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Episode 3

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Published on:

11th Feb 2026

Jen Heemstra on Accidental Leadership (CAL 138, S8E3)

Prof. Jen Heemstra from Washington University in St. Louis in the US shares her journey from a research-focused bimolecular engineer to accidental leader and now author of the insightful book 'Lab Work to Leadership.' Jen speaks about the challenges faced by academics moving into leadership, recognisning that we are often untrained and unprepared for these roles. She shares insights from her book focusing on self-leadership, leading others, and coaching future leaders. Jen talks about the importance of building trust, creating a positive lab culture, giving and seeking feedback, and the significance of modeling behavior for emerging leaders. Jen also reflects on her personal experiences, including her struggles to get tenure and maintaining a work-life balance.

00:29 Introduction and Welcome

03:09 The Birth of 'Lab Work to Leadership'

05:43 Navigating Academic Challenges

08:29 The Worst Day: Tenure Rejection

12:14 People Showing Up and Getting Tenure

15:49 Embracing Leadership in Academia That We Are Not Trained For

21:26 Building a Collaborative Lab Culture

30:35 The Importance of Self-Leadership and Self-Awareness

33:27 The Role of Coaches and Mentors

35:02 The Importance of Feedback

37:01 Challenges in Giving and Receiving Feedback

38:46 Understanding Individual Needs in a Lab Environment

43:59 Building Trust and Psychological Safety

49:37 Coaching Future Leaders

56:50 Balancing Professional and Personal Life

58:11 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

58:56 Outro

Related Links:

About Jen:

Heemstra Lab at Washington Univ in St. Louis

Jen’s webpage and LinkedIn Profile

Book:

Jen Heemstra, Labwork to leadership: a concise guide to thriving in the science job you weren’t trained for, 2025, Harvard University Press

People:

Troy Champ

Resources:

Edwin Catmull and Amy Wallace, Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration, 2014, Penguin.

Liz Wiseman and Greg McKeown, Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, 2010, Harper Collins.

Birkman Personality Inventory

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About the Podcast

Changing Academic Life
What can we do, individually and collectively, to change academic life to be more sustainable, collaborative and effective? This podcast series offers long-form conversations with academics and thought leaders who share stories and insights, as well as bite-size musings on specific topics drawing on literature and personal experience.
For more information go to https://changingacademiclife.com
Also see https://geraldinefitzpatrick.com to leave a comment.
NOTE: this is an interim site and missing transcripts for the older podcasts. Please contact me to request specific transcripts in the meanwhile.

About your host

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Geraldine Fitzpatrick

Geraldine Fitzpatrick (Geri Fitz), is an awarded Professor i.R. at TU Wien, with degrees in Informatics, and in Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology, after a prior career as a nurse/midwife. She has International experience working in academic, research, industry and clinical settings. She is a sought-after facilitator, speaker, trainer and coach who cares about creating environments in which people can thrive, enabling individual growth, and creating collegial collaborative cultures. She works with academics and professionals at all levels, from senior academic leaders, to mid and early career researchers, to PhD students. She is also a mentor for academics and has been/is on various Faculty evaluation panels and various International Advisory Boards. An example of a course is the Academic Leadership Development Course for Informatics Europe, run in conjunction with Austen Rainer, Queens Uni Belfast. She also offers bespoke courses.