The PhD Life Raft Podcast

From her extensive work in the field Valerie Young guesses that approximately 90% of PhD students experience imposter syndrome!  In this episode she offers some reflections on why academic culture may feed that anxiety of being found out as a fraud; as well as offering some advice on how to shift your perspective.   Dr Valerie Young is the author of the award-winning book The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer from the Impostor Syndrome and How to Thrive in Spite of It.  In addition to speaking at such diverse organizations as Google, IBM, Procter & Gamble, Facebook, Merck and NASA, Valerie has also spoken to students and faculty at over 100 universities in the US, Canada, Europe, Japan, and the UK including Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and Oxford.  Her work has been cited in dozens of popular and business outlets around the world including BBC, Newsweek, Time, Science, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.     Valerie begins by reflecting on her own experience of graduate school - which included her discovering Clance and Imes’ work on The Imposter Phenomenon.  You can find out more about that research here: https://www.paulineroseclance.com/impostor_phenomenon.html   In working with imposter syndrome, Valerie emphasizes the importance of identifying unconscious patterns that may lead to feelings of self-doubt.  She explores how academic culture may feed those feelings - and tells a very funny story about smurfs while she is at it!   She reminds us that failure is part of everybody’s CV.  The link to the Princeton Professor’s Failure CV is here: https://www.princeton.edu/~joha/Johannes_Haushofer_CV_of_Failures.pdf (I love how he notes that so many more people have been interested in this document than in the one that details his successes!)   The interview ends with a wonderful reminder that our work is not just for us.  That there are people out there waiting to benefit from our research and it is an act of service to share it with them.   You can find out more about Valerie’s work at https://impostorsyndrome.com/   Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter for more information and support.

A very important element of your PhD journey is your relationship with your supervisor.     In this episode I talk to Dr Chris Megson, Reader in Drama and Theatre and Director of Postgraduate Research Education, in the School of Performing and Digital Arts at Royal Holloway, University of London.  Chris has supervised many doctoral students and been awarded the inaugural Researcher Supervisor of the Year prize at Royal Holloway as well as being shortlisted for the national Times Higher Award (2018) in this very competitive category.     Chris begins by talking about his own experience of the PhD and the challenges of combining study with full-time work.     Throughout the interview Chris stresses the importance of good communication between the student and supervisor.  If you are finding communication a challenge this resource might help you:  https://www.phdstudies.com/article/How-to-Develop-a-Good-Relationship-with-your-PhD-Supervisor/   Chris talks about how he finds working with doctoral students one of the most rewarding aspects of being an academic.  He gives the reminder that your PhD application was accepted because it looked interesting and exciting and the supervisor(s) wanted to work on the project with you!     He says supervision “it's not a kind of cross that we have to bear or a burden on our backs. It's one of the main reasons we're in the job”.   Chris discusses the importance of having a collaborative mindset not only when developing the professional partnership with your supervisor where, for example, you need to establish timelines that accommodate the demands on both parties.  But also of collaborating with peers and other academic colleagues as you enter into the community of the academy.   The interview finishes with a reminder to avoid “ostrich syndrome” - keep your head out of the sand and keep in dialogue with your supervisory team.   You can contact Chris chris.megson@rhul.ac.uk or find him on Twitter @chris_megson As an extra, here is a link to a playful piece but you might want to take a look and consider what sort of relationship do you have with your supervisor: https://theconversation.com/ten-types-of-phd-supervisor-relationships-which-is-yours-52967   Did you find this episode useful?  Let us know at phdliferaft@yahoo.com

In this discussion, Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, a visiting scholar from Stanford and founder of Strategy and Rest, reveals why embracing rest can supercharge productivity. He links rest to enhanced creativity, emphasizing that napping aids memory consolidation. The conversation tackles academia's busy culture and its toll on mental health, advocating for sustainable work practices and setting clear boundaries. Alex shares insights on adapting to changing career landscapes, encouraging a mindset shift towards valuing rest for long-term success.

I am delighted to share this conversation with Mays Imad.   Mays serves as a Professor of Genetics, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Pima Community College and is the founding coordinator of the Teaching and Learning Center.  Her current research focuses on stress, self-awareness, advocacy, and classroom community.   Through her teaching and research, Mays seeks to provide students with transformative opportunities which are grounded in the aesthetics of learning, truth-seeking, and self-realization.   In this interview Mays talks about her own journey from a humanities undergraduate to a STEM postgraduate and how her research developed through her deep love of teaching.   She talks about the difference between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ stress and how, when it is overwhelmed, the brain can become hijacked by emotions which hinder the capacity to process information as the focus is on survival.   She identifies how the experience of the pandemic has caused many people to slow down cognitively and how it is important to attend to activating our natural ‘reward network’ in order to calm the nervous system and allow information to pass to the cortex.    Mays references John O Donohue’s discussion of cultivating a landscape of interiority.  You can access a recording with him here: https://onbeing.org/programs/john-odonohue-the-inner-landscape-of-beauty-aug2017/   Mays closes with an invitation to cultivate a sense of wonder through engaging with creativity and beauty.

My fabulous first guest is Chloe Lee a 3rd year History student undertaking a practice-as-research PhD.   Chloe talks about three key things that she wishes she had known more about when she was starting her PhD.   Shares how she structures her time and creates a manageable rhythm for working.  She talks about her own experience of part-time work as a helpful aspect in shaping her week and we touch on the importance of transition moments in the day and how to make them work for you.   She shares her own methods for self care and personal development - if you would like to know more about the enneagram system that Chloe discusses The Ennegram Made Easy by Baron and Wagele gives a really clear and simple outline.   We discuss how a commitment to promoting well-being can help to shift the culture of the academy.  I mention the book Academic Tribes and Territories by Becher and Trowler that explores the process of enculturation into academic life and we note that the new generation of researchers have the opportunity to challenge established norms.   Chloe reflects on how she wished she had realised what a big challenge the PhD would be on many levels and shares her process of developing healthy boundaries and support structures.    

Hello and welcome to The PhD Life Raft Podcast!