No successful academic is a Hobbesian mushroom, springing into tenured life fully formed and widely published. We all - whether we credit them regularly, whether we turn to them as often as we might - become the academics we are because we have a network.
And the dirty secret no one ever mentions is: the more extensive your network, the better.
I have been absolutely surprised by the ways in which my network has benefitted me in my career. No one ever took me aside and told me why I might want to develop an extensive network. And no one (myself included) could have predicted how that ever-growing network could have helped me to grow, develop, and thrive. (Thank you!)
Networks can include many different kinds of people:
- your grad school cohort
- your dissertation committee
- peers you have met at conferences
- your department colleagues
- colleagues in other departments
- administrators at your institution
- gatekeepers at funding organizations
- editors (both book editors and journal editors)
- therapists, spiritual advisors, career coaches
- family members, lovers, partners
- friends - both in academia and (gasp!) outside of academia
Life is better, more enjoyable, and more livable when you can draw on the support, advice, ideas, and energy of lots of people in different parts of your life. As Robert Boice put it in his excellent book, Advice for New Faculty Members, don't do it all on your own - make others do some of the work! Share the burden, take a load off, and things will be - well, not easy, but easier, and much more fun and rewarding!
So - here's your homework: Download the network form here, and fill out who is in your network right now. But be gentle on yourself! The point of this exercise is diagnostic: notice where you have an easy time listing people in each category, and notice where you can't think of a single person.
My hope is that this exercise will do two things for you:
1. It will show you that your network is already more extensive than you had realized.
2. It will tell you where you might want to focus your efforts expanding your networks. (And for mentors, this is a great way to identify where your mentee needs help growing their own network.)
Networks are not built in a day - this takes a long time, and it is a never-ending work in progress. Think of people who were part of your support network a decade ago who are no longer the ones you would call on in a pinch. As people move in and out of your life - and as you move, grow, and change institutions - you will need to build and rebuild networks.
This is especially important for ABDs: your network today is necessarily more limited than it will be in 10, 20, 30 years. That's expected and just fine. But you can also start thinking about who you want in your network, and how you might connect with them over time.
You might consider saving the form somewhere. Come back to it in a year or so, and see where you are at. Who has moved into your network? Who might have moved out? What areas do you need to work on now?
And let me know how this is working out - send me an email or post a comment!
Happy networking,
Michaele
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