Is expertise beautiful? Why this matters for you

Dear Reader,

One of the frameworks I really like for PhDs and other academics going through a professional transition, including a potential career change, is the VIA (“values in action”) character strengths.

A bit different from workplace strengths (transferable skills, competencies, whatever), these are more about innate talent areas—ones that stem from your values and inform how you engage with the world around you.

That includes what skills you are drawn to, and the particular nuances to how you perform them.

The creators (academic researchers) of this approach identified 24 strengths, unranked (in no order) except for how they resonate with and help explain each of us at any moment in time.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the character strength Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence.

When I first encountered this years ago, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. The combination of “beauty” and “excellence” struck me as a curious thing.

But… yeah, hmm.

Is expertise a thing of beauty?

Is commitment to craft arresting?

Are gorgeous things also excellent things?

Is endeavouring with attention to detail, care, and respect for yourself and others, a way to make the world more beautiful?

Is there something compelling about being highly skilled?

Maybe so. What do you think?

A takeaway here is to appreciate how you create beauty in the world.

That is, how your expertise—whether that’s from deep knowledge, practiced skill, or something you attribute to just who you are (your character strengths)—makes a positive difference.

The way you are matters, even if you’re currently in spaces that don’t value what you offer.

So many people I work with are in environments that actively undervalue care, craft, and depth. And, yes, that includes plenty of faculty members.

These spaces don’t deserve you, but there are people and places out there that do, that will.

Seek those out, whether it’s in a new job, a volunteer opportunity, a hobby, or other community.

Because, just like Scott and Kip, you deserve sunshine. (I can’t help myself; talk to me about Heated Rivalry, please 😂)

If this resonates, reply and tell me which strengths you see in yourself, or how this strength (Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence) shows up in your life and work.

What’s Happening

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Thanks for reading,

Jen

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Jennifer Polk, PhD