by Robert Roßbach In the ever-shifting terrain of today’s professional world, I found myself at the helm of a team brimming with seasoned professionals. This mix of youthful vigor and rich experience was both exhilarating and daunting. Here’s a glimpse into my personal journey through the challenges, and the strategies I employed to cultivate a…
By Stefanie Robel Two weeks ago in our blog post, I discussed how I adopted an entrepreneurial mindset and how it transformed my approach to leading a research team. As a Principal Investigator who also manages a business, I’ve come to recognize the striking parallels between these two domains. Moreover, the business training programs in…
by Stefanie Robel & Robert Roßbach In the ever-evolving world of academic research, change is the only constant. This is the case for research teams even more so than in other environments because our workforce is composed mostly of trainees who will move to the next career stage, usually outside of our teams, in a…
By Stefanie Robel As a postdoc I struggled… Not with the sciency parts of science! But with the endless thankless tasks that come with doing science. The tasks that pile up skyhigh and make us feel like there is never enough time. You know what I am talking about: Lab safety paperwork, administration, maintenance, online…
By Kendra Sewall Like most academics, I balance many jobs and struggle with all of them. I am an associate professor and PI at a mid-level state R01 school, I had 2 kids pre-tenure after using IVF to start my family, and I care for 2 aging parents with complex health conditions. For me, work-life…
In the corridors of academic institutions, amidst the hum of centrifuges and the scribbling of hypotheses on whiteboards, lies a responsibility that often goes unspoken and is sadly sometimes not valued as it should be by our most admired science heroes: ethical leadership. Take for example the recent resignation of Stanford’s president Marc Tessier-Lavigne over…
I’ve heard it countless times from my Six Sigma* Master: “Variance is the enemy.” Well, for the sake of simplicity, let’s call it “variability” today, even though it’s not exactly the same thing. We won’t delve into statistics here; we’ll keep it light for this blog post. Variability refers to unevenness, inconsistency, or deviation from…
Giving feedback is truly an art. It’s not just about following a set of rules or learning specific techniques; there’s much more to it. You have to: I know, these are plenty of “you have tos.” And that is why, when you can provide ongoing feedback without leaving a trail of scorched earth behind, you…
A couple of questions a lot of us research team leaders struggle with is: “What do I do when team members are underperforming?” or a variation thereof: “How do I motivate my team members to be more engaged?” And to those of you who are tired of being the cheerleader–we hear you! And yet, when…
When it comes to addressing performance in team meetings, there are often inherent challenges that both team leaders and team members face. The discomfort surrounding performance discussions can make finding the right words a difficult task. Nobody wants to insult or demotivate their team members. The goal is to help each individual to perform to…