The Top 5 Essentials A Scientist Needs To Become An Effective Manager Part 1

Introduction

Today's post is the start of a series of posts detailing my top 5 essential requirements that scientists need in order to become an effective manager.

This post is a useful guideline for human resource managers that are considering promoting a scientist into a management position as well as for scientists considering that move too.

I believe that there are some essentials that can often be overlooked but that are crucial to the success of a manager.  There are of course many others but you won't go far wrong with the following list.

These are....


1) Have an interest in people.
2) Have an desire for a career in management.
3) A strategic mind.
4) More ear than mouth!
5) A vision of what success looks like.

1) Have an interest in people.

This has got to be a really obvious point right?  I mean why would anyone consider a role in management and not be interested in people?  Ah yes, of course , there reasons of status, money, power and the classic "I need to get into management as that is something someone my age should do by now!" but in the end we all know what managers driven by those values can be like now don't we?

So many choose management as a career for all the wrong reasons and then wonder why they feel stuck in an unfulfilling job despite the trimmings that might come with being a manager (you can define the term trimmings for yourself!).

The reality of any management position is that as a manager you will be managing people and if you have no interest in the many different facets of 'people' then you are unlikely to engage with your staff in a way that motivates and inspires.  You will not have a connection that is essential in developing the required rapport to lead your team forward.  For managers that do not have an interest in people , they are likely to find that they will start to perceive their team as a burden and not an asset and this will drag them and their team down in terms of being effective.

In the case of scientists, a lot of scientists are incredibly detail orientated, logical and fantastic at problem solving.  In fact a lot of their work requires them to work on their own individual projects perhaps feeding into a larger team.
I have seen how difficult the transition into management can be for some scientists who in the past have relied upon themselves to get work done and so the change in mindset to get a team performing tasks and coordinating this can be a challenge.  It's a challenge for the scientist turned manager, to think about getting the job done collectively and inclusively.  This can make delegating difficult which can lead to fostering a lack of trust amongst the team which could be disastrous in meeting objectives.

My advice? DO NOT go into a management role if you don't find people interesting.  It will be a waste of time.

Read the next instalment of The Top 5 Essentials A Scientist Needs To Become An Effective Manager shortly.

Find out more about John Hicks here.