Management in the Life Sciences:
I’m amazed at how differently management has changed from the Silicon Valley management style to where I am now. For me this was the famous “HP Way”, which embodies respect for the individual, contribution to the customer and the community, integrity, teamwork, and innovation. We actually followed that example and had numerous posters around the facilities to remind us our employment was more than just a paycheck. We had a duty to perform to the point other super companies such as Apple, Sun or Cisco considered us boy scouts. Contrast that to the life science way of management, which is? It has been quite a shock to go from a Fortune 20 company where the founders of the company pretty much started the electronics revolution to academic research where the PIs may or may not have met someone who did something important or maybe not? See Observation III for more on that. The Silicon Valley has gone through some rough times, especially in the last 10 years. Long gone is the HP Way. Fear of waiting for the pink slip that can come at anytime, no matter the level of position this is now the norm.
Here is what I learned about effective management at a research tech level which can be easily be utilized in a lab environment if you desire it:
A. Direct Supervision: These are new people or student workers that have to be told what to do and how to do it. You have to instruct them on what time they have to be in and watch them closely. Eventually they may work their way to B and C.
B. Delegate: These are the people that are given more responsibility, such as taking care of colonies, samples, clean-up, supplies, and inventory. They also can help out with direct supervision. This gives a sense of duty and worth in their job.
C. Ownership: These are co-workers that are given much more responsibility such as taking over certain projects from beginning to end. They can also help with delegating and direct management. This gives experience in responsibility and ownership of a project.
This may seem simple and yes it is. This is a practical way of defining job duties, goals and teamwork. The Adair model is where I learned much of this among with Best Practices, the HP Way, Management by Walking Around, among others.
http://www.vitae.ac.uk/policy-practice/273601/Managing-people.html
Unfortunately we are not at this point at my current position. There is no leadership training or training in people management? Is this typical in the life sciences? It’s totally alien to be thrust in a position with no official guidance. It’s whatever the senior tech dictates. On this note, we are subjected to direct supervision. It is amazingly different than my previous positions, really, when senior techs and PIs call up your mother to find out where you are at during normal working hours, it gets a bit ridiculous and weird. Hey, I’m at work, call me on my cell phone, you have the number! This never would have happened in the electronic field otherwise you’d be flipping burgers.
Other folks I’ve talked to have experience with similar situations, they’ve become redundant and lost their previous production and service jobs. The biotech and other life science fields sounded interesting so why not give it a try. The PIs sort of let them do what they want while the senior people hold dominion over their little kingdoms. In the electronic field technical, leadership, teamwork and customer service training was required and stressed every quarter. Peer evaluations were monthly to weed out those not part of the team or falling behind in their work.
Is it because of the research and academic nature of the work that makes it so different than a “normal job”? The PIs are not aware if there are grips or personnel issues, especially if no one communicates directly with them. Is this where mentors come into play? I really am unsure if I was over trained and this is the way a research tech position is supposed to be. Nobody has really discussed it with me.
