The staff dreams are made of

摘要

At a workshop last year, Steven Elliot (the name has been changed to protect the idealistic) described his dream vision for running a lab. "I only want conversation in my lab that pertains to the science and experiments," he told colleagues. His peers, there to evaluate and possibly 'join' the hypothetical lab, got up from the lunch table, mumbling a collective "We're out of here!" Elliot had broken an important rule of personnel management, according to an experienced lab head: treat your employees as people first and workers second. He had already undermined the ability to build mutual trust and respect, conditions that lead a list of management skills a new investigator must acquire quickly, says Lynne Howell, a veteran protein crystallographer at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. After all, not only are your postdocs and students putting their careers in your hands, but yours will be in their hands as well.