Your Unapologetic Career® Podcast

Transitioning into motherhood as high-achieving women of color means that nothing will be the same. There is no normal to go back to nor can we reclaim the pace we had before. The bottom line is that the career life that we were living before becoming a parent has died.   The transition into motherhood, however, is an incredible opportunity to radically change how you think about productivity, suc...

When it gets to that point where the definition of who you are, your goal, and why you're doing what you're doing is the list of activities that you have to complete, this is a sure sign of a total lack of career control.  In this episode, I want to talk about this loss of career control to help us truly understand where and how the switch happens. I'll also provide you with strateg...

Most grant-getting workshops focus on the "how-tos" of writing and on deciphering between the requirements of the various sections of the grant and avoiding major pitfalls. While these skills are important and necessary, they are not sufficient – not even close. If your goal is to secure funding doing the work you love, you’re gonna need more, period.    In this episode, I offer what I t...

Dr. Tiffany Green is an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin Schools of Public Health and Medicine in the Departments of Population Health Sciences and Obstetrics and Gynecology. Her work focuses on improving outcomes and saving the lives of Black birthing people and their infants from her powerful and unique view as an economist. She is also an alumna of the Get That Grant coaching...

I don’t know about y’all but I’m tired of setting low expectations because “who knows what’s going to happen this year.” If this is the new normal, I still know I want *more.*  Last year taught me a major lesson on hard work and surrender. Seeds planted bloom when they are ready. This week, I'm sharing a powerful formula – the type of seeds and the right intervals -  to set up your fantastic...

Short and sweet. Three steps to transformation for Your Unapologetic Career.    Happy Happy New Year!   Do you have a question for the podcast? To submit a Listener Letter, send an email to podcast@kdollcoach.com with your question, and let’s go!    🎧 🎙 EPISODE 39: The Only 3 Steps You Need  Text Dr. Kemi directly.

An episode to support end-of-year reflection – Are you Coasting, Ghosting, or Growing?  I know I do all 3, do you?  Take a listen this week to walk through a process of review of how we show up and why it matters.    Do you have a question for the podcast? To submit a Listener Letter, send an email to podcast@kdollcoach.com with your question, and let’s go!   🎧 🎙 EPISODE 38: Are you Coasting, Gho...

This episode basically starts with a pet peeve of mine. It’s not because there’s anything wrong with people saying “I want to be more X” - X = confident, focused, disciplined, or ‘boundaried’ – it's just that I have SO much to say in response and I usually have to hold back. I mean, who wants to be coached AT by a random colleague?!   But y’all are my peeps, so it’s a safe space. This week on...

I don’t think we consciously delegate responsibility for our career dreams, but it is the default setup of academic medicine. We get used to our role being ‘securing the spot’ and our institution’s role is to deliver on the promise. That is the entire setup for training and in many ways is still the setup for faculty members. Works great - as long as you don’t have specific goals and dreams for yo...

There are 3 things that happen to me every single time I know I’m ready to grow. Without fail. Like clockwork. First, I am suddenly crystal clear on what I no longer what to be doing. #Reclaimingmytime. I could write a dissertation about why I am ‘done done, for real.’ Second, I feel a growing hopefulness for what is possible for the future and I can start to articulate what I DO want. And then th...

Part of career development is simply learning the unspoken rules and some very valuable tips on strategy to help you avoid rookie mistakes. But that’s just part of it, and honestly, that’s the easy part. The real meat of any true career development – which is actually both professional and personal development – is learning how to translate *both* your value and your values from internal desires t...

The road as faculty in academic medicine and public health can be bumpy – some bumps are expected and have a lot of narrative built around them (paper rejection, grant just missing the pay line) and those are fine. I’m talking this week about the bumps that are…worse. The things that can throw us way off – like making BIG mistakes – that aren’t so cozily wrapped up in pep talks. These things make...

Dr. Marjory Charlot is an Assistant Professor, thoracic medical oncologist, and health equity researcher at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. Her work centers on the experience and outcomes of Black patients with cancer in order to intervene and eliminate racial disparities in cancer outcomes. She is also an alumnae of the Get That Grant coaching program and an ongoing amazing coachi...

So - career transformation is not a walk in the park. I will never stop preaching how important it is for us to uproot the trainee mindset that has overwork, overwhelm, and dissatisfaction to be the norm in academic medicine. We must uproot this and replace it with building a career based on your value. However, I acknowledge – it’s not easy!   Most powerful things aren’t. In this week’s episode o...

I don’t know about y’all but I never learned how to quit anything in academic medicine. And yet, unless you have some kind of 100% perfect “No” response from the minute you started on faculty, you likely have at least 1 thing on your plate that just needs to go. Knowing it needs to go doesn’t mean you are any closer to quitting – because that’s just not what we do.    It’s not about not knowing wh...

We all do this. We know we do it, but it’s still so hard to stop. Or we have gotten much better with our Nos, but it’s still painful and energy-draining to execute. Yet, we know we have to say No – a LOT more. This week I tackle one of the biggest self-imposed causes of overwhelm. When we stack our schedule with things we don’t actually want to be a part of, we lose time and we compound resentment...

This Listener cannot get a hold of the clinical work that keeps seeping in around her boundaries. The triple threat – clinical, research, and teaching excellence – is always the goal, but the bottom line is clinical works just *has* to happen, so what gives? Raise your hand if this is relatable! 🙋🏾‍♀️ This week on the podcast, I honor this struggle and offer you my step by step process of breaki...

Dr. Jessica Chen is a practicing psychologist and health services researcher focused on the equitable delivery of care for PTSD in the setting of chronic pain and co-occurring substance use disorders in the VA system.  She is also an alumni of my Get That Grant coaching program and an ongoing amazing coaching client.  Take a listen to hear some real behind the scenes of her coaching journey:  The...

This Listener knows she’s ready to leave. But how to go about telling people? And what about the scars from her current position? This week I answer her questions and go deeper – into the worry behind these questions and what we must to do optimize both the job search and starting a new institution.   To submit your Listener Letter, send an email to podcast@kdollcoach.com with your question, and l...

We define Early Career by the number of years you have been around, being pre-promotion, and/or pre-funding. Sure, it has structural functions to define it this way, and benefits in the grant game.   If you want to inventory yourself for an Early Career mindset, take a listen to this week’s episode of Your Unapologetic Career podcast today!  Text Dr. Kemi directly.

This is one of those HOW episodes. Specifically, the How of leveling up your support for your unapologetic career. Many of us are surrounded by wonderful cheerleaders and expert advisors and yet we lack the most crucial element of support – the one that matters the *most* when your back is against the wall with frustration, challenge, or exhaustion in your career. That support is not generic – it’...

Dr. Carrie Francis is an Associate Professor in the Pediatric Otolaryngology Division of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Kansas University Medical Center (KUMC). She is also a woman on a mission to improve workforce development and innovation in academic medicine, an expert in medical education and serves as the inaugural Associate Dean for Workforce Innovation and Empowe...

Yep, let’s go there. This can be a taboo topic in academic medicine and it shouldn’t be. Whether it’s paralyzing fear of the consequences of an exit or being so stuck in settling that we’ve stopped imagining better – we avoid the question of leaving our institutions  - to our detriment. But you know what, there is no need to avoid it! In fact, I offer to you that embracing this question no matter...

If you are serious about creating the career of your dreams, you probably know that getting advice is critical. The problem is what to do with it! How to judge whether the advice is good or bad, helpful or not, is a hazy maze without a framework. The truth is that ensuring you are following the right career advice requires an internal clarity that most folks are avoiding. No more!   This is a big...

If you are serious about creating the career of your dreams, you probably know that getting advice is critical. The problem is what to do with it! How to judge whether the advice is good or bad, helpful or not, is a hazy maze without a framework. The truth is that ensuring you are following the right career advice requires an internal clarity that most folks are avoiding. No more!   This is a big...