by Robert
Imagine you’re sitting in the hot seat on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” and you’re faced with the million-dollar question: “To succeed as a Principal Investigator (PI), you must be a good…” A: Advisor. B: Mentor. C: Coach. D: Trainer.
Whichever option you choose, you’re correct! As a PI, you’re expected to excel in all these roles. But have you ever taken a moment to contemplate the differences between these roles and how you can maximize your effectiveness in each? Let’s dive deeper into this topic, recognizing that my approach is just one of many and open to interpretation.
Consider this scenario: “Hey Robert, my boss sent me this email asking me to do XYZ. He knows I don’t have time for this…”
The Advisor
As an Advisor, my response would be: “I’m not familiar with your boss or the situation, but from my experience, supervisors often underestimate the time required for XYZ. I suggest you outline the effort involved in XYZ and let your boss decide whether you should proceed with it or find an alternative solution.”
This example illustrates a tailored, situation-specific piece of advice. In my role as a PI, my deep understanding of our research area primarily benefits less experienced team members. I guide them through challenges and help outline solutions. However, the importance of this role diminishes as team members gain experience. The risk is that over time, you might become an Instructor by default, simply handing out detailed instructions and hindering the team’s ability to solve problems independently. Thus, it’s crucial to be mindful of how you assume the Advisor role to prevent becoming solely a problem solver for your team.
So, while it’s tempting to see yourself as the go-to problem solver, remember that your role as an Advisor should focus on addressing truly complex, new challenges. The complexity of these challenges naturally varies with the seniority of the team member in question.
The Mentor
As a Mentor, I would take a broader view of the problem to find a long-term solution: “If this happens frequently, you need to develop strategies to deal with it or even prevent this behavior from your boss completely. I know this problem all too well. My old boss was the same. However, I managed to change his behavior by…”
As a mentor, you should draw upon your own personal journey, sharing both your successes and challenges to guide your mentees through similar experiences in their career paths. It’s essential for you to focus on fostering their development over time, equipping them with a comprehensive skill set that prepares them for the future. You should encourage their independence, pushing them to make their own decisions and find solutions, while providing a supportive safety net. Moreover, you should not only advise on professional matters but also nurture their ability to build and maintain meaningful professional relationships.
If you had a mentor you probably have benefited from introductions and opportunities your mentor has made available to you. Now, it’s your turn. Open your network to them, introduce them to colleagues, peers, and leaders in your field who can provide further guidance, collaboration opportunities, and potential career paths. This act of sharing your network underscores the importance of community and support in professional growth. It’s a powerful way to demonstrate that their success is your success, reinforcing the collaborative spirit of mentorship.
The Coach
A Coach would likely aim to foster a better understanding of the situation and the resulting options for action within you: “What do you think is the reason your boss made this request? What could be three options for you to deal with it? I know none of these options might be optimal, but if you were compelled to act, which one would you choose to start with?” Here, self-awareness is key. A Coach does not offer solutions to a problem but facilitates the journey to finding a solution. 90 percent of a coach’s work is asking questions.
As you can see from this example as a Coach in a research team, your role is fundamentally different from that of an Advisor or a Mentor. While an Advisor provides specific guidance based on their expertise and a Mentor draws on their personal experiences to guide the mentee’s professional development, a Coach focuses on unlocking the team members’ potential to maximize their own performance. It’s about helping them to learn rather than teaching them.
As a Coach, you have the unique opportunity to truly unlock the potential within each member of your team. In Coaching I always aim to create those ‘aha’ moments with my coachees. I find it extremely rewarding, if the coachee has discovered some truth inside themselves.
Your goal should be to help them set their targets, breaking down the journey into manageable steps, and lighting a fire under their ambition.
The Trainer
The Trainer in me, on the other hand, is straightforward: ” Effective communication is key. There are strategies you can learn to express your concerns without sounding uncooperative. I’ll show you now a hundred ways to say ‘No.'”
As a Trainer, your approach is markedly direct and hands-on. You’re the one with the toolbox, ready to equip your team with specific skills and knowledge they need to fulfill their responsibilities effectively.
You should start by identifying the gaps in their skill set. What does your team need to have as a competency and who – if not all – should be trained? From that you can plan your Practical exercises, demonstrations, and sessions that translate complex concepts into actionable knowledge. As a trainer your responsibility goes beyond only transferring knowledge. As a good trainer you’re also supposed to provide a structured learning environment where each team member can practice, make mistakes, and improve under your guidance. Learning from sports trainers you should give immediate feedback while practicing.
In addition, in your role as a Trainer, you should be invested in the long-term competency of your team. This means not only showing them those “hundred ways to say ‘No'” but also teaching them when it’s appropriate to use each one. Try to boost their confidence in specific areas, no matter if it is mastering a new software tool, understanding a complex methodology, or simply learning to use Excel properly.
Ultimately, the Trainer in me would have a straightforward answer: “Effective communication is key. There are strategies you can learn to express your concerns about the workload without sounding uncooperative. Let me show you now a hundred ways to say ‘No.'”
As a Trainer, your approach should be direct and hands-on. You come equipped with a toolbox, ready to provide your team with the specific skills and knowledge they need to perform their roles effectively.
Start with identifying the gaps in their skill sets. What competencies does the team need, and who, specifically, needs training? From this, you can plan practical exercises, demonstrations, and sessions that turn complex concepts into actionable knowledge. As a Trainer, your responsibility extends beyond just transferring knowledge. A good trainer also offers a structured learning environment where each team member can practice, make mistakes, and improve with supervision.
I always try to remind myself that receiving immediate feedback during practice is necessary for improvement. Consider, for example, a dance trainer who provides feedback on your steps and corrects them not immediately while you’re practicing, but only a few minutes later after the training has finished. At least I could not improve in such a scenario.
Moreover, as a Trainer, you should be invested in the long-term competency of my team. This means not only showing them those “hundred ways to say ‘No'” but also teaching them when it’s appropriate to use each one. My aim is to boost their confidence in specific areas, whether it’s mastering a new software tool, understanding a complex methodology, or simply learning to use Excel efficiently.
As you can see, each role serves a unique purpose and is most effective in specific contexts. It’s important for you, as a leader, to make a conscious decision about which hat to wear in any given situation. This decision should be guided by the needs of the team member involved, the specific goals of the interaction, and the desired outcome. For example, when a team member faces a strategic career decision, the guidance of a Mentor may be the most appropriate assistance you can offer.
You should also avoid mixing roles. Lack of clarity can lead to confusion among team members, as they might not understand what is expected of them or how to engage with you. For instance, if you’re acting as a Coach by asking probing questions to encourage self-discovery but then switch to giving direct advice like an Advisor, it might confuse the team member about whether they should be coming up with their own solutions or following your advice. However, sometimes I also change roles during a conversation. This can happen when I realize that one approach is ineffective. To avoid confusion, I simply make my conversation partner aware of the change by stating, “For the last half hour, I showed you some ways you could possibly solve this problem (as an Advisor), but after discussing it, I realized none of it will work for you. So let’s try another approach where I assist you in the process of finding your solution (as a Coach).” This helps adjust their expectations and contributions to the conversation, maximizing the benefit of the interaction.
So , what are you going to be in your next conversation with a team member: an advisor, a mentor, a coach or a trainer?
– Robert