Frequently asked questions
1. Why is the culture of research teams so important?
Whether it’s in a large organisation, or a two-person relationship, culture underpins how people work together and relate to each other. It has a major impact on the productivity and wellbeing of the team. It establishes the standards and expectations that guide people’s decisions about what is acceptable.
2. Is all leadership primarily about vision?
No. Leaders should also focus on consistent outcomes and the processes that can achieve them.
3. Is delegation a good form of leadership?
Yes. It can be useful if accountability for the delegation can be transferred with the responsibility. Some weak leaders delegate when they are actually abdicating leadership.
4. Is observing appropriate OH&S standards the laboratory manager’s responsibility?
Occupational health and safety is everyone’s responsibility, and the research team leader is responsible for making sure that team members are using safe work practices in accordance with legislation and the university’s occupational health and safety policy and guidelines.
5. Should research team members be counselled if they work too hard?
Yes. Overwork produces people without resilience and lacking in motivation. To maintain a sustainable pool of active researchers the university needs to encourage staff to balance their activities and demands.
6. Why should I bother addressing poor performance if the person will only be involved in the project for a short period?
As a research leader you should be getting the best from your team members and those who report to you. If performance lower than you expect is addressed as soon as it becomes apparent, the individual has the opportunity to change their behaviour or to consider other work directions. If you ignore it, other members of the team have to carry the extra load, and the university can waste resources over many years.
Addressing poor performance is easier if you and the staff member have developed clear expectations by describing the objectives with performance indicators, and are in the habit of sharing feedback on how their work is going. The gap between what is expected and outcomes will provide the basis for assessment. Document your discussions which aim to address the problem and its results. Your university has a formal process to address performance that cannot be improved to an acceptable level.
7. What is succession planning?
Some roles are particularly critical for the success of a team, so back-up people need to be arranged and skills transferred.
8. How is creativity in research teams enhanced?
This is done by:
• Organisational encouragement
• Supervisory encouragement
• Sufficient resources
• Challenging work.
9. How is creativity eroded?
By workload pressures such as:
• Extreme time pressures
• Unrealistic expectations for productivity
• Distractions from creative work
• Low expectations of success
• Poor project management
• Poor communication between team members and the team leader
• Organisational impediments, such as:
o Internal political problems
o Harsh criticism
o Destructive internal competition
o An avoidance of risk
o Overemphasis on the status quo.
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