How to Get Ahead in Academia: 12 Easy Steps to I-O Stardom
Robert P. Tett & Kevin E. Fox
University of Tulsa
Rising to the top of ones field is relished by few and envied by most. For many of those fortunate enough to get there, success is a long and tortuous expedition pocked by setbacks, frustration, and hard work. They survive that journey, bearing the scars of countless battles with reviewers, editors, and disgruntled, often aggressive, dissenters. They reach stardom as shells of their former, idealistic selves, barely able to enjoy their enriched status above the followers on which their tainted self-esteem so precariously depends. A question worth posing, we suggest, is: Who needs
that?
Two roads to success are depicted in the figure. The first, represented as an S curve, shows achievements countered by setbacks. The road in this case is bumpy, torn, and convoluted, hardly one suited to the fast-tracking up-and-comer. The second route, represented as a straight line, shows an unfettered path from relative obscurity to the glow of star-status, clearly the avenue of choice for the ambitiously enlightened.
For those destined for greatness, who lack the patience, resilience, and traditional (i.e., outdated) qualities for success, we offer the following shortcuts for getting ahead in the cruel world that is I-O psychology. (Note: We assume the reader is already familiar with the more basic, tried-and-true strategies for success, such as creating ones own data and sending hash brownies to closed-minded editors. Our selection is targeted to more advanced players.)
1. Fish with a big net. There are many, many variables out there and the possibilities for relationships among them are quite numerous. How can anyone be expected to anticipate all the important ones? Rather than waste time pinpointing only those linkages suggested by theory (a likely unproven one at that), you can save considerable effort in the long run by cramming into any given study as many different measures as time allows. Good theories go with good results; the order is arbitrary. Casting a wide net then publishing the strongest, most useful findings is one sure-fire way to catch the admiration (and dont forget the envy) of your peers.
2. Champion the obvious. An apple falls, gravity is born, and Isaac Newton is famous. Contrary to widespread belief, the trick in academic stardom is not to reveal subtle meanings and hidden truths, but rather to be the first to celebrate and label what everyone assumes is common knowledge (e.g., goals are motivating, conscientiousness predicts job performance, unhappy workers quit). Anyone can agree with reality; it takes someone truly talented to convince others that pointing it out is worthy of widespread scientific acclaim. Many of the more famous in our field have been doing this for years.
If you want to be like them you need to do what they do.
3. Frame the question. Any good answer needs a good question. Your impending star status gives you the insight to know what people want to hear, and you have the data to back it up. Why encumber the already overburdened publication process with needless meanderings involving criteria for which you have no answer? If studying the relationship between cognitive ability and job performance, for example, define performance in a way that makes sense in light of your predictor. After all, validity is all about making sense, and your readers will applaud your certainty in what performance really is. This is truly a win-win situation.
4. Make outrageous claims. One of the biggest myths in the game of science is that presenting balanced perspectives wins points. Science is not about balance but about saying things others have been too blind to see or too afraid to say themselves. When submitting a paper for review, dont be shy with the facts and what they really mean. Go as far as your data will allow, as nothing is so clear as an extreme statement. Most reviewers will be impressed by your forthrightness. Note, however, that those less hardy in their thinking may try to bump you back a notch, so be sure to go out as far as you can in your first submission. Dropping from an 11 to a 9 (on a 10-point scale) still leaves you in the star-quality range. Also, you need not be correct in any or all of your claims as your citations, and accordingly your celebrity, will grow just as well with dissenting viewpoints as with those more supportive.
5. Invent new terms. It may be surprising to many readers that new ideas are rare in science. Far more common is the recycling of old ideas. A virtually guaranteed way to achieve renown is to identify a concept everyone is familiar with, and better yet, one they are tired of looking at, and coin a suitably catchy descriptor that no one else has used before. Old labels, after all, are burdened with the baggage of past research conducted in a rejected era under obsolete assumptions by people who, quite frankly, have outlived their usefulness. Putting a new spin on a pre-existing concept by renaming it can vitalize both an entire field of inquiry and, in the process, your own budding career. Also, an idea is only as powerful as the label that carries it. Finding the right term means finding success. (Note: We suggest this translabeling process is not unique to I-O psychology and calls for study in its own right.)
6. Let meta-analysis be your guide. Many researchers spend countless hours conducting studies of limited power (i.e., N <
). Any truth worth discovering must rely on sample sizes obtainable only through aggregation. Meta-analysis has the answer! While others toil in the haphazard uncertainty of sampling error, you can rise to the top (on others heads) by combining results from as few as three studies (10 is a perfectly reasonable number). The best part of this strategy is that your topics choose themselves: The fact that three studies have already been conducted in a given area ensures there is enough interest in the corresponding meta-analysis. Dont allow yourself to be disillusioned by the law of small numbers. Get out there and aggregate before someone else beats you to it.
7. Thin the herd. Not everyone can be successful, and the sooner people realize that, the sooner they can get on with whatever else their lives have in store for them. Nothing is more pathetic than watching a person carried aloft on false hopes beyond their means, only to come crashing down when the reality of their limitations catches up with them. As you begin to publish, editors will seek your guidance and insight on others submitted works. Your heightened position above the masses of less gifted authors means that opportunities for criticism are likely to abound. You must remember that your ultimate responsibility is not to placate the egos of the weaker-minded but rather to advance the knowledge that defines I-O psychology. Other, less formal opportunities will arise, for example, at social hours, committee work, and perhaps even a cleverly placed
TIP submission, for you to clarify to others the developmental needs and insurmountable weaknesses of your closest competitors. Anything you can do to foster accurate expectations about their true potential could be critical in saving them from the humiliation otherwise assured by more public scrutiny. More importantly, the sooner you can identify the pretenders and expose their shortcomings, the less obstructed will be your path to eminence and, accordingly, the growth of I-O knowledge.
8. Clarify others viewpoints. People like to disagree and the novelty of your ideas, although slight, is bound to arouse debate from your more cantankerous colleagues. When engaging in any open disputes (generally not the best option; see below), it is important that both sides be presented clearly. Perspectives often get distorted in heated academic exchanges, leading to unnecessary confusion. As the rising star, it falls to you to ensure that the arguments are presented correctly; your dissenters, more than anyone else, can hardly be expected to get them right. Thus, when summarizing the other camps viewpoint, take special care to show why the very question they are asking is flawed (let alone the answer) and explain how their strengths are either already well established (preferably, based on one of your earlier works) or incorporated in your current perspective. It may take some time, but the other camp should ultimately thank you for your insights.
On a related note, strawperson arguments are underrated. What better way to expose the weaknesses in others views than by taking them to their extremes? The important thing is that you make your opponents look bad, which makes you look good, and looking good is what success is all about.
9. Ignore irrelevant viewpoints. Openly disagreeing with others views is often unavoidable. Although debates can put you at center stage (en route to fame and glory), they have the unfortunate side effect of making your competitors famous, too. There is very little room at the top of the heap, and the last thing you want is to have to share it with your enemies. To lessen the risk, we recommend that you completely ignore others findings that in any way conflict with your own understanding of the world. By not citing them, you bring them one step closer to academic oblivion, and a path less cluttered with strange ideas offers a safer, more direct route to your own success.
10. Dont let others good ideas go to waste. Anyone can come up with a good idea. Its the execution that separates the professional from the amateur. Should the I-O consumer rely on just anyone to cultivate a meritorious concept to fruition? No, they should rely on you, the future I-O star. So when you learn of a newly hatched idea (e.g., at a poster presentation, in casual conversation with lesser colleagues), dont give anyone else the chance to mess it up. Take it under your wing, work it into your own thinking, and help the rest of us by getting it published as quickly as you can.
11. Defend yourself offensively. As your star grows ever brighter, you are bound to encounter those with similar ambitions who seek to advance their credibility by undermining yours. Do not take such situations lightly as odds are good that the aggressors will have read this article too and are armed with the same strategies and encouragement. When other alternatives fail, you may be forced to consider taking more drastic steps designed to keep your opponents off balance, delaying their progress in some way. If someone attempts to critique one of your conference presentations, for example, you might try threatening to sue them for copyright violation. Even though legally groundless, a simple, terse letter bearing the threat of a lawsuit can send the recipient scrambling for cover, consuming valuable time and resources that might otherwise be spent pursuing their own success at your expense.
12. Choose your friends wisely. Finally, friends are important in all walks of life, no less so in the halls of academia. Who you know, as the saying goes, can be more important than what you know. Among all those you meet on the road to stardom, few will have the credentials to recognize and appreciate your talents as a thinker and researcher and even fewer to help you on your way. Good sources for such gifted colleagues include lists of SIOP award winners, past and current SIOP presidents, and editors of prestigious journals. For those seeking more universal recognition, famous politicians, actors, athletes, and religious leaders (e.g., the Dalai Lama) would offer additional credibility and influence. Merely being associated with such luminaries will signal to others your impending fame, but getting to know them personally will usher you into a coveted and hidden world of power, where a simple e-mail can make the difference between being offered a Handbook chapter and being relegated to the hinterland of anonymity and mediocrity that is the vast majority of SIOP membership. Friends are people who help you. The people who can help you most make the best of friends.
Life is short and you only live once. Your future as an I-O star is largely in your own hands, and you owe it to yourself and to the rest of the SIOP community to get to the top as quickly as you can. How you get there can be as important as your arrival. We hope our insights will serve you well in the coming weeks, months, and even years (if necessary), paving a smoother and more certain road to the fame, glory, and fortunes that are yours for the taking.
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