I’m at an inflection point.

I’m now a mid-career academic. I’ve been awarded tenure, finished my textbook, and now must decide what direction to take my career.

Several options lie before me. I can focus on my research with an eye on achieving full professor. I can focus writing more textbooks, now that the first one is under my belt and I understand the process. I could work toward an administrative position, which I’m certain I could do well at, even if I won’t love it. Alternatively, I may be able meet the requirements of my academic position while simultaneously pursing outside endeavors, such as writing of popular press books or starting my own business.

Each of these career choices have their advantages. Pursuing full professorship increases my career flexibility, increasing my credibility with other academics for my other options, such as writing textbooks or going into administrative work. But I don’t need it. I can do both of the others without achieving full professor. Writing more textbooks helps increase my income, besides potentially making a huge impact on students the world over (rather than just in my classroom). And I honestly love the challenge. But the time required is immense with only a slight chance of success. Entering administration increases my impact on the local level, often providing a larger paycheck to boot. And the side gigs have captured my attention for years – higher risk, but potentially higher reward as well.

Perhaps you find yourself in a similar situation.

Finding mentors

I need someone that can help me sort through these options. Someone that put these options into a different perspective and help me see things outside of my limited context. Someone who’s opinion I trust. Someone who wants the best for me. Someone to be my mentor.

But first, I need to remind myself that using a mentor does not make me weak or incompetent. Rather the opposite. Mentors can help me find the best direction for my career and life much quicker and easier than on my own. A mentor can help me avoid many of the mistakes and learning pains that everyone experiences. We are, after all, not omniscient.

After doing a bit of research, I discovered that mentorship can take many forms. I can create a personal board of advisors or directors, hire a personal coach, join a mastermind group, or simply find an informal mentor on an ad hoc basis.

Mentorships often come from people you already know and respect – your boss, your parents, your spouse, or a high school friend that made good. But you can also benefit from individuals more distant from your life that can add an outsider’s perspective – a senior manager in your firm, a friend of your parents in your industry, a successful entrepreneur you met at a networking event, or a group of experts in your field. As you mature, your mentors may change as your needs change. However, it’s useful to have a variety of mentors that can each add value to your life in different ways.

Mentorship Plan

For me, that means purposefully choosing mentors to help with my immediate inflection point, but also having mentors that can help me continuously improve over the long term. Short term, three mentors will help me think through my plan for the next 5 years – my wife, my good friend and accountability partner, and my former tenure-track mentor and colleague.

After developing a clearer idea of my 5 year goals, I plan to seek out a mastermind group at ECU’s College of Business and find mentor outside my immediate circle for advice on how best to proceed. These external mentor will be someone I speak with approximately once every 3-6 months, someone that has already found success in the area I wish to pursue and can hopefully help me navigate the waters.