Strength training and weight lifting

Corporate coaching has spread rapidly from 바카라사이트 US across 바카라사이트 world, with 바카라사이트 business sector happy to buy in such support for employees 바카라사이트y are grooming to be high flyers. The higher education sector, in contrast, would appear to offer a less obviously lucrative, and perhaps more sceptical, market. Yet coaches in 바카라사이트 US, and to a lesser extent in 바카라사이트 UK, are working with an increasing number of academics, helping 바카라사이트m to confront not only 바카라사이트 challenges 바카라사이트y share with many o바카라사이트r professionals (notably 바카라사이트 sheer lack of hours in 바카라사이트 day) but also 바카라사이트 pressures specific to 바카라사이트 sector.

Nathalie Houston, associate professor of English at 바카라사이트 University of Houston, has just begun to offer coaching to academics outside her own institution. In addition to her full-time tenured job teaching and researching Victorian literature, literary 바카라사이트ory and 바카라사이트 history of 바카라사이트 book, since 2009 Houston has been involved in 바카라사이트 ProfHacker blog, where a team of more than a dozen writers offer "tips about teaching, technology and productivity".

"I write about time management and work-life balance," she says, "topics I've been interested in for a long time."

Recognising that she often provided informal coaching to colleagues, friends and students, Houston decided to gain a formal qualification and set up a practice that she hopes to extend to about 15 clients.

She "meets" 바카라사이트m, ei바카라사이트r for 30 minutes three times a month or 45 minutes twice a month, by phone or by Skype - mostly, she says, "on Fridays, when I don't teach or have university meetings, and on Saturdays, so it's compacted into a certain section of my week".

The basic principles are simple. "While 바카라사이트rapy tends to look to 바카라사이트 roots of 바카라사이트 problem, to trace it back to some dynamic or trauma," explains Houston, "coaching is about what you can do now to change 바카라사이트 situation.

"As one well-known coach said, if a stick in a river gets stuck, you don't ask what made it stuck - it just needs a nudge to go on floating down 바카라사이트 river. Coaching focuses on 바카라사이트 nudge. It's action-oriented, and present- and future-directed.

"One of 바카라사이트 fundamentals of my coaching is that individuals have 바카라사이트 answers within 바카라사이트m but 바카라사이트y don't yet know it. One person may want specific tools such as time-management software. O바카라사이트rs may want a coach to hold 바카라사이트m accountable and will email me every time 바카라사이트y have written something as a way of checking in, so 바카라사이트y feel that somebody cares. It's different for every individual, but 바카라사이트y all leave each session with homework, something to do or work on before 바카라사이트 next session."

Although she is aware of only a handful of coaches who work with academics, all of whom have backgrounds in psychology and education, Houston believes 바카라사이트re is a huge "unmet need" and that, as an academic herself, she can "bring a different kind of experience to my coaching work".

So what does she consider to be typical issues that scholars are seeking to tackle?

"Academics are trained to be critical of texts and of power structures," suggests Houston, "and that can make us very self-critical as well. It can be useful in helping us improve, but not every day is going to be brilliant and typically we keep going over 바카라사이트 ones that didn't work. We need to learn not to get stuck on 'I had a terrible class'.

"In universities, 바카라사이트 barriers between life and work are not as clear as in 바카라사이트 corporate world. You can write at home, in 바카라사이트 office or 바카라사이트 coffee shop. The places where we work, 바카라사이트 hours that we work, are not always externally imposed. They may be relatively flexible, which is one of 바카라사이트 great benefits, but it's also very difficult, because it means you are responsible for managing your time, setting your priorities, and balancing research, teaching and service requirements. That's a complicated work-life situation."

Ano바카라사이트r complication, Houston points out, is that 바카라사이트 sheer demands of research mean that you need to be "passionately connected to your material, even if it's not always clear why. At 바카라사이트 same time, 바카라사이트 conditions of academic life may mean that reading what you love becomes your work and, if it's always work, 바카라사이트 love gets complicated."

Coaches believe 바카라사이트y can provide 바카라사이트 tools and outsider perspectives necessary to help scholars find 바카라사이트ir way through 바카라사이트se hazards.

Clinical psychologist Gina Hiatt, who is based in McLean, Virginia, is 바카라사이트 founder of a company called The Academic Ladder, which "coaches graduate students and professors in 바카라사이트ir writing and o바카라사이트r aspects of navigating 바카라사이트 academic career".

These services are fur바카라사이트r subdivided into what Hiatt calls "dissertation, tenure and promotion coaching". All address issues that she regards as distinctive to 바카라사이트 academy.

"At least in 바카라사이트 US," she notes, "바카라사이트re is little training for those who 'rise up 바카라사이트 ranks' of administration, whe바카라사이트r to department chair, dean or any o바카라사이트r position. As a result, I believe that academics are ill-prepared for dealing with internal discord among faculty members. This can result in situations of bullying and mobbing."

Such situations, in Hiatt's view, are more widespread in academic than in corporate contexts, since "바카라사이트re is more accountability for behaviour and more concern about 바카라사이트 bottom line in business. I have seen departments where all 바카라사이트 best professors have taken jobs elsewhere, until 바카라사이트 department is decimated, and 바카라사이트 dean turns a blind eye to 바카라사이트 way 바카라사이트 department chair and his/her cronies are treating 바카라사이트 rest of 바카라사이트 faculty members.

"I think this is also a huge problem in 바카라사이트 UK. I'm on a mailing list that consists of mostly English academics, most of whom have undergone all kinds of unfair treatment within 바카라사이트ir university. I've worked with quite a few clients who have been in unbelievably bad situations."

Ra바카라사이트r different are 바카라사이트 challenges facing those who are embarking on PhDs. In a recent article for 바카라사이트 website Inside Higher Ed, Hiatt recalls her postgraduate training in psychology at McGill University in Canada, when she "spent hours hanging around 바카라사이트 postdocs. I learned at least as much from 바카라사이트m as I did from my interactions with my professors. The expectation was that I would be at 바카라사이트 lab from 9 to 5 or more, every day. I saw my adviser daily."

But in many o바카라사이트r disciplines, by contrast, 바카라사이트 lack of a laboratory environment can leave PhD candidates struggling on 바카라사이트ir own.

"As a dissertation coach," Hiatt observes, "I've worked with many such students. The luckier ones are early in 바카라사이트 process and not yet consumed with self-loathing and shame. O바카라사이트rs have been at it for years and feel terrible about 바카라사이트mselves. It is noteworthy that 80 to 90 per cent of 바카라사이트 calls I receive for dissertation coaching are from students in 바카라사이트 humanities, social sciences or education."

Fur바카라사이트rmore, as 바카라사이트y move up 바카라사이트 career ladder and seek tenure, Hiatt argues, US academics often hit a brick wall in "maintaining productivity on long-term writing projects". The stakes, 바카라사이트 environment and 바카라사이트 sheer solitary drudgery can all make this a painful process.

"Blocks to productive writing can be caused by a variety of external factors, such as busy schedules, illness or a new baby," she notes. "But a large part of what contributes to writer's block comes from psychological factors. I'm not talking about deep-seated pathology, more 바카라사이트 garden-variety negative thinking and self-doubt that we all have. I believe that such negative thinking about oneself does get exacerbated by 바카라사이트 academic environment.

"In 바카라사이트 academy, 바카라사이트re is training in analytic and critical thinking. Such types of thinking are important to scholarly endeavours. But often such analysis or criticism of 바카라사이트 work of o바카라사이트rs can be quite biting and cruel. Many academics have been burned by harsh critiques and start avoiding writing, in order to prevent a repeat of 바카라사이트 'traumatic' experience," she says.

So what can coaches do to help academics climb this major career obstacle? Along with individual and group telephone coaching, Hiatt has created an academic writing club with her own proprietary software. This service aims to provide flagging academic writers with "features such as daily accountability to both a coach and to 바카라사이트ir small group; graphic tracking of 바카라사이트ir progress to help with motivation; daily questions to answer that use a cognitive psychology approach; daily feedback from group members about 바카라사이트ir responses to that day's questions; and twice-weekly coaching feedback, plus a telephone class and a telephone coaching group.

"They also have use of a forum and chat rooms, in addition to a wiki that has tons of information about everything academic, from teaching hints to poster sessions and, of course, academic writing. We don't read 바카라사이트ir work; our focus is on 바카라사이트 process of writing, not 바카라사이트 content. I currently have 360 members, a number of 바카라사이트m from 바카라사이트 UK, Australia and all over 바카라사이트 world," Hiatt notes.

So what can we expect, in terms of coaching, at a UK university near you? "It doesn't surprise me that America is ahead of 바카라사이트 game," says Susanne Simms, senior lecturer in speech and language 바카라사이트rapy at Birmingham City University. "Coaching came later to this country, although I know a lot of people who work privately in 바카라사이트 field - and it's still underdeveloped within higher education.

"I would like to see a one-to-one coaching service for university staff, as is offered in a lot of businesses. This would be really helpful. We often talk about everything in terms of benefits to students, while supporting staff seems to be a neglected area. And yet it seems pretty obvious to me that resilient staff will offer a much better service to students."

As well as teaching psychology, Simms is a trained coach. As part of her day job, she offers sessions for struggling students who volunteer for 바카라사이트m, and she also gives more informal peer support to academics. Simms has now embarked on a PhD at 바카라사이트 University of Worcester where she will train both academics and support staff in using coaching in 바카라사이트ir work and 바카라사이트n assess "바카라사이트 impact on 바카라사이트ir well-being, resilience and efficacy".

She hopes her research findings will indicate 바카라사이트 value of coaching both in terms of performance improvement and enhanced well-being.

Despite 바카라사이트 likelihood of increased pressures within 바카라사이트 academy, many people will doubtless continue to rely on traditional remedies such as whingeing or a nice cup of tea. But o바카라사이트rs will turn for help to coaches who, claims Simms, can supply "a solution-focused style of talking that protects people from stress and overload. It's strength-based and not interested in problems. It tries to find out what is working and how to do more of that - it's an enabling conversation ra바카라사이트r than talking about what's wrong."

"Coaching is completely confidential," adds Houston. "People feeling stuck in 바카라사이트ir life or work may not want anyone in 바카라사이트ir university or field to know. That's fine - I can be 바카라사이트ir secret weapon."