In our last Research Management Mastery group coaching, as always, we discussed many interesting topics and had lively conversations, but this time a big chunk of this discussion was centered on quality. Today, I, Robert, want to highlight two points that directly affect the quality of our results and that can make your work life…
The growth I wanted wasn’t inside academia “You could hire a graduate student for a year and a half for that amount of money.” My department chair was looking at the invoice for my mastermind program. $50,000 for 2 years. He wasn’t being dismissive. He was doing the math. That’s real money. But here’s what…
What’s the one non-negotiable thing every top athlete has? The one thing you simply must have to play in the top 1%, regardless of the sport, whether it’s football, tennis, or chess? Grit, discipline, and the will to win? Sure, you won’t get to the very top without them. But there are also a few…
Stefanie pointed me to a piece in The Atlantic about a new study: Measuring the Impact of Early-2025 AI on Experienced Open-Source Developer Productivity (METR). Programming is often seen as one of AI’s big strengths. The study found the opposite: developers using AI were on average 19 percent slower. The authors explain that this contradiction…
Changing behavior is hard. Anyone who’s ever tried to exercise more, quit smoking, feel less stressed, or walk past a gelateria without giving in to the quiet call of frozen delight knows that. Stanford behavioral scientist BJ Fogg developed the Tiny Habits model to tackle exactly this. The gist is simple. You want to exercise…
Ever sat down to write a grant and somehow ended up reviewing someone’s data, answering Slack messages, approving invoices, and tracking down a missing conference receipt?And then—suddenly—it’s five o’clock, and that grant proposal? Still a blinking cursor on a blank page. Yeah. We’ve been there. Here’s what’s happening: You’re not bad at managing your time.…
I had a conversation this week that stuck with me. A PI told me about a postdoc in her group who is sharp, motivated, and proactive. Exactly the kind of person most of us would be happy to have on the team. Even so, she’s frustrated. The postdoc doesn’t follow certain lab standards. Information is…
by Robert In one of the podcasts I regularly listen to, I came across an interesting topic. Cognitive biases – i.e., a systematic, faulty inclination when perceiving, remembering, thinking, and judging – and how you should deal with them. In this post, however, I don’t want to give a lesson in theoretical bias theory, but…
Happy New Year, Team Leader! May it be a productive, successful, but most of all fulfilling, and joyful year. One of the most frequently asked questions that I receive is: What are your systems and strategies to keep your team on track? Since this is the time of year when people tend to think about…
Today, I want to talk about my start as a leader. Looking back, I now consider this my first real leadership position. However, I actually held such a role much earlier. Nonetheless, I’ll stick with this example because I held that position for a few years, and it was here that the foundation of my…