When my former EUI colleague and friend Andrew Glencross asked me whether I’d be interested in co-authoring a piece on failure and derailment in academia my answer was an immediate yes. That was two years and endless revisions ago, and last weekend we finally received the email to say our article has been published!
Our contribution is part of a forum on “Dead-Ends, Disasters, Delays? Reflecting on Research Failure in International Studies and Ways to Avoid It” in ‘International Studies Perspectives’ and you can find it here.
In the article, we reflect on our own academic journeys and the pivotal role that failure and derailment have played in getting us to where we are today. For Andrew, he at some point made the difficult decision to move countries, and leave the UK for France despite his permanent position there, and for me, well most of you know my story of how long-term illness forced me to pause my PhD for a very long time.
You can read our reflections in the journal, but I thought I’d summarise the article in a shorter advice format here. Here are 8 key lessons we learnt from navigating failure in academia:
- Academia is not the meritocracy it claims to be. Don’t buy into the ‘myth of failure’ and internalise the belief that derailment or failure reflects on your capability or worth.
- Research failure is normal and par for the course — don’t take it personally. (Easier said than done!!)
- Academia tends not to be great at supporting its people. Incentive structures are often at odds with your wellbeing. Take care of yourself! It can be rough out there.
- Understand the academic landscape. Questions to ask: what is valued, what isn’t, and how do I allocate my energy wisely? What do I need to say no to?
- Academic networks are vital. Invest in building connections in your field.
- Mentorship is crucial, especially early on. Sadly, mentorship is currently often not sufficiently supported and valued. Again, it’s not personal, but it has real consequences.
- Failure and success are distributed unequally: intersectionality matters and survivorship bias is real.
- And finally: you will need to draw on your creativity to navigate success and failure. (You can do this! I believe in you!)
To our credit we also managed to include a reference to the 1990s cult classic: Sliding Doors. We’re 90s kids what can I say?
If you’re struggling with any of the above know you’re not alone. If you need some support in all of this, I am available for 1:1 coaching and I would be delighted to work with you.