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The Seven Habits of Highly
Effective Junior Faculty
Jennifer Corbelli, MD, MS, University of Pittsburgh
Sarah Tilstra, MD, MS, University of Pittsburgh
Abby L Spencer MD, MS, FACP, Cleveland Clinic
*Rachel Bonnema, MD, MS, University of Nebraska
Workshop Goals
Identify 7 habits that successful junior faculty master
Identify pitfalls and challenges to mastery
Provide framework for application of these habits
Discuss key strategies to arm you (& your mentees)
for success: skills overlap and reinforce each other
Seven Habits
Saying No
Conflict Resolution
Avoiding the “Trainee” Trap
Avoiding the “Friend” Trap
Agenda Setting
Playing to your Strengths
Finding and Managing Mentors
Agenda
Introductions and Group Brainstorming
Seven Habits:
Skit
Large group skit-debriefing/discussion
Outlining skills and strategies
Group Discussion and Wrap-Up
What is difficult about being junior faculty?
Junior faculty pitfalls that senior faculty in
the room have noticed?
How long have you been faculty?
What brings you here?
Habit #1 –Saying No
Sarah Tilstra, MD, MS
Assistant Professor of Medicine
CASE DISCUSSION
1) Why is saying NO, really hard?
2) Is there a “right” way to say no?
Saying NO is Hard
You don’t want to be perceived as lazy,
unsupportive, not a team player, or as the
person that “can’t handle it”- especially at work
When women “say no”- they are viewed as non-
communal, and even $itchy
May be passed-over for future opportunities and
turned down for favors
We like to be liked!
Why Say NO
Not in your best interest or aligned with career
goals
Outside of your skillset
Unable to meet the deadline
Will compromise your mental/physical health or
that of your family’s
Unethical
Why SHOULDN’T You Say No (i.e. Why say YES!)
Career opportunity or advancement in an area
you may not have considered
Chance to learn a new skillset
Opportunity to network (sometimes it’s WHO you
know….)
You are mentored to say yes
To be a team player
Because it’s your turn
You may need a favor someday
Rules for Saying NO
Get more information prior to committing Yes/No
How could this opportunity benefit your career?
Who would be your collaborators? Mentor?
Any more protected time? Increase in pay? Do you need
these logistics in writing prior to committing?
Get advice from your mentor for all major decisions!
Could you say YES in the future?
Worthy opportunity, timing is terrible
“I would really like to sit on the curriculum committee but
this year my clinical obligations preclude me from
accepting any more commitments. However, if a spot
opens up next year, I would appreciate it if you would
consider me again for this position.”
Rules for Saying NO
(Consider) explaining why you are saying no
High stakes: “Taking on a QI project right now will
detract from my ability to keep up with my clinical and
teaching responsibilities at the level that I want to
achieve.”
Low stakes: “No, I am unable to …..add 2 hours of
clinic on this week”
Don’t forget about negotiation, can you come to
a compromise?
“I am unable to pick up any additional clinic prior to
May 1, but I am able to give 4 additional hours during
May”
Rules for Saying NO
Communicate clearly, clarify all negotiations prior to
settling the conversation
“Just to make sure we are on the same page, let’s
review what we have discussed….”
Offer alternatives (what about your office buddy who
also LOVES teaching physical exam to medical
students, needs to buff her CV and actually has time
to do it?) PUT JUNIOR FACULTY FORWARD
Limit the apologies
Thank (them) for considering you for this opportunity
Habit #2 –
Conflict Resolution
Issues: Conflict Resolution
“Do not let the behavior of others destroy
your inner peace.” -Dalai Lama
Good mantra
To a point
Issues: Conflict Resolution
“Do not let the behavior of others destroy your
inner peace.” -Dalai Lama
Good mantra
To a point
Impossible to get through a year, much less a
day, without conflicts arising
Academic medicine can feel like a fishbowl
From the Original “7 Habits”
Urgent
Not
Urgent
Important Unimportant
Resident in crisis
Patient care issue
Grant deadline
Dispute over authorship
Holiday/weekend coverage
Ownership of a leadership role
Dealing with problem learner
Interpersonal issues
Showing up late
Failure to respond to emails
Annoying guy in meetings
etc,etc,etc
Colleague corners you
in parking garage to
discuss scheduling;
you’re trying to get to
day care before 6 pm
Disagreement on
topics for pre-clinic
conference
Conflict Resolution: How (Short-Term)
Distinguish disagreement from conflict
“Begin with the end in mind”
How will you define successful resolution?
What things are you willing to compromise?
What roadblocks to you anticipate?
What’s the first sentence to come out of your
mouth?
Use your (trusted) peer mentors
“Enter with curiosity” helps identify your contribution
to the conflict, easier to reach win/win
AVOID rapid-fire email replies
Conflict Resolution: How (Long-Term)
Be proactive in:
Minimizing conflict
Choosing to tackle conflicts you can resolve
Starting with priorities
Utilize mentors
Ask for advice/feedback
Debrief
“Sharpen the Saw”
Identify triggers/unique challenges
Practice in low-stakes situation
Skills more accessible in urgent/difficult conflicts
Habit # 3 –Avoiding
the Trainee Trap
Jennifer Corbelli, MD, MS
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Skit #3
“Switch Day”
Case Discussion
1) Should Jen have done more to advocate for
herself when she was taking over Karen’s
inpatient team? What about when they met
about precepting?
2) Was this more an example of Jen choosing her
battles, or of avoiding conflict rather than trying
to resolve it?
Issues: The Trainee Trap Many junior faculty who stay where they train at risk to
be treated as trainees rather than peers
Senior faculty may often be doing it unintentionally,
and/or mean well
Sometimes being caught in the trap is beneficial
Can help with ongoing professional development
Back-up sometimes necessary
Depends on setting/frequency/degree/whether actual
trainees perceive this dynamic
Avoiding the Trainee Trap: Why
May set the tone for ongoing relationships with co-
faculty members
Undermines your authority with trainees (who may
treat you as a friend—stay tuned)
Creates resentment; decreases work satisfaction
May increase risk of being passed over for
opportunities (leadership/research/mentoring)
Avoiding the Trainee Trap:
Daily Interactions
Make the switch from “Dr . . .” to first name
Sit at the Table1
Speak your Truth1
Highlight what you offer
(in real time)
Fellowship training
Research expertise
Energy/New Ideas
OK (and good) to role model lifelong learning in front
of trainees (but you set the tone for when/how)
Sandberg 2013
Avoiding the Trainee Trap:
The Long Game
Name it (junior faculty): “I really appreciate the chance
to learn . . . from you . . .”
Redirects away from clinical/public setting
Helps you highlight where you are still learning vs.
where you are comfortable
Name it (senior faculty): “I want to help you transition. .
. what are the areas and ways I can be most helpful?”
Put in the time and establish yourself (yr 1 not yr 3)
Agenda setting/mentoring/playing to your strengths
Identify a niche/identify areas for improvement
Habit # 4 –Avoiding
the Friend Trap
Sarah Tilstra, MD, MS
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Story time??
The Friend Trap
You have finally made it to faculty status, but
your underlings still see you as their “buddy”
Not respected in your current position of
authority, expertise
Internal conflict about how much authority to
exert while still maintaining a good relationship
with your former peers and current friends
Usually an issue when you stay at one institution
Can be better when assuming faculty role at
separate institution from training
How to Avoid the Friend Trap
Recognize how your daily habits/interactions
contribute to this dynamic (saw this earlier!)
How do you introduce yourself?
Language? Gossip? Complain?
Earn respect:
Pick and choose your teaching battles (teach to your
strengths!)
Set expectations, and speak up immediately when
they are not met
How to Avoid the Friend Trap
Respect your learners’ autonomy and
capabilities
Don’t micromanage their patients just to exert control,
it could only backfire
Realize how much you can learn from learners and
be humble about the things they teach you
Try to keep your “work life” and your “friend life”
separate
Do work stuff at work
Follow and enforce the rules
Don’t become facebook friends with residents
Take-Home Point: Avoiding the
Friend Trap
Good News: Unlike the other 6 habits, this
issue is likely to eventually solve itself over time
Will happen more quickly with the right skills
and strategies
Habit #5 –
Agenda Setting
Skit #2 “Meeting with the Division Chief”
Case Discussion: Agenda Setting
How do you “set an agenda” in your first couple
of years on faculty without experience in
academics?
How do you balance your time to achieve goals
and measure success as a junior faculty
member?
Issues
You thought you’d naturally become a better
leader, teacher, etc, just by being involved in
academics
You don’t know how to measure your progress
You don’t know how to be deliberate about
working toward your goals
Being Busy Does Not Equal
Being Productive
Look at everyone around you. They all seem so busy —
running from meeting to meeting and firing off emails.
Yet how many of them are really producing, really
succeeding at a high level?
Success doesn’t come from movement and activity. It
comes from focus — from ensuring that your time is
used efficiently and productively. You get the same
number of hours in the day as everyone else. Use yours
wisely. After all, you’re the product of your output, not
your effort.
Agenda Setting
Junior faculty need to identify their career goals
to be able to recognize and take opportunities
for growth and development congruent with
overall career plans
You must be deliberate in laying out an agenda
to achieve individual objectives: it won’t happen
along the way without being proactive and
reflecting on your progress
Agenda Setting: Why
Each year goes by quickly
A lot of opportunities available—easy to be
busy without gaining skills
Specific skill development
Teaching
Leadership
Clinical
Research
Ability to try new things
Career Planning: Life-long Process
Step 1
Who am I? What are my interests, skills, values,
personality, style?
Step 2
What do I want?
What are my options?
Step 3
How do I get there?
What am I willing to do?
Step 4
What is my plan to get to my goal?
Agenda Setting: How
Begin with the end in mind
Start with a clear understanding of your
destination
Easy to get caught up in an activity trap
Sit down with a mentor(s) and outline key
goals
Personal
Program/Division/Department
Agenda Setting: How
Brainstorm strategies for achieving these goals
What skills are necessary, how will you gain them?
In what programs/activities do you want to get
involved?
What is your timetable?
When will you accomplish these tasks? How do
they fit into your daily/weekly responsibilities?
Talk to other faculty, division/department chair about
what is possible
Organize your week/month according to your goals
Evaluation: How do you know you are achieving goals?
Habit #6 –
Playing to your Strengths
Playing to Your Strengths
Knowing your strengths and deliberately
matching tasks to those strengths helps ensure
professional successes
Not necessarily what you are good at
Playing to your Strengths - recall
You have an opportunity to be part of the
committee to redesign the residency
evaluations.
Fits with your goal of wanting to be more involved
with the residency program, but you didn’t train here
and don’t really know much about each rotation.
How will you succeed and impress the committee and
program leadership?
Issues
Big task-where to even start?
Reflect on your personal goals…
Chance to get to know the program/residents
You had been involved with a similar project as a
chief resident
Pros/Cons…what happens if you fail?
Playing to Your Strengths: Why
Successful people have one thing in common:
they focus on strengths and manage around
weaknesses
Can’t be great at everything
Unique experiences and abilities to draw from to
address certain issues
Solve certain problems very quickly without
much thought or effort
Playing to Your Strengths: How
Playing to Your Strengths: How
Identify Strengths
Collect feedback from a variety of people inside and
outside work
Link specific examples when those were utilized in
ways that were meaningful to them
Identify common themes among the feedback
Write a description of yourself that summarizes
and distills the accumulated information
Redesign personal job description to build on
what you are good at
Reflected Best Self exercise—Harvard Business Review
Habit #7 –Mentorship
Abby L Spencer MD, MS, FACP
Director – Internal Medicine Residency Program
Vice Chairman of Education – Medicine Institute
Skit #1 “Abby and the Mentor”
CASE DISCUSSION
1) Was this a good outcome. Why/why not?
1) What did Abby do well? What could she have
done differently to better impact her desired
outcome?
Mentorship- What is it? How is a mentor different from:
A role model?
A coach?
A sponsor?
Experienced
Sustained
Relationship
Promoting development
Mentorship- Why?
People with mentors make more money than
those without mentors. T/F
People with mentors derive greater job and career
satisfaction than those without mentors. T/F
People with mentors have increased resources,
time, publications, and grants T?F
People with mentors are promoted more than
those without mentors. T/F
Mentorship: What might you want or
need from a mentor?
Mentors
Research
Clinical
Clinical
teaching
Classroom
teaching
Curriculum
development
?
?
“life”
Guidance
Advocacy
Support
Facilitate
Confrontation
Write a
LOR
Promotion Finding a niche
Career;
niche,
role
Identify Needs… Then Identify Mentors
Research
Clinical
Clinical
teaching
Classroom
teaching
Curriculum
development
?
?
“life”
Write a
LOR
Promotion Finding a niche
Mentor
Guidance
Advocacy
Support
Facilitate
Confrontation
Identify Needs… Then Identify Good Mentors
Clinical
Clinical
teaching
Curriculum
development
Finding a niche
Research
“life”
Write a
LOR
Promotion
Can & Should One Mentor Do it All?
Identify Needs… Then Identify Good Mentors
Mentor 1
Clinical
Clinical
teaching
Curriculum
development
“life”
Guidance
Advocacy
Support
Facilitate
Confrontation
Mentor 2
Guidance
Advocacy
Support
Facilitate
Confrontation
Promotion
Write a
LOR
Research
Classroom
teaching
Finding a niche
Types of Mentors
• Career Mentors
• Overall career guidance & support
• Scheduled meetings at least 2-3 times per year
• Scholarly or Content Mentors
• Responsible for developing the creative and/or
independent scholarly careers of their mentees
• Must have expertise in the mentees' area of scholarship
• Help provide resources to support mentees' work
• Scheduled meetings 1-2 times per month
Peer Mentors Senior Mentors
Conflict management
Writing groups
Mutual accountability
Support for resiliency
Provide sponsorship and
opportunities
Guidance with navigating
political landmines
Big picture when not visible
Connects/networking
Might actually feed resiliency
more than peers: can shift
focus to positives/goal setting
vs. just commiseration
What if also your boss?
Are You My Mentor?
Baby bird asks a kitten, hen, dog, plane, steam shovel.”
The strongest relationships spring out of real
connections felt by both sides
Mentors often select mentees based on performance
and potential; continue to invest when mentees use
their time well and are truly open to feedback
It’s not “get a mentor and you will excel, instead, excel
and you will get a mentor”
Ask advice, give follow-up, ask again, mentor is
invested
“That’s not a mentor; that’s a therapist”
*Sandberg, 2013
Summary: The Effective Mentee
1. Self-reflection and assessment
2. Identify appropriate mentor(s)
3. Prepare for the first meeting…and all others
4. Pose problems and potential solutions, be open to new ideas
5. Be accountable; hold mentor accountable
6. Manage-up
7. Be appreciative; keep mentor engaged
8. Add additional mentors as needed
9. Follow-through
Questions?
Finding and Managing Mentors
Saying No
Agenda Setting
Playing to your Strengths
Avoiding the “Trainee” Trap
Conflict Resolution
Avoiding the “Friend” Trap
Group Discussion
Habits we missed (yes)? Which stand out and
why?
How can we better prepare graduating
residents/fellows for the transition to junior
faculty?
