Career and Personal Development

Leading Yourself First

Article publié pour la première fois le 05/01/2026

Before you lead a project, a team, or a room — lead yourself.

Let’s be honest: January doesn’t ease in gently. It arrives loud. The meetings reappear. The deadlines tap your shoulder. The syllabi are due. The inbox resurrects.

It’s tempting to slip right back into external leadership mode — showing up for others, responding quickly, diving into responsibilities. But here’s your reminder: the person you lead first this year is yourself.

And she needs more than caffeine and Google Calendar blocks. She needs alignment.

Inner Alignment Before Outer Action

You don’t need a perfect plan. You need a compass.

Before answering the next email, before agreeing to the next project, take five minutes to return to your True North. Reread your mission. Choose a single value to guide your day. Ask yourself:

  • Am I leading from strategy or from urgency?
  • Is my energy in service of what matters most?
  • What small action today would help me feel more like myself?

The best leaders don’t wait for permission to lead with intention — they build it into their rhythm.

You Are Not Your To-Do List

In academic research and leadership, it’s easy to confuse impact with output. But the people who inspire us most aren’t the busiest — they’re the most aligned. They move with clarity. They radiate purpose. They protect the energy that allows them to lead well.

So if you’re already overwhelmed, that doesn’t mean you’re failing. It means you’re human. And it means it’s time to pause, even briefly, and lead yourself back to what matters.

That’s the work of leadership we forget to count: the invisible labor of personal clarity. The daily reset that allows you to lead others with presence, not depletion.

Set the Tone, Set the Culture

If you’re heading into meetings, projects, or classrooms this week, you have influence. Not just over strategy, but over how the work feels — for yourself and for others.

Model slowness in chaos. Ask better questions. Share your values out loud. Say “let’s pause and think” when the room is spinning. You’re not just leading projects. You’re designing the culture of inquiry, collaboration, and joy.

But you can only offer what you’ve protected for yourself.

This week, return to your True North — not as a checklist, but as an act of leadership. Because when you lead yourself first, everyone benefits.

Further Reading

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Researchers stand beneath an enormous tower of numbers that rises above them.
Streams of numbers travel through a network of large industrial pipes monitored by scientists.
Scientists wash and dry datasets inside a laundromat.
Scientists wearing mining gear dig through mountains of data in search of discoveries.
Defining Your Signature Experience in Research Administration: From Process to Philosophy
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Don’t Just Do the Job—Create Magic: Reclaiming Purpose in Research Administration
Cartoon cells direct traffic at a busy intersection using signs and signals.
Be the Swan: Professionalism Under Pressure in Research Administration
Two cartoon cells divide an apartment and household belongings between themselves.
Make the Charitable Assumption: Leading with Empathy in High-Stakes Research Environments
A group of cartoon cells visit an art museum, examining exhibits and artwork as if participating in a cultural event.
Your Job is to Find People’s Hidden Strengths: Talent Development in Research Administration
Praise Loudly, Critique Quietly: Feedback That Builds High-Performing Research Administration Teams
Consistency Builds Trust (and Inconsistency Destroys It): Leadership and Psychological Safety in Research Administration
If Your Team Doesn’t Feel It, Your Stakeholders Never Will: Why Culture is the Foundation of Research Administration Excellence
Systemizing Excellence Without Killing It: Balancing Structure and Personalization in Research Administration
The 95/5 Rule of Exceptional Programs: Where Research Administrators Should (Actually) Invest Their Effort
The Power of the “Grace Note”: How Small Moments Create Outsized Impact in Research Administration
Budget Planning and Allocation: Effective Strategies for Planning and Allocating Your Budget
Intentionality is Not Optional: Designing Research Administration Experiences on Purpose
People Will Forget What You Did—But Not How You Made Them Feel: The Emotional Impact of Research Administration
Why “Good Enough” Will Never Be Memorable: Rethinking Excellence in Research Administration
Service is Black and White. Hospitality is Color: Reframing Excellence in Research Administration
Disclaimer: I was not compensated, sponsored, or asked to promote this book in any way—I simply found it valuable and worth sharing. A Different Kind of Book Club In academic settings, the idea of a “book club” often feels informal—something reserved for personal growth or casual discussion. Yet some books demand a more deliberate kind of engagement, particularly when they challenge the way we approach our work. Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect is one of those books. While it is grounded in the world of fine dining, its core message extends far beyond restaurants: any profession can choose to operate in the hospitality business. In research administration, this idea is both unexpected and deeply relevant (Guidara, 2022). At its core, Unreasonable Hospitality argues that excellence is not enough to differentiate an organization—what matters is how people feel as a result of their experience. This concept challenges the traditional framing of research administration as a primarily procedural or compliance-driven function. While accuracy, timeliness, and regulatory adherence remain essential, they are also widely expected. What is less common—and far more impactful—is the intentional design of experiences that are clear, supportive, and memorable. This shift from task execution to experience design forms the foundation of this series. This is not a book review. It is a translation exercise. Over the next series of posts, we will take key concepts from Unreasonable Hospitality and apply them directly to research administration—exploring how ideas such as service versus hospitality, intentionality, small moments of impact, and leadership behaviors can reshape the way we support faculty, scholars, and trainees. Each post will focus on a single principle, offering both reflection and practical application. The goal is not simply to understand the ideas, but to integrate them into daily practice. Framing this series as a “book club” is intentional. A book club implies participation, reflection, and conversation—not passive consumption. The invitation is not just to read, but to consider: How do these ideas apply to your own work? Where do they challenge your current approach? What might change if you adopted them more fully? In this way, the series becomes a shared exploration of how research administration can evolve—not through large-scale transformation alone, but through small, intentional shifts in how we approach our roles. Importantly, this series also recognizes the context in which research administrators operate. The work is complex, deadlines are fixed, and resources are often limited. The goal is not to add more to an already full workload, but to rethink how existing work is experienced. Many of the concepts explored—clarity in communication, anticipation of needs, consistency in leadership—require minimal additional time, yet have significant impact. This is the central promise of unreasonable hospitality: that small, thoughtful actions can create disproportionately meaningful experiences. Ultimately, this series is about expanding how we define excellence in research administration. If service is the baseline, hospitality becomes the differentiator. If processes define what we do, experiences define how that work is remembered. By engaging with these ideas over time, we can begin to articulate a more intentional, human-centered approach to our work—one that aligns precision with purpose. ________________________________________ What to Expect in This Series Over the next several posts, we will explore themes including: • The difference between service and hospitality • Why “good enough” is not memorable • The role of intentionality in designing experiences • The impact of small, thoughtful moments • Leadership behaviors that shape culture and trust • Balancing systems with personalization • Defining your own signature experience Each post will build on the last, creating a cohesive framework for applying these ideas within research administration. ________________________________________ Action Items to Get Started • Begin with awareness. As you move through your work this week, notice where interactions feel transactional versus experiential. • Select one upcoming interaction and consider how you might intentionally shape the experience. • Approach this series actively. Reflect on each concept and identify one small way to apply it in your context. • Engage your team. Consider discussing these ideas collectively to build shared language and alignment. This is not about doing more. It is about doing what we already do—with greater intention.
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