How do I . . . ?

The first approach to learn of your promotion expectations is to read the School of Medicine Faculty Handbook, and the University Faculty Handbook, and then discuss your own understanding and expectations with your division chief/ department chair.  Your mentors play an important role in helping prioritize your actions and plans in light of those expectations and shed light on the norms and history related to faculty career successes in your area. Mentors add invaluable insights—from mapping your scientific and clinical research and funding goals to the composition and size of your research group, defining your role in education and providing additional opportunities to develop your teaching skills, and your clinical practice and reputation.

Faculty at mid-career continue to benefit from mentoring by their more senior colleagues, particularly as new interests emerge, whether in scientific, clinical or education-related direction and/or in the pursuit of administrative and leadership roles.  Several opportunities are available for faculty in academic medicine at this mid-career stage, at Stanford, at professional associations, and including the AAMC. Coaching is often used in tandem with mentoring, in order to clarify career goals in light of personal circumstances, values and priorities.  Contact the Office of Academic Affairs and/or the Office of Faculty Development and Diversity to explore those possibilities.

In Fall 2019, the School of Medicine is rolling out a 360 Mentoring Feedback Evaluation process for all early-career faculty in their first term of appointment who do no or very little clinical work.  The process provides confidential aggregated input to individual faculty on how they are perceived as mentors by their trainees and their faculty and staff colleagues. Division chiefs and chairs are expected to review the reports with their faculty and discuss areas of strengths and goals for development.  

The reports will be included in the reappointment or promotion file, as has been the case for Clinical Excellence Surveys (CES) and MedHub evaluations.  The primary purpose of this process is to help the faculty member identify, early on, areas where their performance is misaligned with their own self-perception or others’, in both negative or positive directions.  Because the process is primarily a tool for realistic self-appraisal, faculty should respond to those feedback reports objectively. Suggestions and advice can be provided by the chiefs/chairs, and coaching may be arranged by the chiefs/chairs and through OAA as needed.

Regional and national reputation as a scientist and/or clinician has been a long-standing indicator of the positive recognition associated with Stanford’s goals to have excellent and world-renowned faculty.  Towards that goal, early-career faculty in the University Tenure Line (UTL) are expected to have a national reputation by the time of promotion to Associate Professor, and University Medical Line (UML) faculty members are expected to have a regional reputation when they are promoted to the associate rank. UML faculty should have a national reputation for promotion to Full Professor. Early-career faculty in the Clinician Educator line are expected to have a regional reputation when they are promoted to the associate rank, and a national reputation is required for promotion to the professor rank.

In addition to the quality of scientific, educational, and clinical work, developing reputation requires planning and specific tactical and strategic action.  Suggestions for such planning and actions include but are not limited to:

1. Choices made in areas of scientific, educational, and clinical focus that add valuable contribution to the field of practice through such examples as breaking new grounds, mastering a clinical technique, tackling persistent scientific problems, interdisciplinary approaches to consider new solutions, creativity in bringing care to patients or prolific work that shows potential for broader recognition and breakthroughs in the future.

2. Publishing manuscripts in journals  with that have a significant high impact on the field.

3. Cultivation of scientific and/or clinical presence in the professional community by presenting at conferences (regional and national), receiving invitations asking to present to other groups or at other institutions, reaching out to colleagues for insights, collaborations and feedback on ideas.

4. In the few years leading up to promotion, ensuring that the Stanford mentor(s) are aware of one’s scientific and professional activities outside of Stanford, seeking their input, doing any necessary re-alignment, and asking for their assistance in national committee memberships, invited lectures and grand rounds, etc.

Staff supervision is a new skill for many faculty, particularly in early career.  Management skills for beginners require readiness and willingness to set clear expectations, give feedback for continuation (positive) and change (negative), provide a safe and productive workplace environment for others, communicate effectively, delegate appropriately, support opportunities for career satisfaction and growth, and in most cases conduct, directly, annual performance reviews and salary-related decisions.

A first step in discussing any questions or concerns related to your role as a supervisor would be to reach out to your mentor, human resources administrator or director of finance and administration in your department. Open communication with human resources is important to align your expectations with those of the university, as described in your subordinate’s job description, and with those of your employee.

For workshops and training available at Stanford on supervising staff, check AXESS for training courses under the STARS tab > Human Resources > Workplace Skills, and contact, Karen Vesey, Senior Director of Talent Management at the School of Medicine Human Resources Group.

Faculty who supervise trainees have the dual responsibility to supervise and also to educate and train.  This creates a complex and multi-faceted dynamic between faculty and their trainees. While faculty generally develop their repertoire in this complex dynamics with experience over time, faculty preempt potential mishaps by pursuing formal courses and workshops offered through a variety of sources: Consult the professional development section on the Office of Academic Affairs website, the workshops offered through the School of Medicine Teaching and Mentoring Academy, and the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Development, Teaching and Learning training opportunities. Two new courses in 2019-2020 at the School of Medicine prepare faculty with skills in this area: Starting Up Your Research Group (SURGE) and its advanced version, SURGE II.

Plans for setting up your research lab must involve your chief/chair and division manager or director of finance and administration because of matters related to space, equipment, required training relevant to environmental health and safety clearances, and timing of getting your research operation up and running. Staffing the lab is your prerogative as a principal investigator provided that it is done in line with University policy and in the presence of resources (i.e., space, financial).   Two new courses are launching in 2019-2020 that will prepare faculty with skills in this area: SURGE and SURGE II.

Hiring administrative staff, academic staff, a lab manager or a research scientist is a human resources process.  Identify the right administrative contact or human resources manager for your area to learn of the steps needed to hire in any of these categories.  Inviting graduate students or postdocs to join your research group is a different process that is overseen by designated offices: the student’s home department or the biosciences graduate programs office in the case of graduate students, and the office of postdoctoral affairs (postdocs.stanford.edu) in the case of postdocs.

In all cases, consult with the appropriate resource person in your unit/ school before making promises to hire or offer employment. Follow sound hiring practices that involve announcing the opportunity broadly, no matter how big or small, short- or long-term, by circulating a written description of the role to your scientific network and online, follow a selection process, check references thoroughly, and in the case of international trainees, evaluate the expectations and feasibility of visa sponsorship by Stanford—all before making a decision.  These are good practices that take time but often yield good outcomes.

Remember that verbal agreement can generally be binding, written offers are binding and the financial commitment is yours. Early-career faculty often benefit from leveraging their previous mentor’s network to find postdocs for their groups.

TIP: If you are early in your career, always ‘be hiring’: keep a running ad on your lab website, and be open to responding to inquiries even in the absence of an actual need to hire. Canvassing conference presentations, using training programs such as T32s and PRISM (for psotdocs) as well as recent publications in your areas of research can also yield unexpected good hiring results.

Communication difficulties can stem from many reasons, and are most common when there are misunderstandings or emotional triggers related to differences in work or personal styles, or due to divergent interests or competitiveness.  In cases where preventive measures are absent and a communication difficulty arises, responding directly or through a third-party intervention is typically done.

TIP: Consult a trusted resource person (such as a close colleague, a mentor, the OAA Executive Coach, or the School’s Ombuds) to gain a perspective on your experience and brainstorm responses. In general, interpersonal difficulties are best addressed early with empathy, calm, and emotional intelligence, particularly in light on the life-long relationships that faculty often have in their work, and the premium placed on reputations and interpersonal skills.

There are many confidential and non-confidential resources to help you with a difficult trainee.   These resources include: The trainee’s Academic Advisor or Director of Graduate Studies; the Senior Associate Dean or the Associate Dean for Biosciences Graduate Programs; the Associate Dean for Postdoctoral Affairs; and your department Student Services Officer or Fellowship Coordinator.  These are all staff and faculty roles with direct line of sight to trainees (graduate students and postdocs in their areas) and can offer a confidential consult if clearly expressed.  Confidential resources for consultation or assistance include the Ombuds, and if requested your mentor.  Counselors at the Faculty Staff Help Center are also confidential resources that can provide consultations.

Facilitating a difficult management situation with an employee is best handled in partnership with the employee’s administrative manager (or dotted line manager).  Bringing up issues to them can be helpful to get advice on appropriate responses, performance course correction, or other issues. Developing good rapport with this senior administrator in a supervisory role is a partnership that can provide benefits to you with insights and generally help create a supportive environment for all concerned. 

Balancing the multiple demands in work and life is often a challenge the can be met with deliberate priotizing, planning, focus and sometimes, "learning to say 'no'" to demands that do not meet career objectives or lead to personal or professional purpose or satisfaction.

There are several resources available to faculty members to cultivate this balance through the Stanford Medicine WellMD Center, the Stanford Health Improvement Program, and the Work-Life Integration efforts through the WorkLife Strategy Office in University Human Resources. Such venues offer workshops, skill-based training, policies, funds, and advocacy.  Additional information on policies and programs can be found through the Office of Academic Affairs and while Stanford's Family-Friendly Programs and Policies.

Discussion of these challenges with your mentor could be a helpful first step in clarifying priorities in how you might want to allocate your time, and how such allocation aligns with short-term and long-term career goals. A seasoned mentor could further advise on strategies to negotiate agreements with your division chief or department chair, and ensure that efforts build up successfully towards career advancement.