Developing a systematic approach to academic skill development

Academic skill development is often left to chance, with many scholars assuming that experience alone leads to expertise. But simply performing academic tasks repeatedly – whether that’s writing papers, managing email, or running meetings – doesn’t automatically make you better at them. In fact, many academics find themselves stuck in patterns that, despite years of experience, aren’t serving them well.

Think about it: How many senior academics do you know who still struggle with email management? Or who run meetings that could have been emails? Or who haven’t meaningfully improved their writing process in years?

This isn’t about individual shortcomings. It’s about how we can systematically approach the development of academic expertise within a system that frankly, isn’t very good at helping us develop expertise. Luckily, there’s a way to develop your academic capabilities through skills development, that anyone can employ.

Beyond repetition: Deliberate practice

As cognitive scientist Barbara Oakley notes, ‘The most effective way to get better at anything is to practice what hurts the most.’ This is especially relevant for academic skill development, where we often avoid the very areas that need the most attention.

Research on expert performance reveals that meaningful improvement requires four key elements:

  1. Many repetitions (yes, practice matters)
  2. Deliberate practice (not just going through the motions)
  3. A valid environment for learning
  4. Timely feedback from trusted sources

The challenge is that traditional academic environments rarely provide all four elements for improving crucial professional skills. But with some planning you can create these conditions yourself.

Building an academic skill development system

Instead of viewing academic skills as fixed traits or hoping they’ll improve through osmosis, consider them as capabilities that can be systematically developed.

First, identify the specific skills that matter most to your academic practice. This might include:

  • Writing and publishing
  • Email and communication management
  • Meeting facilitation
  • Note-taking and knowledge synthesis
  • Strategic career planning
  • Project and time management

Then, for each area you want to develop skills in:

  1. Create deliberate practice opportunities that stretch your current abilities
  2. Build feedback loops that provide quick insights into what’s working
  3. Connect with others who are working on similar improvements
  4. Document and reflect on your progress

To see how this framework works in practice, let’s look at some common academic challenges and how to approach them systematically.

Putting principles into practice

Effective academic skill development requires a shift in how we think about expertise. Most academics are trained to be experts in their field, but receive little guidance in developing expertise in the day-to-day practices that drive academic success. By applying the principles of deliberate practice to these overlooked skills, you can transform routine tasks into opportunities for meaningful improvement. Instead of seeing these activities as distractions from your ‘real’ academic work, treat them as capabilities that can be systematically developed through intentional practice.

Here’s what this might look like for email management (link to course):

  • Instead of just “handling email,” set specific goals for response time and inbox processing
  • Create a system for tracking which approaches work best
  • Share strategies with colleagues and learn from their experiences
  • Regularly review and adjust your system based on results

Or for academic writing:

  • Break down your writing process into specific skills to practice (outlining, drafting, editing)
  • Get feedback on each element separately
  • Experiment with different approaches in low-stakes situations
  • Build a network of writing partners who can provide ongoing feedback

And, for running more efficient meetings:

  • Start by auditing your current meetings to identify specific areas for improvement (structure, participation, outcomes)
  • Practice different facilitation techniques in smaller, lower-stakes meetings
  • Record meetings (with permission) to review and analyse your facilitation style
  • Create feedback channels for participants to evaluate meeting effectiveness
  • Build a toolkit of tried-and-tested meeting formats for different purposes

Creating your own expertise ecosystem

The key is to move beyond isolated practice to create an environment that supports continuous improvement. This might mean:

  • Building informal networks for peer feedback
  • Creating personal tracking systems for skill development
  • Setting up regular review and reflection periods
  • Sharing your learning journey with others

Remember, the goal isn’t perfection but progressive improvement. Start with one skill area that matters to you, and build your practice system around it. As you develop expertise in building expertise, you can apply the same principles to other areas of your academic practice. This systematic approach to academic skill development creates a foundation for continuous improvement.

This approach takes time and intention, but it’s far more effective than simply hoping that years of activity will somehow translate into excellence. By taking control of your skills development, you create the conditions for meaningful, sustainable improvement in the areas that matter most to your academic success.


Want to develop sustainable academic practices in a structured, supported way? Explore the Head Space courses on a range of academic workflows, where you’ll learn practical strategies for building expertise through deliberate practice. Your development is too important to leave to chance. Choose one area to start with, and begin building a deliberate practice system today.


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