WOMEN IN PLANT BIOLOGY

Reflections on Leading a Research Group

I have been lucky enough to have had the chance to lead a research group during some of the most exciting times of what is truly the Age of Biology. Over the course of about 20 years, the team at The Plant Cell Biology Research Centre, at the University of Melbourne, focused on trying to answer two questions: (1) what is the molecular basis of gametophytic self-incompatibility? and (2) what is the role of arabinogalactan proteins in plants? The research was always a team effort, and as a team we experienced the euphoria of discovery and the frustrations of the apparent impasse. My experiences during this journey are rather personal and not necessarily relevant to all research situations. But perhaps some of the ideas might strike a chord with a young scientist experiencing the first challenges of leadership. Reams have been written about leadership, but it still seems an elusive concept. Different people have different styles and approaches. In this column, I set out some of what I learned along the way and explain what seemed to be important and what worked for me.

Challenge 1: The research question
The research question is of utmost importance and probably the toughest challenge. If you get it right, you can embark on one of the most exciting adventures that can be imagined. The trick is to define a question for your research that will have broad impact when it is answered. That is, it may open up a whole new field of research for others; it may redefine thinking about a topic; it may lead to a whole new understanding or interpretation of an accepted principle. The question you choose to tackle must of course be answerable with the tools and technology available.

Challenge 2: The money
Having set the research goals, the next challenge is to secure the money required to do the work. This is rarely easy. Sources of funds vary with each circumstance and within each country. It is worth spending time to look systematically at all the potential sources, government grants, industry funds, charitable organizations, individual donors, and so on. Being able to communicate what you are trying to do and why, in simple, compelling language tailored for each potential donor group, is a big help. Actually, being able to express ideas concisely in simple language is a very handy skill to have in facing all sorts of challenges.

Challenge 3: The people
Having secured your funding, you can then hire the research team. Whoever you hire has to be convinced that your chosen research question is really exciting and that there is a high chance of significant success.  If you cannot persuade potential recruits to this view, it is unlikely that they will invest their time and talent in the project.

The team needs a mix of people who like and respect each other. These people must be intellectually very able. You want really talented individuals able to challenge your ideas. This sort of continuous internal peer review helps maintain the intellectual rigor of decisions that must be made along the research path. These very talented recruits also make truly innovative contributions. One potential trap, however, is the brilliant but difficult or selfish person. You might find that the time and emotional energy required to manage this person’s interactions with the group outweighs the value of their contribution. It’s also important to balance the “wild ideas” type of people with the careful, systematic organizers—the analytical sort of people.

The team also needs technically able and experienced people. They may not necessarily be brilliant, but those who are technically able, highly motivated, and enthusiastic and who can work well alongside others make invaluable team members.

Challenge 4: Inspiring and guiding the team to work toward the goals
Leadership in guiding the team has many hallmarks of managing the interactions of a family. Usually members all get along pretty well, but sometimes they squabble and “tell on each other” and sometimes there are cries of “it’s not fair.” Then, like a parent, the leader must find time to talk to the people involved, try to understand the problem, and help work out a solution.

Occasionally things other than the interpersonal interactions of the group go wrong. The team might start to doubt its own capacity, and this is when the team members need to know that you have confidence in them. Sometimes just sitting down with the team and mulling over the problem or impasse will give a glimmer of another way forward. Often just resting after discussing options for the way forward and coming back to the same problem the next day will turn up new thoughts or directions.

People are imperfect—even the leaders. The trick is to build on the skills of the team members and to help them through areas of weakness or uncertainty. Making suggestions is usually more productive than giving orders or making demands. You may need to make the same suggestion several times. Sometimes if you make the suggestion and then let it rest for several days or even weeks, the team will come back with the same suggestion. This creates a situation in which the team has come up with the novel idea and will then be highly committed to making it work. The leader has to have sufficient self-confidence to be able to graciously acknowledge the excellent idea. It can negate the whole exercise if the leader can’t resist saying “I told you so.”

There will be lots of small successes along the way to answering the big question. It’s great for the team to have these successes acknowledged and celebrated. One especially tough lesson for the leader is that whereas success belongs to the team, failure falls at the leader’s feet.

Challenge 5: Creating the culture to produce excellent research
The culture of an organization or group is hard to define. It is the way things are done, the way problems are approached, the way conflicts are resolved, and the way people are treated. It’s about ideals, attitudes, and standards. These standards and attitudes are to a large extent reflected in how the leader behaves. The leader sets the standards of excellence for the work and its public presentation. Leaders also set the standards of honesty and integrity. This includes intellectual honesty as well as honesty in everyday dealings with people.

Important attitudes set by the leaders are, for example, being supportive and encouraging to people on the team and focusing on each person’s strengths and achievements rather than weaknesses.

Another part of culture is how problems are approached. It is very useful for the group to work through problems and come to a solution. This process might seem to be a waste of time, especially if the solution is obvious to the leader. However, if the outcome is that everyone is committed to making the solution work, then it’s time well spent and generally much more productive than ordering a way forward or finding someone to blame.

It is also very important to create an environment in which open communication can flourish. Having a free information flow and exchange of skills and knowledge in the lab is essential. An important part of achieving this open communication is the attitude that all ideas put forward at meetings are treated seriously. Sometimes even the most way-out, heretical, or seemingly naive idea has value if examined carefully and dispassionately. Creating a low threshold of courage for all members of the group to voice an opinion is critical to the creativity and cheerfulness of the group. It presupposes that people will not be ridiculed or have their ideas dismissed peremptorily.

People also need to see that their input is appreciated. Recognition and celebration of all the little “wins” along the way to answering the main question help make the quest a really joyful experience.

Challenge 6: Building communication networks at all levels
When things go wrong, it is often because of breakdowns in communication. There are several levels of communication to be considered.

Upward
The team has a higher duty than to the research group, and that is to the host institution. Sometimes this is forgotten in the excitement and focus on the research. Positive communication upward into the host bureaucracy can build very useful networks that can really help in getting things done. It helps to explain what you are trying to do to some of the key non-scientists in the bureaucracy. This can be time very well spent.

Outward to the rest of the scientific world
Two key skills are the ability to write simple and concise English and the ability to speak clearly when communicating ideas. Generally we learn these skills from our Ph.D. advisers and from the editors of journals who receive our imperfect manuscripts. For some people who don’t have innate skills in writing or public speaking, more formal training can be useful.

Outward to the community
The community ultimately funds government-sponsored research through taxation. It’s important that members of the community feel that the research is a good investment and understand its ultimate benefits. This involves communicating what you are trying to do in clear, non-technical language. Sooner or later, if you are successful in answering a big research question, you will encounter the world of the media and need the skills for this rather specialized form of communication. I found formal media training to be invaluable in managing contact with the media.

Inward
Apart from communication within the group, it’s very useful to build strong alliances with other research groups. Scientists are really good at finding colleagues in related fields whom they respect and with whom they can find a common technical language. These alliances with related disciplines can be extremely productive and creative.

Summary
Trying to bring all this together I come back to the ideas of the various aspects of managing a family and its relationships. The research leader, like a parent, sets an example of the way to behave, the way to treat people, and the way to solve problems and conflicts. It’s relatively easy when things are going well, but it’s more difficult when things don’t go so well. Being pleasant and even-tempered, even when you feel utterly beleaguered, is very important. You must show very publicly that you are confident of finding a way through problems. The collective wisdom of the team is a powerful force to draw on at all times, but especially when times are difficult.

It has been a great privilege for me to have had the opportunity to lead a research team. I have had wonderful experiences, worked with amazingly talented people, made lifelong friends in many different countries, and enjoyed every day of my life as a plant biologist.

Adrienne E. Clarke
University of Melbourne
aeclarke@unimelb.edu.au