Part I: Must I Listen to "Them"?

So, you are getting feedback from your department members on how, where, and what you should publish. 

Should you listen to"them"?

This is a tough question, and one that I think I will explore in several posts.

The first thing I want to say is that I have seen many, many faculty become obsessed with such guidance. They seek to do the right thing, follow the wisdom of the department colleagues, and drive themselves crazy in the process. Why drive themselves crazy?

First, the feedback on where, when and how to publish is often conflicting. Faculty one, the chair of T and P, says one thing. Your department chair says something else. Your mentor something else.  Follow one set of feedback, and piss someone off! I have seen many new (and not so new) faculty totally hamstrung by these conflicting messages, so much so that they wind up writing or publishing nothing!

Second,  all of their feedback may be preventing you from becoming the scholar YOU wish to be. I am convinced that your best shot and success, in the fullest sense of the word, will come from you actualizing who you wish to be, not what others want for you. 

Yes, I know that this may be a controversial post, but perhaps it starts some dialogue and discussion.