She Wrote the Book on Leadership for Scientists: Jen Heemstra on Bad Bosses, Career Setbacks, and Leading with Kindness (Part 2)

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Nobody trains you to lead. Jen Heemstra found that out the hard way, then wrote the book on it.

She became a chemist by accident. Almost went to law school. Took an industry job that quietly convinced her she was mediocre. And then came the moment most academics dread: the tenure vote where half the room votes no.

Here's the twist. That's the moment she found her purpose.

In this episode you'll hear:

How a night job in a stockroom turned into an entire careerWhat a toxic job does to your confidence, and how she got hers backThe tenure vote that should have ended her, and the leader who changed everything in one afternoonThe one question from her husband that finally got the book writtenHow she defines success now, and why kindness is the whole point

Chapters: 

00:00 The plan, and a mother's advice 

03:30 Changing majors and a year of exploring 

07:00 Becoming a chemist by accident 

23:00 The industry job 

30:00 How a bad job shook her confidence 

39:00 The tenure vote 

41:00 The afternoon that pointed her to leadership 

48:00 Writing the book 

52:30 How she defines success

Jen's book, Labwork to Leadership: A Concise Guide to Thriving in the Science Job You Were Not Trained For: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674258630

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