[Leadership Series] Why Control Of Your Writing And Publishing Is Key For Leaders

In this episode, I discuss why taking control of your writing and publishing is not merely about checking off boxes for tenure or seeking validation. It’s about developing the leadership skills necessary for success in academia—regardless of whether you have an official title.

I examine how consistently committing to your writing fosters self-trust, boosts confidence, clarifies decision-making, and enhances project management skills—all of which are crucial for effective leadership. Regardless of your administrative position, your capacity to lead yourself is what truly defines you as a leader in academia.

Tune in to discover why academic leadership extends beyond administrative roles. If you’re looking to grow both as a scholar and a leader, this episode will provide you with a powerful new perspective on your writing practice.

Redefining Leadership Beyond Administration

When I talk about leadership in academia, I’m not referring to department chairs or deans. Leadership begins with how we lead ourselves, not with a formal title. You lead through how you show up in your work, your writing, and your relationships. Academic leadership isn’t something you wait to be handed. It’s something you claim by how you think, act, and show up every day. Your writing and publishing practices are one of the clearest ways you can begin to step into that leadership, empowering you to take control and build confidence in your academic journey.

Writing as a Leadership Practice

Writing is not just a task or requirement. It is a leadership practice. When you protect your writing time, follow through on your publication plans, and honor the systems you’ve set up—you’re not just getting work done. You are building self-trust. And that self-trust shows up everywhere else: in how you mentor, how you teach, how you collaborate, and how you make decisions. Writing consistently encourages you to think strategically, set priorities, and navigate uncertainty. How you manage your writing reflects how you manage yourself. And that’s where real leadership starts.

Reps, Not Perfection

Publishing isn’t about perfection—it’s about repetition. The more you write, submit, revise, and resubmit, the more confident you will feel—not just in your work but in your ability to keep showing up for it. Think of it like training: the more reps you get in, the stronger you become. That process builds resilience, especially when facing feedback or rejection. Over time, those reps translate into leadership. Leading in academia requires courage, persistence, and vision—all of which you practice every time you sit down to write.

“I don’t think of and I don’t use the word leadership as equivalent to administration because there are lots of people out there in admin positions who are not great leaders. There are a lot of you doing a lot of amazing work in leadership and truly leading people in your institution and you don’t have an admin position at all. I don’t conflate admin and leadership. That is really important.”

“You might have thought of writing and publishing originally as needing that currency and that currency in academia is going to get you more grants and help you get in a leadership position. Or that currency is going to help you get more recognition and develop you as a leader by attracting people to your lab or attracting PHD students and co-authors. That is true, but so is the process of you getting better at managing your time so you can get more reps and submissions in.”

We’ve opened the waitlist for our next cohort of Navigate: Your Writing Roadmap®. Check out the program details and get on the waitlist here.

CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION:

1. Our 12-week Navigate: Your Writing Roadmap® program helps tenure-track womxn and nonbinary professors to publish their backlog of papers so that their voice can have the impact they know is possible. Get on the waitlist here!
2. Cathy’s book, Making Time to Write: How to Resist the Patriarchy and Take Control of Your Academic Career Through Writing is available in print! Learn how to build your career around your writing practice while shattering the myths of writing every day, accountability, and motivation, doing mindset work that’s going to reshape your writing,and changing academic culture one womxn and nonbinary professor at a time. Get your print copy today or order it for a friend here!
3. If you would like to hear more from Cathy for free, please subscribe to the weekly newsletter, In the Pipeline, at scholarsvoice.org. It’s a newsletter that she personally writes that goes out once a week with writing and publication tips, strategies, inspiration, book reviews and more.

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