Who Are The Most Productive Professors You Know? Learn From Your Colleagues

If I called you on the phone and said, "Please name the most productive professor you know," you would be able to answer that question with at least one name immediately. It is likely that you would start to think about (or even ask me), "Do you mean in teaching?" or "Do you mean in writing?" or "Do you mean the most productive overall?" or "What do you mean by productive?"

But we aren't having that conversation by phone. Instead, I am just going to prompt you to start to make a list of the faculty members you know - either currently, from when you were in graduate school, or just by reputation - who would be considered productive. Consider the following categories in making your list (because you really are going to write down these people's names):

1. Teaching - Who are the people you know who are not only excellent teachers but they seem to "have it together" related to their teaching. Their materials are organized, they do not look harried on the way to (or from) class, and they seem to have a flow about how they plan for and manage their teaching throughout the term.
2. Research - Who are the people you know who manage their research in such a way that they are highly productive and yet still reasonably pleasant to be around? [Note: I had to add that last part because you don't want to be one of the people who is productive in research but so stressed out, crazed, and unpleasant that they are unbearable to be around.] You can choose to write down the names of people who are in the same field as you are or the names of people who seem to be managing their research productively in other fields. We all have plenty to learn from one another (even those who are different from us!)
3. Service/Outreach - This category is called by many different names and whatever it is called at your college/university, think about who seems to be productive related to their service. Who seems to be on the committees that are "high yield" (as my friend Dr. Melissa P called them) vs. committees that are "low yield?" Who are the people who are of service to the institution and the community and yet it has not consumed their entire life? You want to write down one or two names here.

So, once you have a list of 3 - 10 names, now what should you do? You should figure out who to contact first - and then contact that person within the week. Either make a phone call, send an email, ask for a walk-around-campus-with-a-cup-of-coffee meeting, or whatever makes the most sense. Then tell him or her why you have requested their expertise. You will find that people who are noted as being productive are honored that someone else has noticed and would be interested in learning some of their secrets.

Then listen VERY carefully and see what you can put into practice.

In about ten days, contact the next person on your list...and so on.

And for scores of sets of Productivity Tips for Professors like these, you're invited to join others around the globe who subscribe (free) to one of the Top Ten Productivity Tips series (info to be found at):

** http://TopTenProductivityTips.com

(c) 2010 Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D. | The Ph.D. of Productivity(tm) | http://www.meggin.com

Through her company, Emphasis on Excellence, Inc., Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D. works with smart people who want to consistently keep their emphasis on excellence.