Welcome
Welcome. You’re in the right place.
If you are a university faculty member seeking greater clarity, purpose, and sustainable success in your academic career, this coaching space was created for you.
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Are you…
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just beginning your faculty journey and wanting a strong, intentional start?
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navigating the pressures of tenure, promotion, or increasing expectations?
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stepping into leadership and feeling the weight of new responsibilities?
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accomplished on paper, yet sensing something is missing or misaligned?
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discerning what’s next and wanting to finish this season of your career well?​
You don’t have to do it alone. Executive coaching provides a confidential, supportive partnership to help you think clearly, lead intentionally, and align your work with what matters most. At Empowering Excellence, we partner with faculty at every career stage who are ready to move beyond simply managing academic demands and toward thriving with focus, purpose, and lasting impact.
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If these questions resonate, scroll down to learn more about how coaching can support your next chapter.
“Steve has an incredible knack for identifying your strengths and how they can be leveraged in the contexts you work in. He was able to provide suggestions for my leadership development that were aimed at helping me be more effective in my work, and growing as a leader, while aligning with my personal style and preferences.”
– Dr. Amy Kaleita, Professor and Larry & Bunita Buss Department Chair, Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University
My
Story
Dr. Steve Mickelson | Executive Coach for Flourishing Faculty
Raised on a farm in northwest Iowa, Dr. Steve Mickelson grew up in a converted corn bin — the youngest of five children in a home built on grit, faith, and fierce work ethic. That early foundation of curiosity and perseverance shaped a life in higher education that spanned four decades and every major milestone of the academic journey.
He started his career where many faculty do: with doubt. An advisor once told him he wasn’t “likely to be successful” in engineering based on a low ACT score. Four years later, he earned his degree — and returned to work in the very same department, shoulder-to-shoulder with the advisor who had underestimated him.
From there, his career evolved into a rare combination of teaching, advising, research, and leadership. He completed his Ph.D. while teaching four courses per semester and raising four young children. He mentored over 350 first-year students each year, pioneered award-winning learning communities that dramatically raised retention rates, and eventually became department chair — leading his team to #1 national rankings and guiding a $74 million facilities expansion.
But his greatest passion has always been helping others flourish.
Dr. Mickelson now brings this lifetime of experience into his coaching work with faculty navigating the five stages of an academic career:
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Early Career Faculty: He remembers what it’s like to feel unproven. He coaches early-career faculty through their third-year reviews and the tenure process by helping them build confidence, systems, and long-term vision.
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Mid-Career Faculty: Having once faced burnout himself, he helps tenured faculty rediscover purpose, prioritize work activities, and re-center around what matters most.
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Senior Faculty: As a former department chair and cross-campus leader, he offers strategic guidance for faculty stepping into roles that require vision, diplomacy, and influence. He equips seasoned scholars to multiply their legacy by mentoring others, transferring wisdom, and evolving their identity.
Certified in CliftonStrengths, CoreClarity, MBTI, Working Genius, TKI Conflict Resolution, and The Five Behaviors, Dr. Mickelson offers faculty more than advice — he offers clarity, strategy, and deep personal understanding.
Wherever you are in your academic journey, Dr. Steve Mickelson offers a path forward — not just to survive the system, but to flourish within it.
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If you’re curious about what it might be like to work with Steve one-on-one… CLICK HERE to schedule a complimentary coaching session. You can experience what it’s like to work with him and you can figure out… together… whether you’re a good fit and what your best “next steps” can be to flourish and thrive.
Mission
Empowering Excellence focuses on supporting university faculty at all career stages, providing personalized coaching and resources designed to foster success.
Vision
Empowering Excellence aims to expand access to coaching, resources, and speaking engagements for university faculty success.
Approach
Leveraging over forty years of university academic experience, Empowering Excellence offers diverse coaching packages for helping faculty and leaders set personal goals and meet those goals.
The Faculty Three
EARLY CAREER FACULTY
Ideal For:
Early-career faculty seeking clarity, focus, and sustainable momentum. This package provides a strong foundation by clarifying priorities, navigating institutional culture, and establishing effective habits early in the academic journey.
Focus Areas:
• Clarifying role expectations and priorities
• Navigating departmental and institutional culture
• Building confidence, focus, and early momentum
MID-CAREER FACULTY
Ideal For:
Post-tenure and mid-career faculty who feel stretched, stalled, or overcommitted—and want to regain clarity, focus, and a sense of direction. This package helps faculty step back, reassess priorities, and realign their work with what matters most in this season.
Focus Areas:
• Recalibrating priorities after tenure
• Addressing overload, drift, or loss of focus
• Reclaiming energy, confidence, and direction
LEGACY FACULTY
Ideal For:
Full professors discerning their next chapter—whether stepping into formal leadership roles or intentionally reshaping their work for greater meaning and impact. This package provides space to step back, reflect, and clarify direction after decades of contribution.
Focus Areas:
• Clarifying priorities and opportunities at the senior-career stage
• Discernment around leadership, influence, and contribution
• Aligning energy with work that matters most
Coaching Bio
Dr. Steven K. Mickelson
Steve Mickelson is driven by a lifelong passion to empower individuals to excel—at work, at home, and in their communities. As a natural Maximizer, he thrives on helping people move from good to great, guiding them to discover their calling and live it out with clarity and purpose.
Steve spent nearly forty-four years mentoring and coaching faculty and staff at Iowa State University. His work included strengthening teaching effectiveness, removing barriers to research productivity, and helping faculty build sustainable systems to avoid burnout. Throughout his career, he served in key leadership roles—including Associate Chair for Teaching, Director, Department Chair, and Senior Advisor to the Senior Vice President and Provost—each providing opportunities to support faculty at every stage of their careers.
Today, Steve brings this deep experience to his faculty coaching practice, offering a confidential and supportive space for faculty to pursue the professional and personal goals that matter most. In addition, he is certified in Gallup Global Strengths, CoreClarity, MBTI, TKI Conflict Resolution, DiSC, The Coach Mindset, Working Genius, and Five Behaviors. Above all, though, is his personal drive to help others to be their best!
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When Steve is not coaching faculty, he is enjoying time working outdoors in his garden, singing in a quartet, golfing with friends, or spending time with his family.
