Finding values alignment as an academic

What does it mean to be aligned as an academic? I chose the name “The Aligned Academic” for this blog because it speaks to the core values I work to embody both as a coach and in my own work in academia. For me, alignment is all about being true to yourself - your priorities, your goals and your values. Alignment is that feeling you get when things click into place, when you’re spending your time in the ways that feel right to you, and when you can easily tap into your inner wisdom to make decisions.

For those of us trained in academia, finding this kind of alignment isn’t always easy. In fact, part of our academic training can be about aligning with some external priorities, values, and goals - like securing a tenure-track job at a top tier university - without allowing the time and space to explore other paths or options. This makes it all the more important to actively reflect on where and how to find alignment in living an academic life.

Here are three areas that academics can consider in striving for greater alignment:

Aligning your time with your priorities

Aligning your time and your priorities means spending your time on the things that matter most to you, not to someone else. For a new assistant professor working towards tenure, spending too much time on teaching activities might lead them to neglect more important priorities for bolstering their tenure portfolio, like their research.

Creating more alignment: Consider doing a calendar or to-do list “audit” to see how you’ve spent your time for the last few weeks or months. Is it aligned with your priorities? Which priorities aren’t being given enough time?

Aligning your short- and long-term goals

Aligning your short- and long-term goals means that the work your doing now aligns with what you’d like to be doing and where you’d like to be in the future. For someone with a long-term goal of having a career in higher education administration, this might mean having a short-term goal of pursuing leadership opportunities that will set them up for success.

Creating more alignment: There’s a lot of power in writing your goals down or saying them out loud. Where do you want to be in 5-10 years? What short-term or intermediary goals might help you make that vision a reality?

Aligning your work with your values

Aligning your work with your values means that your career aligns with your core values, or the fundamental beliefs that are most important to you. Core values are things like fairness, balance, and creativity. For someone who values collaboration, working mostly independently and not as part of a team would not align with that core value.

Creating more alignment: What values on this list resonate most with you? Where is your work aligned with those values? Are any values misaligned?

A first step in finding greater alignment is to first do the work to identify your priorities, values, and goals. This can be done in a number of ways depending on what type of reflection works best for you. For folks who are internal processors, completing reflection activities or journaling can be effective methods of reflection. For external processors, consider talking it through with someone, like a mentor or a coach.