Please note: This story reflects the personal experience and perspective of its contributor. Academic careers vary widely, and others may experience different challenges and opportunities. 

Career Story 

I have been a lecturer for 40 years and have worked at various Business Schools in the UK. I began as a Lecturer in Business Policy at Plymouth on a three year contract before relocating north via Leeds Beckett, Manchester Metropolitan and eventually settling at Leeds in 2006.

The northern universities have looked after me well, with permanent contracts and better terms for promotion. At Leeds Beckett, my strengths in marketing rather than business strategy were recognised and I was promoted to Senior Lecturer in Marketing. I led on various projects, from Dissertation Co ordinator to assessor for undergraduate European marketing students. A highlight was assessing my students in French at our partner institution in Caen. I also joined a team of psychologists as a Marketing Consultant to study consumer behaviour for a major UK retailer.

At Manchester Metropolitan, I continued as Senior Lecturer and became Programme Lead for undergraduate Marketing and Brand Management degrees before accepting a Lecturer position at Leeds. Moving from Senior Lecturer to Lecturer might seem like a drop in status, but it was common when moving from a teaching focused university to a research intensive university. More importantly, I was able to specialise in advertising within Marketing for the past 20 years. I am also a Trustee of the History of Advertising Trust and recently completed a PhD in advertising.

As a business and management graduate, I always knew I was not good with numbers. By the end of my MBA, I knew I was creative and thought in an abstract way. These are my strengths. Follow your natural curiosity and forget about the numbers. My PhD allowed me to contribute to advertising archives in a way that combined my interests, including martial arts, through visual analysis and critique skills.

As a mother, being present and maintaining work life balance has been essential. Looking back, I would argue for better facilities and support for colleagues with young children and for removing the need for presenteeism in the workplace.

There is a myth that to be a leader you have to act in a certain way. I rebelled against that. I am not going to change the way I speak, my accent or the way I dress to fit others’ perceptions of what a leader is. In academia, your strength is demonstrated in what you have achieved on your own terms, how you solve problems, the events you organise and the mark you leave on people and places. It has to be genuine.

Where opportunities were off limits to me as a Teaching and Scholarship lecturer, I sought experiences elsewhere as a ‘pracademic’. I used my practitioner networks to build something growing in importance. Through my work in sustainability leadership roles and representing the University in international initiatives, I shaped strategy and engaged staff and students in climate communications.

Now that my PhD journey has ended, I am refocusing on my family as my son begins his GCSE journey. I have reduced external consultancy so that I can creatively disseminate my research in ways that maximise my strengths.

Networks have been essential for survival and for finding my tribe. EiL networks, in particular, have provided a supportive environment to share and connect with colleagues navigating similar spaces. I have also offered support to others negotiating their career ladders. I realise I have many life experiences to share and I am keen to give something back.

It is also worth getting a career coach. Through the EiL programme, coaching sessions sent me on a road of discovery. I realised that my performance at interviews had been affected by undiagnosed ADHD. Following diagnosis, I was successful at interview. It has worked out well for me.

Reflections I would offer now 

• Follow your natural curiosity. Build on your strengths rather than trying to conform to someone else’s template.
• Progression may not look linear. Moving roles or institutions can open different forms of opportunity.
• You do not need to change your accent, style or personality to lead. Lead in your own way.
• If certain doors feel closed, look for alternative routes and build networks beyond formal structures.
• Protect family life and challenge cultures of presenteeism.
• Invest in coaching and self-understanding. It can change how you show up and how you succeed.