Picking your battles on the tenure track

Great essay in the Chronicle of Higher Ed on what probationary (i.e. pre-tenure) faculty should know about stepping into the political fray within their departments. Always be aware that no matter how "justified" you view your instances of speaking up for just causes, if you speak up too often and too forcefully early in your career, you could be labeled a troublemaker and this could spell trouble come tenure time.

This same topic is discussed at great length throughout the CHE forums under the more colorful and descriptive umbrella of STFU: Shut the F&*% Up. See here, here, and here for examples of this principle in action.