in St. Louis in the US shares her journey from a research-focused bimolecular engineer to accidental leader and now author of the insightful book 'Lab Work to Leadership.' Jen speaks about the challenges faced by academics moving into leadership, recognisning that we are often untrained and unprepared for these roles. She shares insights from her book focusing on self-leadership, leading others, and coaching future leaders. Jen talks about the importance of building trust, creating a positive lab culture, giving and seeking feedback, and the significance of modeling behavior for emerging leaders. Jen also reflects on her personal experiences, including her struggles to get tenure and maintaining a work-life balance.
00:29 Introduction and Welcome
03:09 The Birth of 'Lab Work to Leadership'
05:43 Navigating Academic Challenges
08:29 The Worst Day: Tenure Rejection
12:14 People Showing Up and Getting Tenure
15:49 Embracing Leadership in Academia That We Are Not Trained For
21:26 Building a Collaborative Lab Culture
30:35 The Importance of Self-Leadership and Self-Awareness
33:27 The Role of Coaches and Mentors
35:02 The Importance of Feedback
37:01 Challenges in Giving and Receiving Feedback
38:46 Understanding Individual Needs in a Lab Environment
43:59 Building Trust and Psychological Safety
49:37 Coaching Future Leaders
56:50 Balancing Professional and Personal Life
58:11 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
58:56 Outro
Related Links:
About Jen:
Heemstra Lab at Washington Univ in St. Louis
Jenâs webpage and LinkedIn Profile
Book:
Jen Heemstra, Labwork to leadership: a concise guide to thriving in the science job you werenât trained for, 2025, Harvard University Press
People:
Troy Champ
Resources:
Edwin Catmull and Amy Wallace, Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration, 2014, Penguin.
Liz Wiseman and Greg McKeown, Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, 2010, Harper Collins.
Birkman Personality Inventory
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Jayne Price is all about making work work better. She is the Transformation Director and Head of Continuous Improvement at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). Jayne discusses her journey to her current role in UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and the strategies she employs to foster human-centered, purpose-led change in the organization. She emphasizes the importance of leadership that is grounded in trust, accountability, and psychological safety, and the role of experimental and agile approaches in driving systemic transformation. Jayne also shares practical examples, including the implementation of Holacracy and continuous improvement initiatives. The conversation highlights the challenges and successes in transforming our traditionally bureaucratic research culture into a more effective and innovative environment. Jayne offers valuable insights for leaders at all levels and showcases the value of empowering teams to do their best work.
00:29 Introduction to the Episode
03:41 Introducing Jayne and her Career Journey
06:52 Understanding Project versus Program Management
07:59 From Change to Transformation
12:14 Implementing Experiments and Measuring Change
14:10 Challenges in the Academic and Research Sector
19:54 Innovative Approaches to Leadership and Management
27:21 Designing Alternative Promotion Routes
29:21 Challenges to Identity and Developing Leaders
35:50 Moving from 'I' to 'We' as a Leader
37:53 The Mindset to Move to 'We'
40:13 Humility, Vulnerability and Authenticity in Leadership
43:26 Shadow Sides, Blind Spots and Experimenting with Different Approaches
47:31 Starting to See the Benefits
50:53 Creating Workplaces For People to Flourish
53:04 The Holacracy Experiment - Creating Clarity
55:42 Doing Meetings Differently
59:22 Empowerment and Autonomy with Accountability
01:01:47 Corporate Rebels and Other Inspirational Resources
01:06:31 The Critical Importance of Leadership Buy-In
01:08:01 Everyone Can Choose Leadership Behaviours at Any Level
01:09:51 Encouragement for Change Agents
01:11:39 Outro
About Jayne:
Jayne Price https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayne-price71/
UKRI https://www.ukri.org
STFC https://www.ukri.org/councils/stfc/
Related links:
Cynefin framework for making sense of complexity
Corporate Rebels
Diederick Janse and Marc-Peter Pijper from Corporate Rebels supported the Holocracy Trials
GlassFrog: âthe cutting-edge self-management platform that empowers teams with clarity and autonomyâ
Tuff Leadership Training
Books:
Aaron Dignan, Brave New Work, Portfolio, 2019
Daniel Pink, Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us, Riverhead Books, 2011
Joost Minnaar and Pim de Morree, Corporate Rebels: Make Work More Fun, 2020
Jon Alexander, Citizens: Why the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us, Simon and Schuster, 2023
Diederick Janse & Marco Bogers, Getting Started With Holacracy: Upgrading Your Team's Productivity, 2020, AbeBooks
Robin Sharma, The Leader Who Had No Title, Free Press, 2010.
Harvard Business Review
Related CAL Podcasts:
Fostering psychological safety in research environments 30 Oct 24
Elizabeth Churchill on creating culture, leading teams, loving challenges - she talks about Cynefin Framework ~6:30 mins
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Dr. Sarah McLusky, is an advocate and role model for research-adjacent careers. As an advocate Sarah hosts the 'Research Adjacent' podcast, which showcases career opportunities beyond traditional academic and industry roles. She talks about why started the podcast and also talks about her four main categories of research adjacent roles, emphasising the importance of recognising the many contributors to successful research. As a role model, Sarah shares her own experiences moving into a research adjacent role post-PhD, now working as a freelancer who supports research organisations through events and communications. Some of her key insights are around how to prepare participants for meaningful engagement at events and the value of effective research communication. She encourages us to rethink career possibilities and the significance of culture in research environments.
00:29 Intro to the Episode
02:49 Introducing Sarah McLusky
04:33 The Concept of Research Adjacent
08:00 Research As a Team Sport
12:02 Career Paths Beyond Academia
20:10 Four Main Categories of Research Adjacent Roles
24:22 Sarah McLusky's Journey to a Research Adjacent Role
29:36 Balancing Passion and Pragmatism
33:17 Navigating Freelance Work
34:51 The Importance of Gathering with Purpose
45:54 Supporting the Communication of Great Research
48:49 Final Thoughts and Resources
51:25 Outro
Related Links:
About Sarah and her work
Website https://sarahmclusky.com/
Newsletter https://sarahmclusky.com/gathering-with-purpose
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmclusky/
Research Adjacent Podcast
https://researchadjacent.com/podcast/
https://pod.link/1663857550
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For this last episode of the year I revisit the Long Play (LP) template, inspired by vinyl records, as a way to intentionally reflect on and celebrate this past year and to be more intentional about how we move into our new year. The Ps of the template are personal, people, play, and projects and we use the Ls to reflect across there: what did you land, love, labor on, and learn this past year review, and what do you want to look forward to, let go, let grow, and let be for the next year. You can download a template to create your own personalised reflections and plans, individually or within groups, to help you shape your good academic life.
Overview:
00:29 Setting up the LP
03:34 LP Replay
05:05 Introducing the LP Table Template
08:59 Taking Time to Savour and Celebrate
12:06 Looking forward to the 2026 LP
16:12 Wrapping Up and Summary
19:09 Final Pointers
19:49 Outro
You can download your LP template here. Feel free to tailor it to what works best for you! And I'd love to hear back how you used it and evolved it.
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In this very personal solo episode, I share my journey through infertility and the impact it had on my academic and personal life. Inspired by Susan Dray's story, I decided to share our challenges of trying to start a family while managing a career in academia. I discusses the physical and emotional toll of infertility treatments, the loneliness of not sharing my struggles with colleagues, and the moral dilemmas we faced. Mine is just one story, and we can be sure that many of the people we work with are dealing with their own challenges or carrying their own sadnesses so this is a call for more empathy, kindness, and support in academic environments, emphasizing the importance of recognizing the human side of our lives. I conclude with a message of support for those facing similar challenges and a reflection on how my career path, though unintended, brought its own form of fulfillment.
00:29 Introduction: A Personal Journey
01:05 The Inspiration Behind This Episode
03:58 Opening Up About Women's Health Issues
07:23 The Struggles of Infertility
12:15 Navigating the Moral Dilemmas
14:51 Navigating Our Journey
17:43 Navigating Career and Personal Life
22:44 Moving On and Finding New Paths
26:48 Things Coming Together in the Move to London
30:13 Reflecting on an Academic Career Without Children
33:53 Final Reflections
Related Link
CHI Stories @CHI2017: Midwifery, Babies, HCI: âDoktormutterâhood and Sustainable Academic Life
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In Part 2 of our conversation, Susan Dray continues to share deep insights about the importance of self-awareness and authenticity, empathy and listening with heart, and dealing with professional discomfort and personal adversity. She discusses her mentoring style, centred around being empathetic and supportive. And she talks about the importance of service and community, as well as the current challenges faced by early career researchers.
Susan also shares deeply personal challenges and losses, and the accompanying emotional journey of accepting and learning from setbacks, the value of honouring people's experiences, and the importance of collaborative support. She reminds us, paraphrased here, that few people understand how special they are, and that what really matters is who you are. Because this is going to mean that what you do is important and makes a difference. Susan has certainly made a difference.
Overview:
00:29 Introduction to Part Two with Susan Dray
02:18 Navigating Discomfort and Deep Learning
05:47 Mentoring and Community Support
08:51 HCI in Africa and Global Recognition
13:28 Supporting Early Career Researchers
19:12 Mentoring and the Joy of Service
22:11 Reflections on Mentoring and Authenticity
26:08 Evolving Roles, Willingness to be a Beginner
29:40 Postscript - Personal Reflections and Adversities
30:55 Lessons from Sailing
32:21 Coping with Loss and Finding Positivity
35:08 Final Reflections on Life and Legacy
36:50 Wrap up
38:27 End
Related Links:
Susan Dray's webpage and LinkedIn profile
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The wonderful Dr Susan Dray shares her journey from obtaining a PhD in experimental and physiological psychology at UCLA to becoming a pivotal figure in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). Susan recounts her transition from academia to industry, including roles at Honeywell and American Express, and her eventual shift to independent consulting. She discusses the evolution of HCI and human factors, the significance of ethnographic studies, and the importance of listening with one's heart in diverse cultural contexts. Susan also reflects on the birth of SIGCHI, organizational challenges, and her expansive international work. Her insights provide a rich, historical perspective on the ongoing interplay between technology, human behavior, and organizational dynamics, and on the contextual and cultural nuances in technology adoption. She also demonstrates the power of curiosity, self reflection and a service mindset.
Overview
00:29 Episode Introduction
02:49 Susan's Background
03:52 Transition from Academia to Industry
05:37 Early Challenges at Honeywell
06:56 Gaithersburg Conference and SIGCHI Formation
10:15 Human Factors and Computing Systems
13:34 Human Technology Impacts at Honeywell
16:40 The Mindset of a Scientist
22:59 Mentorship and Career Advice
26:30 Career Transitions and Reflections
28:06 Early Challenges in Consulting
30:12 Setting Up a Consulting Business
31:59 International Projects and Usability Studies
38:22 Navigating Cultural Differences and Lessons in Challenges
45:24 Innovative Research in Korea and South Africa
49:26 Embracing Discomfort Curiousity and Self Reflection
52:17 Wrap up
Related Links
Susan Dray webpage and LinkedIn
ACM SIGCHI Special Interest Group On Computer-Human Interaction
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Building on the last episodeâs topic of meetings, the focus here is on our one-on-one meetings. In his book, 'Glad We Met: The Art and Science of One-to-One Meetings,' Steven Rogelberg discusses how these meetings can be practical, personal, and developmental. We can also think of these as the four Ps of careâprocess, progress, product, and person. Drawing on insights from Rogelbergâs book, along with some timely recent posts, I draw attention to the role of empathy, authentic communication, and regular, intentional meetings in supporting PhD students, postdocs, and research assistants. Practical tips include setting regular meeting cadences, being attentive and present, and ensuring a respectful and effective meeting environment. These are all skills we can work on to better support the practical, personal and developmental in our 1-1 meetings.
Overview:
00:29 Introduction to Effective Meetings
01:55 The Importance of One-on-One Meetings
03:25 The Four Ps of Care in Meetings
04:14 Practical Aspects of Supervisory Meetings
05:06 Caring for the Person in Meetings
05:35 Skills for Effective Meetings
09:12 Student Contributions to Meetings
11:01 Preparation and Presence in Meetings
12:18 Time Management and Respect in Meetings
13:23 Listening and Asking Good Questions
14:25 The Cadence of Meetings
17:55 Practical Suggestions for Meeting Environments
19:14 Career Conversations and Resources
20:20 Conclusion: The Art, Heart, and Science of Meetings
24:02 End
Related links:
Steven Rogelberg's webpage, LinkedIn profile, and Meeting resources and previous CAL episode on Transforming Academic Meetings
Book: Rogelberg, S. G. (2024). Glad We Met: The Art and Science of 1: 1 Meetings. Oxford University Press.
Recent posts mentioned:
#116 - 6 Communication Strategies to Get What You Need From Your PhD Advisor (Without Being Annoying), Emmanuel Tsekleves , PhDtoProf Newsletter 1 Oct 2025
A toolkit to foster great career conversations, Rachel Chin and Rachel Herries, Auditorium Blog, 7 Oct 2025
Related Changing Academic Life episodes:
Oscar Trimboli (Part 1) on being better listeners
Oscar Trimboli (Part 2) on how to listen deeply
Michael Bungay Stanier on the power of curiosity and taming the advice monster
RW (solo) Asking good questions, empowering good people
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Dr. Steven Rogelberg, an organisational psychologist from the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, draws on his extensive research on workplace meetings to share how we might make acadmic meetings better. We discuss the inefficiencies of academic meetings, with Steven suggesting academics suffer from particularly ineffective meeting practices. He offers practical advice on improving meeting productivity, particularly for Faculty meetings, such as using targeted agendas and smaller group discussions, and stresses the value of bringing scientific rigour to meeting management. He also critiques the hybrid meeting format, advocating instead for fully virtual or in-person meetings. If you are looking for more insights about evidence-based meeting practices, I can highly recommend his books 'The Surprising Science of Meetings' and 'Glad We Met: The Art and Science of One-to-One Meetings' .
Overview:
00:29 Introduction: The Meeting Dilemma
01:42 Introducing Dr. Steven Rogelberg
03:56 The Academic Meeting Problem
09:23 Common Mistakes in Leading Meetings
11:06 Strategies for Effective Meetings
13:12 Having a Meeting About Meetings
14:34 The Importance of Feedback and Audits
15:55 The Faculty Meeting
18:15 Challenges of Large and Hybrid Meetings
19:21 More Inclusive Alternatives to Large Meetings
22:20 Hybrid Meetings and Virtual Meetings
23:54 Final Takeaways and Resources
25:46 Postscript
30:16 End
Related links:
Steven's web page, LinkedIn page and online meeting resources
https://www.stevenrogelberg.com
Steven's books:
Rogelberg, S. G. (2019). The surprising science of meetings: How you can lead your team to peak performance. Oxford University Press.
Rogelberg, S. G. (2024). Glad We Met: The Art and Science of 1: 1 Meetings. Oxford University Press.
And his academic publications, for example the two we mentioned:
Rogelberg, S., Kreamer, L. M., & Gray, J. (2025). Thirty Years of Meeting Science: Lessons Learned and the Road Ahead. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 13.
Rogelberg, S. G., King, E. B., & Alonso, A. (2022). How we can bring IO psychology science and evidence-based practices to the public. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 15(2), 259-272.
And here is a template to help you reflect on your meetings.
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Professor Emeritus Deborah Boehm Davis, George Mason University in the US, is one of the pioneers of the CHI conference. Deborah discusses her varied career building from her psychology background and spanning roles in human factors at Bell Labs, NASA, and General Electric. She then talks about her extensive tenure at George Mason University in both faculty and administrative/leadership roles, eventually becoming the dean of a college. Deborah shares reflections on career transitions, the importance of making a difference, effective leadership, the significance of collaborative work, and the challenges and strategies for navigating academic leadership, as well as managing academic responsibilities alongside family life. She also talks about her last industry role at Oculus Research and offers insights into the skills and approaches necessary for effective academic and industry leadership. The conversation also touches on the importance of interdisciplinary work and mentorship in academia.
Overview:
00:00 Introduction
00:29 Deborah Boehm-Davis: Career Overview
03:24 Early Career and Human Factors
04:54 Transition to Academia, Balancing Faculty and Administration Roles
09:38 Reflections on Career and Impact
17:39 Navigating Academic Leadership
25:14 Collaborations, Interdisciplinary Work and Collegiality
28:18 Interdisciplinarity and Being Strategic
32:57 Transitioning to Leadership Roles, Developing Leadership Skills
33:53 Handling Difficult Conversations
36:39 Balancing Decisions and Stakeholder Concerns
40:29 Engaging Faculty and Effective Communication
44:51 Leadership in Industry vs. Academia
46:54 Mentorship and Support Systems
50:24 Proudest Achievements and Work Skills Course
56:28 Reflections on Women in Academia
59:37 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
01:00:46 End
Related links:
Video of a 2024 talk to the Uni of Virginia HFES Student Chapter: âA Career in Human Factors: A Lifetime of Changeâ [40:51 mins]
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah-boehm-davis-05b50
Website: https://psychology.gmu.edu/people/dbdavis
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In the first episode of season seven, the 10th year the Changing Academic Life podcast, I invite us to reflect on the theme of being intentional about what we want for ourselves at the beginning of this new academic year for many of us in the northern hemisphere, or for any temporal landmark that is relevant for you.
As example and inspiration, Anna Cox from UCL shortly shares her strategies for setting clear priorities, maintaining work-life balance, and managing her remaining 'available time to promise', recognising every yes entails a no to something else. This is a great example of the 'fresh start effect', using the temporal landmark of a new academic year, as talked about by Katy Milkman and colleagues, and reminds us of the importance of creating pauses for reflection.
So how will you be more intentional about your fresh start?
00:34 Introduction
01:27 Starting With Intention
05:28 Anna's Fresh Start
07:05 Thinking About Priorities
09:01 Available Time to Promise
10:56 Creating Pauses to Think
12:20 Re-iterating Anna's Key Questions
16:29 Wrapping Up
17:57 Pointers to Other Related Episodes
19:24 Wrapping up
20:31 End
Related links:
eWorkResearch group at UCL and Annaâs webpage and WLB definition
Dai, H., Milkman, K. L., & Riis, J. (2014). The fresh start effect: Temporal landmarks motivate aspirational behavior. Management Science, 60(10), 2563-2582.
Loleen Berdahl, How to quit promising time and energy you donât have
See www.changingacademiclife.com for an easy search for the related podcasts: Anna Cox, Marta Cecchinato, Johanna Stadlbauer, Amy Ko, Carmen Neustaedter, Katherine Isbister, Vikki Wright
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