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 which I’ve participated have been immensely beneficial for overseeing my lab.
Building on that foundation, this current post delves into three additional principles that are essential in both arenas: operating a successful business and leading a research team, both crucial for ensuring success.
Realize that You Are Your Most Valuable Team Member and the Only Irreplaceable One
I cringe as I write this. It sounds soooo… pretentious? But the truth is both PIs and small business owners are the beating heart of their respective ventures. Without you, there is no business and there is no research team. BUT… That doesn’t mean you have to have a chip on your shoulder about it. Stay humble, stay appreciative of your team. Without them, you’re also not in business. Get smart about recruiting, training, and delegating so that you can:
1) Do the things only you can do during business hours and not in your free time. Examine these things critically. It’s not about whether you can do them faster or better. It is about leveraging your time better. For me, the research team leader, those things are: developing ideas, providing my input and perspective on projects and data, developing team members, making informed decisions about budget and recruitment, guiding team culture and vision, teaching. Almost everything else can be delegated or done with help of the team. For me, the business owner, it’s about using my area of genius, which is translating general leadership and management principles to our specific world of research.
2) Take care of yourself. You may not like it (I don’t…) but there are limits to what you can do to your body and your mind. If you don’t get enough sleep, healthy food, time for yourself and other things that you derive enjoyment from, you won’t be as effective and impactful as you could be at work in the long run. Your career as research team leader is a marathon, not a sprint. The same goes for business owners.
Develop a Compelling Vision as North Star for the Team
For the PI, it’s about identifying research areas and questions that move the field forward, designing experiments or approaches, and seeking answers that could reshape our understanding of the world. For the business owner, it’s about spotting a gap in the market, be it a revolutionary tech solution, a product of consumption such as fantastic organic coffee, or a service. Then it’s about striving to create value for the customer or client.
My research team pursues questions that could redefine our understanding of how the brain adapts to injury. Specifically, my team defined this vision: “We teased out why astrocytes change after mild traumatic brain injury, what factors determine if, how, and when they change, how their changes affect brain function and behavior, and how to therapeutically manipulate aspects of their response.”
In contrast, my consulting business was born out of a desire to bridge gaps in research leadership & management. I felt that 1) during my training I wasn’t prepared for the business and leadership responsibilities that come with running a research program. That is despite me taking advantage of lab management courses and “Assistant Professor School”. In all these courses, there was a crucial part missing. This is where you translate your new knowledge into practice and make it a habit. Often, they also miss the “human component” of leadership, e.g. helping you develop the attributes leaders are supposed to have instead of just telling you what those are. I envisioned and then created a platform where PIs could come together, share challenges, and co-create solutions.
At GLIA-Leadership we envision research team leaders who are doubling the scientific impact of their research team by implementing and continuously using proven leadership & management methods and skills that were adapted to fit our environment .
Care About Team Dynamics
Leadership and team management are intrinsic to both roles. PIs mentor and guide teams, ensuring everyone marches to the rhythm of the project goals. Similarly, business owners lead their teams, whether it’s the staff at a store, developers for an app, or chefs at a restaurant to ensure smooth operations and to foster an environment of growth and satisfaction.
In my lab, I mentor and lead a diverse group of people at all levels of experience, undergrads, grad students, postdocs, and staff scientists. I also interact with collaborators, administrators, and colleagues to move different visions (not just our team vision) along. In my business, I collaborate with a team of coaches, virtual assistants, and contractors for specific aspects of the business such as marketing.
In both cases, dynamics between team members or colleagues make or break progress toward your vision. And while this is quite obvious common knowledge, navigating team dynamics eloquently is a whole different story, especially so when there is conflict or inefficiencies.
In fact, most of the work that we do with clients and most of what I spend time and energy on in my teams is about fine tuning team dynamics. Sometimes I get frustrated and sometimes my clients get frustrated because we want to move our vision along and not be bothered by “people drama.” Totally relatable!
And yet, whether in the lab or in the business teams, people are at the core and hence a core part of your time as leader goes toward navigating, smoothing, and optimizing people dynamics.
The worlds of research and business might seem miles apart, but my dual journey as a PI and a small business owner showed that they are not only similar but can also work synergistically. The challenges, joys, and learnings from one realm have often informed and enriched the other. Both principal investigators and small business owners embody a blend of passion, resilience, and adaptability, core tenets of an entrepreneurial mindset, no matter the domain.
Happy leading
– Stefanie