- Having Difficult Conversations
No matter how in tune you are with your colleagues, at some point, you’ll find yourself in conflict and needing to have a difficult conversation. In my leadership roles at VUMC and elsewhere, I’ve had plenty. Here are some strategies for making these conversations less stress...
- Fierce Conversations
Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work & in Life, One Conversation at a Time
Although the title may bring to mind some vivid images, author Susan Scott doesn't suggest that we talk in threatening overconfidence with unrelenting passion, but rather that our conversat...
- Connecting Through Poster Sessions
Imagine you’re at a poster session. As you walk by the posters, you instantly understand the key points and ‘get’ the research. You find yourself stopping, reading, engaging with the presenter, and you’re inspired to think more broadly about your own work. Posters designed with t...
- Navigating Academic Relationships
The bedrock of any good relationship – whether academic or otherwise – is clear communication and aligning expectations. When clear communication is not established, it can lead to isolation, stalemates, and even conflict, but in all instances, it negatively impacts productiv...
- Optimizing Colors for Projected Presentations
You worked for hours on your presentation for your society’s annual conference. On the day of your big presentation, while going through the slides on the projection screen, you notice your slides are looking “off.” Something is not right. What could it be?
Your nice pale gree...
- 5 Steps For Effective Communication In The International Workplace
How do you communicate across international differences in the workplace?
We inhabit a global workplace. We can now leave a message for a colleague in Germany, China, Ghana, or New Zealand and perhaps give only a quick thought to what time zone they are in. ...
- Your Message in the Media
You’ve been contacted to talk about your recent publication or to discuss research by another team. Here's how to prepare.
Working with print, broadcast, and online media reporters requires powerful control of your message – meaning you must plan a clear and focused commun...
- Not that Kind of Page: Tales of Building a Better Lab Website
In this day and age, every company has a website. You are running a small business and you should too. There are even murmurs that searches for your name will peak right before study section, as study section members look up the people whose grants they will be reviewing. Here ar...
- How To Survive The Interview You Didn’t Know Was Coming
Daily news reporting is a tough and thankless task. A reporter can write a well thought out, hard-hitting story on a Thursday and, when they wake up Friday morning, the page is blank again and the editor is asking "What have you done for me lately?"
Because TV stations and new...
- Introverts Can Network, Too!
Do you consider yourself an introvert? Do you get anxious thinking about how to meet new colleagues? Are you looking for better ways to network without becoming overwhelmed?
I personally consider myself an introvert, and I have to remind myself that networking is essential ...
