by Stefanie
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When you prepared for your role as a faculty member, what did you focus on? If you only thought about research and publishing, I have news for you: that\u2019s just the foundation<\/em>. Research and publishing are crucial, but they\u2019re far from the whole job. Your real challenge? Becoming the leader of your research team.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n You might have heard that being a faculty member is just like being a postdoc, but with the added perk of making all the calls. It sounds great\u2014until you realize it\u2019s only half the story. I learned this the hard way during my postdoc years, where I often took on more responsibility than was strictly necessary. I quickly realized I didn\u2019t have all the skills needed to succeed at the next level, especially when it came to the \u201cextra stuff\u201d like grant writing and, crucially, leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you haven\u2019t embraced leadership yet, it\u2019s time to dive in. Leadership is about setting the vision for your team, inspiring your people, and guiding them toward shared goals. Management? That\u2019s about keeping things running day-to-day. Both are important, but let\u2019s be clear: without strong leadership, your team might achieve short-term goals, but they won\u2019t thrive in the long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, what\u2019s the real difference between a leader and a manager?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The question isn\u2019t whether you\u2019re doing one or the other\u2014it\u2019s about how much time you spend in each mode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I realized the gaps in my skills, I turned to self-education. It\u2019s not just about picking up a book or sitting through university workshops\u2014those help, but they often miss the mark when it comes to leadership. Instead, I looked outside academia, seeking targeted training and mentorship. This \u201claser education\u201d approach helped me develop the skills I needed without the fluff of unrelated coursework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This self-education didn\u2019t just make me a better grant writer; it made me a better leader. And this paid off big time: within two years, I had brought in $6 million in funding. My secret? Learning directly from experts who had mastered the skills I needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Universities offer some training for new faculty, but it often skips over leadership entirely. Courses on lab management teach you how to budget and organize, but rarely how to lead. No one tells you that leading your team requires a completely different skill set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reflect on how you spend your time. Are you envisioning your team\u2019s future or just getting through the day? Are you inspiring your people or just making sure they hit deadlines? If you find yourself bogged down by managerial tasks, it\u2019s time to delegate. Your role is to lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Long-term success hinges on leadership. And if not you, then who?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Until next time, lead boldly!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014Stefanie<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Stefanie It\u2019s Time to Embrace Your Role When you prepared for your role as a faculty member, what did you focus on? If you only thought about research and publishing, I have news for you: that\u2019s just the foundation. Research and publishing are crucial, but they\u2019re far from the whole job. Your real challenge?…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-1","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glia-leadership.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glia-leadership.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glia-leadership.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glia-leadership.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glia-leadership.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4479"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.glia-leadership.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4479\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4481,"href":"https:\/\/www.glia-leadership.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4479\/revisions\/4481"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glia-leadership.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glia-leadership.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glia-leadership.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glia-leadership.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Leadership Isn\u2019t Optional\u2014It\u2019s Essential<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Self-Education: The Competitive Advantage You Didn\u2019t Know You Needed<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Missing Piece in Faculty Training: Leadership<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
So Are You Leading or Just Managing?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n