How to build your dream research team? (Part 1)

In last week’s article, “How to make sure your impact counts” I mentioned that science is a team sport. This week I want to dive into a little series on how we can start building our teams for science success!

Now I can hear some of your rolling your eyes right now (yes, that’s right you are rolling your eyes so hard I can hear them), saying, “But group work is the actual worst”. Followed by, “I was ALWAYS the one who had to pick up everyone else’s slack”.

I am not here to debate experiences of the past. I will tell you that if it weren’t for the fact that I worked with multiple teams I could not have reached the level of productivity that I have been able to achieve. These teams have also given me some of my best research ideas. For example, it was while I was part of a large interdisciplinary team that I first got the idea for the creation of my first research center.

Science has shown that diverse groups generate more creative ideas. Other research on groups has shown that for complex tasks, like research projects, they are faster and more efficient. Knowing this the question then becomes how do you build a team that doesn’t suck the life out of you and helps get things done?

Over the course of my career, I’ve been part of many, many teams. Some teams have been small (just a collaborator and I), others have been very large (30+ people across multiple disciplinary areas and geographic distances). Some teams have been successful, others not so much. Reflecting on my experience on the less successful teams I’ve identified 3 prime deficits.

The first prime deficit is that they were often thrown together with little thought to why the members were needed. As a grad student I saw this when my senior advisors would come home from a conference wanting cement relationships with new collaborators by immediately integrating them into ongoing projects. For me this often meant “consulting” with, and waiting on, people who had little vested interest in the immediate work. It cost time and energy. I have also been on the receiving end of these invitations to join ongoing projects and have been left feeling like the proverbial third wheel, wanting to contribute, but often just acting like a placeholder, which feels gross.

The second prime deficit was that there wasn’t a clear goal or task to be completed. Interestingly these experiences also often followed meetings at conferences, where my new collaborators and I were all swept up in the excitement of new research ideas and being outside of the day-to-day grind of our regular workdays. With the best of intentions, we’d schedule a couple of meetings post conference and try to hash out some possible ideas, identify grants, and begin some preliminary work. However, we settled back into our regular work lives these meetings become less and less well attended, deadlines passed, and projects didn’t get off the ground. This isn’t because any one of us is lazy or not dedicated, rather when we lack a specific purpose it is easy to let the immediate get in the way of the possible.

 The third, and final, prime deficit is clear leadership. I’ve most often experienced a lack of clear leadership in projects that were handed over to another group of people when the originator has changed roles. In my experience projects only cross the finish line when someone is driving them forward. If that person doesn’t, exist others are very often reticent to step up and add to their own workload. We are all very busy and likely working on multiple projects at any given moment, so it’s easy to let something slide when there isn’t any accountability.

Now you might be asking yourself why I started this series on building your dream research team with all the deficits I’ve experienced on teams in the past. Well, as with anything you do, it is important to understand where you’re starting. And more importantly everything I’ve outlined here is solvable. In the coming posts we will explore how to build a team with intention, starting with knowing your own working strength and styles, finding a project to get your team started, and how to lead your team effectively.

Want a jump start on this process? Let me help you build your team today!

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