Great Careers Don’t Happen by Accident.
“The future depends on what you do today.” — Maya Angelou
Faculty spend countless hours helping students plan their careers. Leaders devote months to developing plans for departments, colleges, and universities. Yet surprisingly few create a plan for their own careers. Instead, careers often unfold one opportunity at a time. A committee appointment. A new project. An invitation to serve. A leadership position opens. Then comes the familiar question: Should I pursue this opportunity?
While there is nothing inherently wrong with remaining open to opportunity, the strongest careers are rarely built by simply reacting to what comes along. They are built with intention. Leadership scholars often describe this as career self-management. This is the deliberate process of aligning your experiences, relationships, strengths, and professional development with the leader you hope to become. Rather than allowing opportunities to dictate direction, intentional leaders actively shape their own path.
This requires occasionally stepping away from the daily demands of teaching, scholarship, service, and administration to ask a much different question: Am I intentionally becoming the leader I hope to be five years from now? The answer to that question influences far more than your next position. It shapes your professional identity.
Here are three ways academic pharmacy leaders can become more intentional about designing your leadership journey:
1. Define Success Before Someone Else Defines It
Key Idea: A career without a clear destination is easily shaped by someone else’s priorities. Academic careers often progress through opportunities presented by others. A department chair asks you to serve on another committee. A dean encourages you to lead a task force. Each may be valuable yet accepting every invitation without reflection can gradually move your career in a direction you never consciously chose.
The most effective leaders begin with clarity. Leadership research consistently demonstrates that individuals whose work aligns with their personal values, strengths, and send of purpose experience greater engagement, resilience, and career satisfaction. When your definition of success is clear, decisions become easier because every opportunity can be evaluated against that vision.
Try This:
Write one sentence describing the leader you hope to become in the next five years.
List 2-3 specific ways you wish your career to have impact on students, colleagues, patients, or profession.
Before saying yes in that end of year evaluation, ask: Does this move me closer to that vision?
Example:
A faculty member realizes their long-term aspiration is to become a dean recognized for faculty development and organizational culture. Rather than accepting every service requests, they intentionally pursue experiences involving strategic planning, mentoring junior faculty, accreditation, and budget management. Their activities begin telling a coherent leadership story rather than reflecting a collection of unrelated accomplishments.
2. Build Experiences, Not Just a Stronger CV
Key Idea: Your leadership story is written long before you submit an application. Many faculty assume the next promotion depends primarily on publications, presentations, or committee service. Those matter, but leadership positions increasingly require evidence that you can influence people, lead change, solve complex problems, and create organizational value.
Think of your curriculum vitae as a reflection of your leadership journey rather than simply an inventory of activities. Every project you accept is developing a capability or consuming capacity that could be invested elsewhere. Leadership researchers often describe this as career capital or intentionally acquiring experiences that prepare you for future opportunities rather than simply adding more activities to your portfolio.
Try This:
Review your CV from the perspective of a search committee.
Ask yourself: What leadership capabilities does this document demonstrate?
Identify one action you need to take during the next year that would strengthen your readiness for future leadership.
Example:
A faculty member interested in becoming an associate dean recognizes that while their scholarly record is strong, they have limited experience leading institutional initiatives. They volunteer to lead a college-wide assessment project that requires collaboration across departments, strategic communication, and organizational change. The experience develops skills that publications alone cannot demonstrate.
3. Prepare for Opportunities Before They Appear
Key Idea: Career readiness begins long before the position is posted. Many begin preparing only after a search has been announced. By then, much of the preparation should already be complete. Exceptional leaders build relationships before they need them. They seek mentors and/or coaches before they face difficult decisions. They pursue development opportunities before a promotion requires it.
Social capital is the relationships, trust, and professional reputation developed over time. Opportunities often emerge through people who know your work, your character, and your ability to lead. This means you must create an intentional plan for being visible within these networks.
Try This:
Identify one mentor who can challenge your thinking about your career.
Expand your professional network beyond your own institution. How many contacts do you have via LinkedIN?
Seek assignments that expose you to unfamiliar leadership challenges. Volunteer!
Schedule time twice each year to reflect on whether your activities remain aligned with your long-term aspirations. Bring this reflection into your conversations with your department chair.
Example:
A department chair candidate begins attending national leadership development programs, volunteering within professional organizations, and building relationships with colleagues across institutions several year before applying for formal leadership positions. When opportunities eventually arise, they are viewed as someone who has already demonstrated readiness rather than someone hoping to become ready.
Final Thoughts:
Great careers rarely happen by accident. They are built one intentional decision at a time. One experience selected with purpose. One relationship invested in before it becomes necessary. One opportunity accepted because it advances a larger vision of who you wish to become. It requires patience. Faculty often ask, “What should my next position be?” A more powerful question may be: “Who am I intentionally becoming?” Leadership is not defined by the title you eventually hold. It is shaped by the decisions you make long before you apply.
Next Steps for Designing Your Leadership Journey
Whether you are preparing for your first formal leadership role or considering your next chapter, intentional career planning is one of the most valuable investments you can make. EduLead-Rx partners with pharmacy faculty and academic leaders through individualized coaching to clarify career direction, strengthen leadership readiness, build strategic experiences, and confidently navigate career transitions.
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