Improving faculty publication output: the role of a writing coach

Publishing academic papers is recognized by faculty as vital not only to their careers, but also to the standing of their school within the university and the discipline. Although writing is perceived as a critical, high-priority task, it often has low follow-through behavior. To facilitate the publication output of our faculty, a part-time writing coach was hired. Blanchard's situational leadership II model (1985), which tailors leadership style to the needs of the group, indicated a framework of coaching and support would best meet faculty writing needs. The literature further suggested that an ongoing coaching relationship in the form of a committed partnership would empower faculty to achieve beyond prior performance. We present a model to show how coaching and support facilitate perseverance in writing for publication. Sixteen of 26 faculty sought the coach's help in the first 2.5 years, generating 21 submissions to peer-reviewed journals. Fifteen of these were published or accepted (71 per cent), and one was still under review when this article was written. Five rejected papers had not yet been resubmitted. Faculty with recent doctorates appeared to benefit most from coaching.