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Changing Academic Life

Geraldine Fitzpatrick

What can we do, individually and collectively, to change academic life to be more sustainable, collaborative and effective? This podcast series offers long-form conversations with academics and thought leaders who share stories and insights, as well as bite-size musings on specific topics drawing on literature and personal experience.
For more information go to https://changingacademiclife.com
Also see https://geraldinefitzpatrick.com to leave a comment.
NOTE: this is an interim site and missing transcripts for the older podcasts. Please contact me to request specific transcripts in the meanwhile.

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S8 · E12
July 1 · 27 min
Celebrating 10 Years & Season End (CAL147, S8E12)
Celebrating 10 Years & Season Reflections on Meaning, Identity, Care, and Leadership This is a special episode because it’s 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 “games,” 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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S8 · E11
June 17 · 48 min
Cultivating Deep Listening: Showing Up, Staying Curious, and Resisting Advice (CAL146, S8E11)
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 up—our wellbeing, intention, and undivided attention—and practical preparation such as reducing notifications, hydrating, and breathing. Good listening then is a way of being, staying curious longer with open “what” questions, checking what support is wanted, and resisting “advice monsters” that push premature solutions. We also discuss the relational, developmental and productivity costs of poor listening, and I close with Oscar’s five levels of listening and Michael’s 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 – Padlet with testimonials (Kay Guccione) Narelle Lemon, Deep Listening: Are You Being Helped, Hugged or Heard? Jun 9 2026 The Thriving PI Summit – free online event June 29-Jul 2 2026 – organized by Ana Pineda. Free registration.
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S8 · E10
June 3 · 52 min
Mike Levin on navigating academia as a disruptive interdisciplinary researcher (CAL145, S8,E10)
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 “not in the textbook,” 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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S8 · E9
May 20 · 1 hr 4 min
Raffael Himmelsbach on Courage, Discomfort, and Leadership in Ambiguous Academic Roles (CAL144, S8E9)
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 “attractiveness” for collaboration. He shares practical tools such as participatory lab manuals, structured check-ins, and “parking lot” 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 science’s leadership problems, Nature 557, 294-296 (2018) doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-05143-8
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S8 · E8
May 6 · 34 min
On Identity, Meaning, and Joyful Effort (CAL143, S8E8)
Connecting to Christian van Nieuwerburgh’s idea of “joyful effort” 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 Reed’s impact principle about purpose, and Stuart Reeves on low-cost research styles, I talk about our choices to play or not play the funding “game,” 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 “lights you up” 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-Lubashevsky’s 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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S8 · E7
April 22 · 1 hr
Christian van Nieuwerburgh on Bringing Back the Joy (CAL142, S8E7)
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 ‘coach on a motorcycle’ identity is about aligning all parts of his work and life as a “pracademic”. 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 “intention directs attention,” 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 ‘Coach on a Motorcycle’. 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 student’s 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. 378–393. (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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S8 · E6
April 8 · 42 min
Bethany Wilinski (Part 2) on Designing Your Intentional Sabbatical (CAL141, S8E6)
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 academia’s 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: Bethany’s Michigan State Uni webpage Bethany Wilinski Sabbatical Coaching Bethany on LinkedIn
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S8 · E5
March 25 · 53 min
Bethany Wilinski (Part 1) on sabbatical, burnout and choosing rest (CAL140, S8E5)
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 work’s impact. Initially she planned an “expected” 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 colleague’s 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 academia’s 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: Bethany’s 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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S8 · E4
March 11 · 40 min
Academic Rebels: From Bureaucracy to Trust, Teams, and New Leadership (CAL139, S8E4)
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 “I” to “we” 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 Husain’s 2025 editorial on corporatization and “bullshit jobs”, and Jayne Price’s 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 Rebels’ 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 687–688. Brian Robertson, Holocracy Corporate Rebels Diederick Janse & Marco Bogers, Getting Started With Holacracy: Upgrading Your Team's Productivity, 2020, AbeBooks
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S8 · E3
February 11 · 59 min
Jen Heemstra on Accidental Leadership (CAL 138, S8E3)
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 Jen’s webpage and LinkedIn Profile Book: Jen Heemstra, Labwork to leadership: a concise guide to thriving in the science job you weren’t 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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S8 · E2
January 28 · 1 hr 13 min
Jayne Price on making work work better (CAL137, S8E2)
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: “the cutting-edge self-management platform that empowers teams with clarity and autonomy” 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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S8 · E1
January 14 · 52 min
Sarah McLusky on diverse careers, purposeful events and effective communication (CAL136, S8E1)
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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S7 · E8
Dec 17, 2025 · 21 min
LP Replay - Reflect, Celebrate, Dream (CAL135, S7E8)
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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S7 · E7
Dec 3, 2025 · 38 min
Infertility, Career Choices, and Compassion (CAL 134, S7E7)
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: “Doktormutter”hood and Sustainable Academic Life
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S7 · E6
Nov 12, 2025 · 38 min
Susan Dray (Part 2) on listening, mentoring, and adversity (CAL133, S7E6)
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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S7 · E5
Oct 29, 2025 · 53 min
Susan Dray (Part 1) on navigating interstices: academia, industry and global consulting (CAL132, S7E5)
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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S7 · E4
Oct 16, 2025 · 24 min
On the art, heart and science of 1-1 meetings (CAL131, S7E4)
Building on the last episode’s 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 care—process, progress, product, and person. Drawing on insights from Rogelberg’s 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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S7 · E3
Oct 1, 2025 · 30 min
Steven Rogelberg on Transforming Academic Meetings (CAL130, S7E3)
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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S7 · E2
Sep 17, 2025 · 1 hr
Deborah Boehm-Davis on career paths, leadership, and change (CAL129, S7E2)
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: “A Career in Human Factors: A Lifetime of Change” [40:51 mins] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah-boehm-davis-05b50 Website: https://psychology.gmu.edu/people/dbdavis
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S7 · E1
Sep 3, 2025 · 20 min
Season 7 Kickoff: Fresh Starts and Being Intentional (CAL128 S7E1)
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 Anna’s 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 don’t 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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