It’s OK to walk away

Photo by Yasin Aribuga on Unsplash

You’ve created a strategic vision for your career (and if you haven’t, go read this first), and you’re feeling inspired once again. Except…there’s still a nagging feeling in the back of your mind that you can’t possibly achieve all of this. And before you know it, you’re starting to feel discouraged again.

The truth is, the academic environment conditions us to take on more and more responsibilities with each passing year.

We become the go-to-experts. We become the ‘reliable ones’ who answer emails and consistently say ‘yes’ to service work. As you look around your department, there are probably more than a few superstars who seem to do everything without breaking a sweat. You want to be successful like them, and you also want them to respect your work ethic. Consequently, when you were creating your strategic vision for your career, you may have been thinking of those goals—your own goals—as ‘additional work’ rather than ‘THE work’.

But the reality is that in order to achieve your strategic goals, you may need to walk away from the things that are not clearly in service of those goals. This may mean abandoning a research paper that isn’t going to build your reputation, or a collaboration that is taking too much of your time and won’t forward your career trajectory. ‘Walking away’ could mean stepping down from an existing service requirement so that you can join a different committee that is more aligned with your interests and values. Or it could look like not taking on another graduate student so you have more time to write that book.

Walking away is not failure, and it is not lazy. It is sometimes a necessary step to ensure that we are cultivating a career that is rewarding and meaningful. Walking away from tangential tasks lets us run towards our goals.

I served in various Director-level positions in my research institute for over a decade. I have always been fascinated by the inner workings of businesses, and research institutes are yet another type of business. As much as I enjoyed this work, I began to have a nagging feeling that I wasn’t quite in the right spot any longer. I hired a career coach, and I thought deeply about where I wanted to be in 10 years. I found that my strategic vision included new branches of research ideas, as well as a desire to engage in academic coaching, policy, and outreach work. I did not feel that I could do all of these new activities, plus my Director role, without compromising one or the other, or even my health and relationships. So, I walked away from the Director role and began charting a new set of activities that are more aligned with my strategic vision.

Here’s an exercise: list out all of your current activities (include all service, teaching, research, mentoring responsibilities), and then cross-reference those with your strategic vision. Which of your current activities align with your strategic vision? These activities you keep, but be sure to reflect on them 1-2 times a year to make sure the situation hasn’t changed. Which of your current activities are hindering your progress towards your career goals? These are the tasks to consider walking away from. Develop a plan for how and when you can walk away responsibly (i.e., don’t leave your colleagues with a mess!). Now, consider what new activities could propel your strategic vision forward. If you need help talking this through, let’s set up a call; I’d love to help you walk away so that you can run towards your new future!

Next week: To achieve your strategic vision, you need to learn how to say ‘no’.