For Parents in Academia, the Right Life Coach can Make the Difference Between “Tenured” and “Terminated”

Littleton, CO, July 26, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Getting tenure is hard enough, but doing it when you’ve got a family too? Moms and Dads in Colleges and Universities do it, but in the process, many struggle with intense stress, guilt about lost family time, and serious problems with time management. Add to that the fact that although the tenure clock can be stopped for faculty as they start families, it does restart again, and when it runs out, if a faculty member fails to make tenure, they are terminated from the University. Although the pressure and challenges can seem insurmountable, professors on the tenure track can more readily find their way to academic and personal success with the help of a qualified academic and life coach. The needs of parents in academe, however, are not met by life or tenure coaches who lack first-hand experience with successfully navigating tenure and promotion processes in modern Universities. The limited time and money untenured professors with families have to invest in their own professional and personal development must be wisely invested with a coach who can provide the specific skill set needed to get parents in academia where they want to go. Working with an academic and life coach who has experienced the struggles of succeeding at the university and at home can be a wise investment that is transformational for faculty facing the challenges of succeeding as professors and parents. Powerful Mind Coaching, LLC, provides the necessary combination of experience, training, and perspective to help parents in academia get tenure, get promoted, and have a healthy family life.

"I commonly see stressed-out, incredibly hard-working parents who are either on the tenure track or “stuck in rank” at Associate Professor- I can relate, of course, because I’ve been there myself!!,” says Mary Coussons-Read, PhD, Professor of Psychology and Founder of Powerful Mind Coaching. Mary indicates that many clients are frustrated that they are having a hard time getting the needs of their families and careers met consistently, and moreover, that they have no “down time”. “This is an exhausting cycle that can be broken with support, planning, and choice, and that’s what I do in my group and individual coaching work. One of the first things I work with clients to do, and that I do myself on a daily basis, is to begin make choices about everything to help prioritize time, energy, and resources,” she says. “For example, if you have a 3-hour block of time, how are you going to spend it? Revising a manuscript that is almost finished and ready to submit or making a list of new courses you’d like to develop in the next academic year? Well, if you’re on the tenure track, the papers have to get published, so put the manuscript first, then do the class list if you have time; do not let yourself get distracted from the critical task of the paper by the lure of the more enjoyable task of thinking up new courses.” Clients report that the simple act of making small choices like this over and over again and being deliberate about how they spend their home and work time is incredibly liberating. “It emphasizes that although we can’t control everything by a long shot, we can control how we spend our own time and energy, and that is empowering” says Coussons-Read.

Coussons-Read is currently working on a collaborative research project collecting empirical data on the effectiveness individual and group coaching for increasing retention and promotion of faculty who are parents and on the mental and physical stress-reducing benefits of coaching in this group. “It’s important use data to show the benefits of this approach, not only to make a contribution to the faculty development literature, but also to provide clients thinking about coaching with some hard evidence, beyond a testimonial, that coaching can make the road to academic success smoother for them and their families.”

About Powerful Mind Consulting and Coaching, LLC

Powerful Mind Coaching, LLC, is a professional practice that helps Professors with families invest their time and energy to simultaneously succeed in their academic and home lives. For more information about Powerful Mind Coaching or engaging Dr. Coussons-Read for interviews or speaking engagements, please contact her at 877-753-2251.

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