We recently hosted three newly independent investigators who run research teams humming with activity and people, who told us what it takes to manage a lab full of humans in all their idiosyncratic glory.  Here are their tips:

Defining Expectations and Gathering Feedback

• Define your expectations of your team members and communicate them clearly and consistently.
• Ask your team members (students, post-docs, research assistants, etc.) what their expectations are of YOU.
• Give people responsibility
• Celebrate negative data. Trainees and staff sometimes feel pressure to get the “right” results and celebrating negative data helps to alleviate this pressure.
• Harmonize expectations between employees, grad students, and postdocs; make the playing field as equal as possible given constraints of institutional expectations for different job categories.
• Use feedback, and create the opportunity to receive feedback.
• As a manager, actively seek training in management – be thoughtful concerning your own development as a manager, not just as a scientist.

Encouraging Buy-In

• Lab and mentorship meetings can be in a group setting on a regular basis so that everyone in the lab/mentees know what everyone else is doing. This also helps learning and cross coverage in the lab.  But don’t exclude the one-on-one meeting times with mentees every 1-2 weeks.
• Allow every team member – from students to research staff to trainees – to have their own project.
  • While the primary focus of our team is pushing the main projects forward, each person has a small side project that they are working on during their down time. We have students, research staff and trainees who submit abstracts and present at national meetings because of this.
• Explore opportunities for every individual in your team to develop and advance their career, whether they are a postdoc, research analyst, or administrative assistant.
• Encourage camaraderie among the team.
  • For example: Buy lunch for everyone once in a while. Our group goes out to lunch every time someone gets a paper accepted – the PI’s treat.
• Make your team members feel valued and respected.
  • Lead by example – don’t ask people to do things that you would not be willing to do yourself.
  • Involve your team members in decisions that will affect the group at large.
  • Put the day to day tasks into context. I often send my grant proposals to my trainees and staff so they understand why I am asking them to do 27 different western blots.
  • When on-boarding a new team members, enlist the help of your whole team.
  • Keep an ear to the ground for administrative items such as job reclassifications so they are not a surprise to you and your team.
  • Remember people are your most valuable resource!

If It Goes Wrong

• When you start to have “trouble” with a team member, document early and document a lot.
• Get HR involved ASAP – they are present to help.

Managing Up

• Mentorship is a two-way street.  You need to “reverse mentor” your mentor.  Not all mentors are perfect, but nearly all are well-meaning.
• Help your mentor to be her/his best mentor and to set up a productive relationship in a variety of ways:
  • Value her/his time.
  • Keep a running agenda of items to discuss by email or your next meeting.
  • Keep emails short and to the point.
  • Not all meetings need to be 30 or 60 minutes.  Come prepared to optimize efficiency.

Other Resources

• Sign up for the Harvard Business Review brief tip of the day.
• Check out the Management and Leadership tags at Edge for Scholars

 Thanks to Dr. Eric Austin, Dr. Julie Bastarache, and Dr. Christine Lovly for these tips!

More Resources

Build a Great Team: Help Your Staff Help You

A Guide to Managing Research Teams

Go go go…read The Progress Principle

About the Author

Screen Name

Rebecca Helton, MA

About Me

I'm a Senior Program Manager for the Edge at Vanderbilt and primarily work with early career faculty. I manage the Newman Society, the VUMC Faculty Research Scholars program, Edge Reviews, and more. I also edit much of the content on the Edge. When not editing, writing, or working on career development activities, you can find me jumping, spinning, and gliding on the ice.