Mr Hugh Kearns

Academic Status

College of Medicine and Public Health

place Margaret Tobin Centre
GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, South Australia

I work with some of the brightest people in the world to help them find ways to be even more effective and productive. I take the latest research in psychology and apply it to high achievers such as researchers and research students, professors, doctors and other professionals.

My expertise is in the psychology of self-management. And I am particularly interested in why people don't manage themselves, for example overcommitment, perfectionism, distraction and procrastination. For the past 20 years I have researched these self-sabotaging behaviours and strategies for overcoming them. I am particularly interested in a concept called the impostor syndrome and why successful people often feel like frauds.

I regularly lecture at leading universities all over the world including Oxford and Cambridge, Harvard, Berkeley, Stanford. I've written 12 books on these topics, had several articles published in the journal Nature and regularly contribute to the national and international media and social networks.

Key responsibilities

I develop and run courses on topics including:

  • Defeating self-sabotage
  • Perfectionism
  • Procrastination
  • Overcommitment
  • Distraction
  • The imposter syndrome
  • Presenting and communicating your research
  • Managing your academic career
  • Staying well
  • Supervising research students
  • Cognitive behavioural coaching

I have published twelve books on these topics that are regularly used by researchers all over the world. And I communicate the impact of my work through articles in popular media and in social media through twitter where I have a large following.

Teaching interests

I lecture at Flinders University and leading universities all over the world. My topics deal with the psychology of high performance, self-sabotage and the imposter syndrome.

Expert for media contact
Psychology
Cognitive Behaviour
GP Wellbeing
Perfectionism
Phd Completions
Procrastination
Self-Sabotage
The Imposter Syndrome
Time Management
Available for contact via
Or contact the media team
+61 8 82012092
0427 398 713
Researcher
Media expert
Media expertise
  • Psychology
Interests
  • Cognitive Behaviour
  • GP Wellbeing
  • Perfectionism
  • Phd Completions
  • Procrastination
  • Self-Sabotage
  • The Imposter Syndrome
  • Time Management
Further information

For more information about my consultancy work go to www.ithinkwell.com.au.

The Times Higher Education, 19 July 2022. Being inclusive also means remembering not everyone has rhino-thick skin.

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/being-inclusive-also-means-remembering-not-everyone-has-rhinothick-skin

The Times Higher Education, 8 December 2021. Researchers are too critical – we need to give ourselves (and others) a break.

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/researchers-are-too-critical-we-need-give-ourselves-and-others-break

Nature-Procrastination (pdf)