Hey friends,
Hope you had a good weekend and enjoyed the Argentina and Cabo Verde game!
Here’s this week’s 1 Doodle · 1 Do · 1 Direction.
1 Doodle
"Give me some space to experiment", that was my labmate back in 2019 at the University of Florida. While he was the most senior PhD student in our lab, he was constantly being micromanaged. One of the moments when this conversation openly started between him and my PI got me thinking: when should a PI, a manager, or a boss start to shift from managing to leading?
The timing is different depending on the position and the individual's speed of learning. But for certain, this transition should happen. What sometimes gets missed is that a PI, manager, or boss has a mixed team, some new, some senior, and some in the middle. During conversations, he or she should switch between managing and leading, and I think most of the time that is exactly what happens. They might talk to a new member who needs more management, and then a few minutes later, speak to a senior member who doesn't need to be managed, but led. The reverse is also possible, though I haven't witnessed it myself.
This week, I recalled those heated conversations in the research lab. Back in those years, I didn't have a newsletter or do any kind of doodling, so I drew this doodle as a reminder. It visualizes how our behavior as managers must evolve over time, steadily reducing day-to-day managing (some hour-to-hour managing!) and ramping up leading until we hit that crucial 'Independence Point.'
1 Do
If you are a PI, manager, boss, or even someone who trains others (which is a kind of mini-manager), when do you transition from managing to leading? Have you ever thought about that, or do you just want to keep managing? This week, try to have a rough number in mind.
1 Direction
As I said, it’s very difficult to have an exact number for when we transition from managing to leading. But what we can do is try some micro-practices of leading to test the waters. If you are satisfied, you can try more of these practices. Success doesn't need to be a 100% pass!
For example, if you are a PI in a chemistry lab, you can ask, "What are the other ways we can synthesize this molecule?" Your grad student might suggest a few ways. Even if you know one or two might fail, let them try it (if your funding allows). Help shape a scientist or engineer who is better than you.
That’s all for this week.
Warmly,
- Ehsan /a-🌞/
P.S. If this newsletter made you think of someone, feel free to forward it to them. They can read all past newsletters here and subscribe if they like.
P.P.S. I recently made a video on The Focus Gym: My Weekly Concentration Routine. You can watch it here.
P.P.P.S. Feel free to reply and say hi. I always enjoy hearing from readers.
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