Episode 40 - Identify Your Support Systems in and Beyond Higher Ed

Hey Professors,

Well, it’s coming up on the end of June, which means that for those of you who teach in the United States, you’re probably done with teaching for the academic year. First off, congratulations on making it through what is probably one of the most difficult years for faculty in recent history.

I know that it feels like we’ve been saying this year after year since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

I mean, how many unprecedented years can we live through? Has the “unprecedented” morphed into what is now the new normal for us—especially for those of us who are based in the United States? That the unprecedented has now become the precedent.

I’ve been talking with clients, former colleagues, and friends in higher ed, and it really does seem like so many folks are struggling right now. And this struggle isn’t just connected to burnout, or the experience of exhaustion that typically sets in after the completion of a busy school year. This time it feels different. It’s much heavier and pronounced.

There are a variety of reasons why. On social media I recently saw a meme that I think tracks with this moment. It features a guy looking a bit dazed and confused. The caption says: “Me trying to figure out if I should be getting ready for WW3, another pandemic, the AI takeover, economic collapse, or all of the above.”

But truthfully, that doesn’t quite capture all of it—now does it? Because you’d also need to acknowledge the rise of authoritarianism and imperialism, ongoing genocides, heightened racism, climate crises, the erosion of civil rights for marginalized groups, the attacks on higher ed and science, and the looming enrollment cliff.

Oh, and just add one more thing. This summer you also need to make progress on your article on a topic that is now deemed unworthy of study by the federal government and subject to cancellation by funding agencies.

So I think you can give yourself some grace if all you want to do right now is zone out, watch mindless tv, and have a popsicle. Or scratch that—a cocktail.

Use the GROW Model to Identify Your Support Systems This Summer

I’d like to treat this episode as somewhat of a brainstorming session for you. In my last episode (Episode 39), I shared a coaching tool called the GROW model that I suggested can be effectively used in your mentoring sessions with PhD students who are considering non-academic careers.

I also mentioned in that episode that the same GROW model can be used in your mentoring sessions with your graduate students who are planning on pursuing tenure-track positions or staying in academia.

In reality, the GROW model can be used by anyone, in almost any situation. So if you’re feeling stuck, unmotivated, and even burned out right now while also getting anxious about what you need to get done over the summer, this can be a way to coach yourself and to identify what kinds of support you may need to line up right now, in or beyond higher ed.

Now just a reminder that the GROW model stands for a 4-part framework that is really question driven.

The different parts are:

G: Defining one’s goals

R: Assessing the current situation, or the reality

O: Exploring possible options or solutions, and

W: Identifying the way forward or will.

Alright, I’d like to suggest to you that you take about 20 minutes to do this exercise. You may want to get pen and paper or you can just use your computer. Try to find a quiet space and take a few deep breaths before beginning.

So let’s set the timeframe for this question to be the next 2 to 3 months.

The first part is G – your goals.

By the end of the summer break, what are your top 2-3 goals in terms of work?

By the end of the summer break, what are your top 2-3 goals in terms of your personal or family life?

And lastly, by the beginning of the fall term, what do you hope to have made concrete progress on?

And feel free to pause the podcast recording.

R: For the next step—You want to critically assess your situation or the reality that you are facing. So here are some prompts.

Where are you right now with reaching your top 2-3 goals in terms of work?

Where are you right now with reaching your top 2-3 goals in terms of your personal or family life?

What are the distractions, obstacles, or constraints that are currently challenging you right now?

What is running interference with your ability to meet your goals? And with this, be as honest and specific as possible. Because the answers that you give will provide you with important insights on the next set of questions.

Before you move onto the next step, take a good, long look at what you just wrote down. And acknowledge that you may have some significant challenges that you are up against right now.

The next step:

O: Exploring all of your options to help you with the reality of your situation. With this step and also in line with this podcast episode, I’m going to encourage you to take into consideration what kinds of support you may need in order to mitigate some of the challenges that you just wrote down. Treat this like a brainstorming session.

Here’s an example for you.

Say your goal is to submit an article by the end of the summer. The reality is that you’re only about 1/3 of the way done and you need large blocks of time to think and write. A big challenge that you are facing is that you and your partner are sandwich caregivers—meaning that you are managing caregiving for your elderly parents as well as raising your own 8-year old daughter.

You are able to get in a little time for yourself here and there, but when you sit down to write you’re so upset by what’s going on in the world and you’re unable to maintain focus. In short, you just don’t have the bandwidth. And now this is causing you even more stress.

So, using that as an example, then, what are your options to help you in this situation? Think of different systems of support that you can line up.

This could be a combination of things. And just to give you some ideas to get the ball rolling, I’ve thought of 10 options that give you forms of support that could help you to meet your goals, with the example that I just talked about.

10 Possible Options for Setting Up Systems of Support

1. Finding a respite care aide for 2 days a week

2. Arranging for a week-long day camp for your daughter

3. Joining an online caregiver support group

4. Working with a writing accountability coach

5. Joining a writing support group for faculty

6. Using an app like Freedom that blocks your social media access so that you can focus on writing

7. Gathering with friends on a regular basis

8. Meeting up with a close colleague to go on regular walks

9. Hiring a babysitter to go on occasional date nights

10. Joining an affinity support group on Zoom that focuses on community building in this current political moment

Some of these options include elements of support or systems of support that are connected to higher ed, like the writing support group, which could even be offered by your institution. But there are other things that go beyond higher ed and are more connected to your personal life.

If you’re doing this brainstorming exercise yourself, then think creatively about what will provide you the best kind of support in the next coming months. And keep in mind that what works for someone else may not be useful for you in your personal situation.

In this exercise, the important thing is to name or identify the specific support systems that YOU need.

Okay, the last step of the GROW model is to think of the way forward and name your action steps.

Based on the brainstorming session that you just had, what are some comfortable first steps to trying out some of those options?

Go ahead and think through this and write these down.

So going back to the example that I gave, let me give you some ideas.

It could be as simple as:

Speaking to a home care/respite care agency or signing up for care.com in order to look into possible respite care providers for your elderly parents.

And another thing could be: looking up the different writing support groups that you could join.

And then from there, you can ask yourself, what else do you need to know right now in order to take action and move closer towards securing systems of support so that you can make progress on your goals?

When you’re done with this, you can save this paper, or print it out so that you can look at it from time to time as a reminder.

Hopefully, by taking just 20 minutes to go through this process using the GROW model, you can come away with some tangible first steps that will help you to acknowledge and identify the support that you need this summer.

Do make sure to check out the written transcript of this podcast episode at RisewithClarity.com/40. There will be links to various resources at the end of the transcript, and I’m going to continue to update this list as I learn about more resources and offerings.

Also, please take a listen to some of my previous podcast episodes on “Assess Your Bandwidth in These Trying Times” (Episode 30) and “How Do You Want to Show Up as a Scholar in This Current Moment?” (Episode 36) for some additional guidance.

If you do end up trying this exercise using the GROW model, do reach out to me and let me know what you think. I’d love to hear your thoughts on how this resonated with you or not. And also, if you feel like you could use some tailored and targeted support in a 1 on 1 strategy session, you can always contact me through my website.

Wishing you resilience and lots of support.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Additional Resources

Writing Support Groups

Check to see if your institution is offering a summer writing retreat or workshop.

Summer Writing Camp (July 8-28, 2025): Offered by Full Circle Writing (Candace Epps-Robertson)

No Time to Write Club: Offered by Tes Slominski and Sara Read

Come As You Are and Write Virtual Half-Day Writing Retreat: Offered by Brielle Harbin

Writing in Good Company: Offered by Kyra Freestar

Academic Writing Groups (List): Compiled by Kyra Freestar

2026 Composed Writing Retreat: Offered by Michelle Boyd

Books