Minding Your Business in Research Administration
It’s a regular day in the office. There are dozens of emails in your inbox, with alerts pinging that more are incoming. Suddenly, the phone rings, and on the other end is a finance specialist from across campus requesting a report. Then, a knock at your door with another request to clarify a contract agreement. To catch a break, you head to the kitchen for the third cup of coffee of the day to get you through the slog of requests in what seems to be an unending cycle…
The iSeries Conference session, Shifting your Mindset for Improved Research Management Competencies, urged administrators to get off the productivity treadmill, reframe their approach to work that cultivates growth, and a view of work as a marathon rather than a day-to-day sprint. Presenters for this session were Tracy Engels and Angela Silva of Collaborative Partners Initiative, Drew Ebersole and Sherry Hammond of Accel180, and Olumuyiwa Moses Desmennu of the University of Ibadan. The presenters illustrated a number of evidence-based mental models to help individuals and organizations find calm and productivity in their work.
Meditation and Breathing Exercises
Recent studies have shown that meditation can benefit individuals significantly, including enhancing productivity, responsiveness to emerging problems, and creating calm. As a secular practice, mindfulness meditation improves self-regulation so that individuals may respond rather than react to a given set of circumstances. The presenters recommended that something as simple as a breathing exercise can make a difference. An exercise, specifically for a challenging moment, is to Stop, Breathe, Notice, Choose.
Stop, which is a challenging step, is to pause in a situation. Breathe, as in, take a deep breath in and exhale. Notice how you are feeling. Are your feelings affecting your heart rate or creating tension? Choose, consciously decide on the best response to the situation. To react is automatic. To respond is an active choice.
Growth Mindset
The presenters cited the work of Carol Dweck, a psychologist who emphasizes the study of growth versus fixed mindset. To maintain resilience as a research administrator, it is important to identify your mindset and seek out opportunities to grow in how one approaches their work. Research administrators can cultivate a growth mindset by seeking feedback, assessing where they can improve, learning something new, and surrounding themselves with people who challenge their perspectives. This process can be a radical approach because it opens one up to seeing failures as opportunities and practicing kindness while doing something new.
Protecting your Energy
Lastly, the presenters outlined strategies to recoup lost energy during the workday. Protecting your energy helps set healthy work boundaries and prevents the long-term risk of burnout while on the job. Key tenets include celebrating small wins along the way in a project, acknowledging the hard work that goes into each milestone in a project, and, most importantly, creating connections with others. Often, productivity culture establishes unrealistic expectations for individual workers. A mindful approach establishes an awareness of what is realistic/unrealistic, creates boundaries around expectations and personal ambitions, and encourages using SMART goals.
Authored by Hanna Bates, Research Administrator III
Iowa State University
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