Before you meet, engage with the resources below. You do not have to engage with every resource, but try to choose at least three that feel most relevant to you right now. For each resource, you are simply invited to notice what resonates using the prompts below. Try to engage with at least three resources. 

Resource 1: Redefining Academic Success and Recognising Contribution 

As you engage, notice:

• How you currently define success in your academic career
• Contributions you make that may not be captured by traditional metrics
• Whether you compare yourself against definitions of success that no longer fit your current role or priorities
• What contribution you most hope to make through your work

Resource 2: Recognise How Your Role Has Evolved Over Time

As you reflect, notice:

• How your role has changed over the course of your career
• Activities that occupy more or less of your time than they once did
• Ways in which your influence may have expanded beyond your direct research outputs
• Contributions you now make that you may not have recognised as valuable

Resource 3: Recognising and Valuing Invisible Contributions 

As you engage, notice:

• Types of work that are important but often go unseen
• Contributions you make that support colleagues, students, teams or institutions
• Activities that you value but rarely include when describing your achievements
• How visible or invisible different forms of contribution are within your environment

Resource 4: Map Your Contributions 

As you reflect, notice:

• The breadth of your contribution across research, leadership, mentoring, service, engagement and citizenship
• Areas of contribution that you may underestimate or overlook
• How easily you can articulate the value of your work to others
• Patterns or themes that emerge when you look at your contribution as a whole

Resource 5: Get to Grips with Promotions Criteria, Process and People

As you engage, notice:

• Which aspects of contribution appear most visible or valued within your institution
• Where there may be opportunities to better evidence or communicate your work
• How well your current understanding of promotions criteria reflects the reality of institutional decision-making
• What support or information might help you navigate future career decisions

Resource 6: Influencing Effectively Within Higher Education 

As you reflect, notice:

• Situations where you influence others without holding formal authority
• How your ideas, expertise or relationships contribute to change
• Ways in which you communicate the value of your work and contributions
• Opportunities to strengthen your influence within your institution or discipline

Optional: Career stories and lived experiences

You may also wish to read one or more of the following career stories before the discussion:

• Redefining success on my own terms, pushing back against imposed limits, and leading with passion rather than permission
• Building a 40 year academic career on my own terms, leading authentically, and redefining what progression looks like across institutions
• Redefining progression: building influence and expertise as a long-term researcher outside traditional academic hierarchies

As you read, notice: 

• How different people define success and contribution
• Ways in which careers evolve in unexpected directions
• The role of values, purpose and personal choices in shaping career journeys
• Similarities and differences between their experiences and your own

The structure below is held collectively by the group. You may choose to rotate who keeps an eye on time or simply move together through the stages.

1. Arrival and framing (5–10 minutes)

• Brief reminder of purpose: learning from different perspectives
• No pressure to have implemented anything yet
• Agreement on confidentiality and respect
• An explicit intention that everyone will have space to speak

2. Resource reflections and shared learning (30–40 minutes)

A simple round:

• What stayed with you most from the resources?
• Which idea felt most relevant to your current situation?
• What challenged or surprised you?
• What did you take from the resources that others may not have noticed?

As you discuss, consider:

• How do you define success at this stage of your career?
• Which aspects of your contribution are most visible, and which are less visible?
• How has your understanding of your role evolved over time?
• What kinds of contribution tend to be recognised, and which are more easily overlooked?

3. Coaching-style reflection: so what? (20–30 minutes)

Each participant shares:

• One contribution I may underestimate or overlook
• One aspect of my work that I would like others to understand or value more clearly
• One thing I might do differently to recognise, communicate or build on my contribution

Peers respond with curiosity rather than solutions:

• What feels most important about that contribution?
• What evidence tells you that this work matters?
• Who benefits from this aspect of your contribution?
• What would it look like if this contribution were fully recognised?
• How might you help others understand its value?

4. Closing and commitments (5–10 minutes)

Each person is invited to name:

• One contribution they are proud of and want to acknowledge
• One action they will take to better recognise, communicate or build on their contribution
• One conversation they may wish to have about their future direction, influence or development

Optional:

• Who might support you in this?
• What assumptions might you need to challenge?
• What would success look like a year from now?

This can be very light-touch and self-directed. Possible options include:

• Revisiting your career narrative or CV
• Mapping your contributions more explicitly
• Seeking feedback from trusted colleagues about your strengths and impact
• Exploring another relevant resource
• Continuing a peer discussion or accountability conversation

No reporting is required unless the wider programme explicitly asks for it.