Leading a scientific lab and/or team is not easy. During training, we are taught how to be clinicians, scientists, researchers but we are not taught how to manage a lab or a team. So, how do we do it? We keep it simple and logical.

Most importantly, we start with people that are nice and effective. Most people are nice and many people are effective. We are looking for people who meet both criteria. At regular intervals, we evaluate whether all team members remain nice and effective. The area of effectiveness may change over time

What else do we do?

• We strive to acknowledge individual efforts and contributions in visible ways.
• We bring our best self to work every day, while recognizing that it is not always possible to do so.
• We clearly define what success looks like at the individual, team and project level. When we succeed, we pause, celebrate and reflect.
• We take our work very seriously but we don’t take ourselves too seriously.
• We embrace a culture of accountability and responsibility. We are “owners” and “helpers.”
• We are having fun.