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The Best Way to Not Get Tenure

blue.cse.buffalo.edu

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Re: The Best Way to Not Get Tenure

#141

Post by austinjp »

gaius wrote: post #132
jsemrau wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>take credit for all the things you've done Might sound corny but -there is no I in team -. Great leaders bring change by assembling great teams where everyone gets their time to shine and don't take the credit for it. Everyone wins.

Great leaders bring change by assembling great teams where everyone gets their time to shine and don't take the credit for it. Yes and no. Let's say your team has pulled off a major coup. As a (good) manager you very publicly say that all the credit belongs to the team. The team are happy and they love you. But the power players understand your real message.

This suggests that management is a duplicitous role. It shouldn't be. You publicly praise those who deserve it. You privately (i.e. in interviews) explain your personal involvement.

Re: The Best Way to Not Get Tenure

#142

Post by austinjp »

Fordrus wrote: post #106
seibelj wrote: post #54

I work in industry, but the key to getting stuff done in a hierarchical organization is tact . I think he is a poor politician, and is clearly very unhappy about being denied tenure. I think putting out feelers and going about a new job more quietly would be more effective. Hypothetically, let's say you (the person reading this comment) want to make a big change in your organization. You identified a problem, and hon…

You are absolutely correct. The fact and reality that you are absolutely correct is a HUGE PART of the ENTIRE REASON why software startups so frequently outperform large incumbent companies with greater resources, support, investment, and time. Because while the software startup is messily, irritatingly, often horribly dealing with its people issues, it creates pods of productivity, small, coherent groups that work w…

You're aware of "forming, storming, norming..." etc? It's a well-recognised problem. Smaller "abrasive" teams are very off-putting to some people; larger bureaucratic organisation are equally off-putting to others.

I suspect no one structure is optimal for all contexts.

Have a look at the design of the new Crick Institute in London, designed for serendipity. Or Facebook's attempt at an open plan office (probably not a great example, but you see the idea). Maybe even Taleb's ideas about anti-fragility (despite my finding him a terrible, turgid author).

Re: The Best Way to Not Get Tenure

#143

Post by austinjp »

MicroBerto wrote: post #68
seibelj wrote: post #54

I work in industry, but the key to getting stuff done in a hierarchical organization is tact . I think he is a poor politician, and is clearly very unhappy about being denied tenure. I think putting out feelers and going about a new job more quietly would be more effective. Hypothetically, let's say you (the person reading this comment) want to make a big change in your organization. You identified a problem, and hon…

Some people simply aren't politicians and will NEVER have any "tact", nor could they look themselves in the mirror if they faked it. My suggestion to them is to start their own business or find one to work for (with a willing owner) that needs its core rocked or is full of straight-talkers. We shouldn't typecast ourselves for a paycheck of it leads to misery.

A good suggestion, although we should not wish to wholly abandon responsibility for the effects of our words on others.

Re: The Best Way to Not Get Tenure

#144

Post by inimino »

twblalock wrote: post #129

Academics realize that when they grant tenure to someone, that person is likely to be their coworker for the next several decades. This guy may very well be brilliant in his field, but he is clearly not a good fit for the department he was in. Quite frankly, he seems to be abrasive and a bit of a dick. He also seems inexcusably naive about how academia works, considering how long he has been an academic. Why would an…

Assuming he is indeed "brilliant in his field" and simply not very good at politics, there are tons of places who will happily hire that combination.

Re: The Best Way to Not Get Tenure

#145

Post by cs2818 »

I am surprised by the sentiment of many of the comments here. Perhaps it is from spending so many years in the academic world, but I have repeatedly witnessed how "conforming" or "following protocol" with hopes of tenure has fostered teaching and research deficits within academic communities.

I don't know the author of this article or his research, but his story is entirely plausible. Tenured faculty can be brutal to those bidding to join the club, often perceiving the most well-intended actions to be threatening. In the end the consequences most strongly harm the advancement of the field and the education of students.

Re: The Best Way to Not Get Tenure

#146

Post by robotresearcher »

roel_v wrote: post #89
robotresearcher wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They were published this year. They'll be cited next year if they are useful. There's a 6-9 month delay between paper submission and publication.

So how does he know they're so great then? In academic career progress contexts, citations are what matters. If your 'great' papers have 2 citations, they're objectively not great - in fact, they're pretty shit even. They might become 'great' next year, time will tell - but making a case of how great a researcher you are with a paper selection like that is, well, not very smart.

If they are new, they are neither proven great or shit. Like a new novel or work of art, or any IP.

The author is proposing that people read those papers becaus he is proud of them. Nothing wrong with that.

Re: The Best Way to Not Get Tenure

#147

Post by Angostura »

nostrademons wrote: post #80
seibelj wrote: post #54

I work in industry, but the key to getting stuff done in a hierarchical organization is tact . I think he is a poor politician, and is clearly very unhappy about being denied tenure. I think putting out feelers and going about a new job more quietly would be more effective. Hypothetically, let's say you (the person reading this comment) want to make a big change in your organization. You identified a problem, and hon…

I'd agree that the way to appeal to management is to build relationships & grassroots support in the organization. But the way to appeal to the market (which seems to be his current situation now, since he seems to be looking for a new job) is to make a big splash, take credit for all the things you've done, define yourself in terms of what you'd most like to do, and then wait for the calls to come in. The difference…

> is to make a big splash, take credit for all the things you've done, define yourself in terms of what you'd most like to do, and then wait for the calls to come in.

I absolutely agree with this. At the same time, you should attempt to downplay the fact that the current set of people you work with found you such a massive pain in the arse that they didn't want you to stay.

The guy's accomplishments look impressive. He should concentrate on those.

Re: The Best Way to Not Get Tenure

#148

Post by Angostura »

jsemrau wrote: post #107
nostrademons wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd agree that the way to appeal to management is to build relationships & grassroots support in the organization. But the way to appeal to the market (which seems to be his current situation now, since he seems to be looking for a new job) is to make a big splash, take credit for all the things you've done, define yourself in terms of what you'd most like to do, and then wait for the calls to come in. The difference…

>take credit for all the things you've done Might sound corny but -there is no I in team -. Great leaders bring change by assembling great teams where everyone gets their time to shine and don't take the credit for it. Everyone wins.

"I bought change by assembling great teams and ensured that everyone got their time their time to shine".

Re: The Best Way to Not Get Tenure

#149

Post by angry_octet »

bachmeier wrote: post #126
seibelj wrote: post #54

I work in industry, but the key to getting stuff done in a hierarchical organization is tact . I think he is a poor politician, and is clearly very unhappy about being denied tenure. I think putting out feelers and going about a new job more quietly would be more effective. Hypothetically, let's say you (the person reading this comment) want to make a big change in your organization. You identified a problem, and hon…

We can carry this a bit further. How does someone lacking these skills deal with students? I don't know all the details of his case, but I wonder how he handled grading inquiries and disputes with students, and how willing he was to adjust his teaching to meet the needs of the students. And just to be clear, I'm well aware of claims (right or wrong) that teaching doesn't matter, but this is different from student eva…

The conversation seems to have drifted to a premise that when the other faculty didn't agree with him he called them morons. But the only basis for that is that he is being outspoken now. His contention is that simply by trying to be innovative and contributing is ways that might make other faculty look (deservedly) bad, he was punished.

The tenure vote he describes reminds me of the Blanket Party scene in Full Metal Jacket (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCNqKrX1sx8), and I think it is the same lesson: conform or suffer the consequences.

Re: The Best Way to Not Get Tenure

#150

Post by RobertoG »

crawfordcomeaux wrote: post #125
sametmax wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You know it seems obvious to you but I spend the last 10 years on the job knowing absolutely nothing about this. I'm a programmer and I have good social skills. As a trainer, talking in public comes naturally, as a team leader, I'm also quite good in conducting meetings and driving the team efforts. But I have ZERO political skills, and I couldn't understand why. Reading your comment is like finally getting the missi…

Agreed. Being political is a ton of work. I find doing what OP suggests, which amounts to silently taking responsibility for other people's feelings instead of openly communicating about them, to be taxing as hell. Putting on an emotional mask usually is. Being "political" in this sense is a codependent behavior. Instead of operating out of fear of others' reactions, I prefer to give people the space they need to fee…

"Agreed. Being political is a ton of work"

Being political it's so much work that most people, in high places, in big organizations, barely do anything else.

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