Your Career: Learn How to Accept Defeat Graciously

You won't last long in leadership if you treat every "no" as a personal defeat. ADVERTISEMENT [Your Career Logo]( Did someone forward you this newsletter? [Sign up free]( to receive your own copy. You won’t last long in leadership if you treat every “no” as a personal defeat. The ability to say “no” fairly and dispassionately is central to good leadership, whether you are running a committee, a department, or an institution. But equally vital is knowing how to accept a loss graciously when you are the one who has to take “no” for an answer. It is a skill you can learn and sharpen: - Be at peace with not getting most of what you want. Campuses are idea factories. Of course not every idea is practical or worth pursuing. Some contradict each other, and some are misguided in the eyes of everyone but their creators. The same is true of your ideas. Proposals you create or champion will be turned down — sometimes by other people objecting and other times by circumstances out of your control. Your mental health will be challenged regularly by this pattern of give and take. Get too emotionally invested in your batting average, and your morale will sink fast. - In defeat, as in victory, tone and manner matter. You needn’t mask all your feelings with Vulcan-like imperturbability, but a dose of Stoicism is healthy. The people you lead value a strong advocate but will expect you to radiate maturity, steadiness, responsibility. Rejection of your pet project, however personally painful, is an opportunity to show your character. Continue reading: “[The Art of Gracefully Accepting Defeat]( by David D. Perlmutter Share your suggestions for the newsletter with Denise Magner, an editor at The Chronicle, at denise.magner@chronicle.com. If you’d like to opt out, you can log in to our website and [manage your newsletter preferences here](. ADVERTISEMENT UPCOMING EVENT [Join us August 2-19]( for a virtual professional development program on overcoming the challenges of the department chair role and creating a strategic vision for individual and departmental growth. [Reserve your spot now](. Space is limited. Latest Career Advice, Opinion, and News THE BIG QUIT [Why They Left: Five Stories From Professors of Color Who’d Had Enough]( By Brianna Hatch, Beth McMurtrie, Wyatt Myskow, and Megan Zahneis [STORY IMAGE]( They started out eager and optimistic. Then came the casual racism, the isolation, and the financial strain. ADVERTISEMENT ADVICE [How to Leave a Higher-Education Career on Your Own Terms]( By Meredith Davis [STORY IMAGE]( Advice for administrators who are on the fence about continuing their career on a college campus. THE REVIEW | ESSAY [Doctoral Training Is Ossified. Can We Reinvent It?]( By Zeb Larson [STORY IMAGE]( Lessons from the short-lived Next Generation Humanities Ph.D. program. ACADEMIC JOB MARKET [Oh, the Places They’ll Go With a Ph.D.]( By Audrey Williams June [STORY IMAGE]( About 40 percent of those who earned doctorates in 2020 found jobs in academe, about the same share as those who were offered positions in industry. TEACHING [Staying Flexible Without Becoming Overwhelmed]( By Beth McMurtrie [STORY IMAGE]( When it comes to planning for the fall, remember that students need boundaries, but they also need to know you care. THE REVIEW | OPINION [Academic Freedom’s Proxy Wars]( By Suzanne Nossel [STORY IMAGE]( Professors with unpopular views are being punished for unrelated infractions. That’s terrifying. FROM THE CHRONICLE STORE [Building a Faculty That Flourishes]( [Building a Faculty That Flourishes]( Colleges and universities cannot be successful without vibrant and engaged faculties. Now is the time to figure out sustainable ways to recruit, support, and diversify the faculty. [Order your copy today.]( What we’re reading. Here’s more on career issues and trends from around the web. See something we should include? [Let me know](mailto:denise.magner@chronicle.com?subject=Your Career feedback). - At the Guttmacher Institute, [an interactive resource]( offering state-by-state policies on abortion rights and access. - In the Harvard Business Review, [a look at]( three ways to retain top talent. - An [essay]( on Science magazine offers advice on how to make friends while doing research abroad. More Career Resources DIVERSITY [Building Diverse Campuses: 4 Key Questions and 4 Case Studies]( By Sarah Brown [STORY IMAGE]( As colleges consider how to become more equitable and inclusive, this free report offers ideas to help guide those conversations. PRESIDENTIAL PAY [Executive Compensation at Public and Private Colleges]( By Julia Piper and Brian O’Leary [STORY IMAGE]( The Chronicle’s database includes the latest salary information, plus years of data, on more than 1,700 chief executives at more than 600 private colleges and nearly 290 public universities and systems. DATA [What Are the Demographics of Noninstructional Staff at Colleges?]( [STORY IMAGE]( Statistical snapshots of the gender, race, and ethnicity of all noninstructional college staff, including office and administrative support, business and financial operations, maintenance, and other positions in key sectors in 2018 and 2020. A SPECIAL REPORT [The Trends Report 2022]( [STORY IMAGE]( The past year has shaken loose many of higher ed’s conceptual mainstays — about the future face of the student body, the nature of faculty jobs, what a campus should look like. We hope this report will help you and your campus prepare for what’s next. 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