Leadership Skills
Hiring managers should look for enthusiasm in job candidates during screening and on-site interviews. Enthusiasm indicates job candidates are interested in working for the employer and excited about their profession. This enthusiasm is usu
| 4 min read
You may recognize that sinking feeling. It starts in the pit of your stomach and explodes into a massive headache. After just a few weeks on the job you've begun to realize that your newest employee isn't up to the position. Find out what to do in this situation.
| 3 min read
Employees – and lab managers as well – worried about being laid off seldom perform at their best. If many lab staff members are worried about keeping jobs, job security jitters affect overall lab productivity and morale. Th
| 5 min read
No matter how old or young workers may be, certain management principles are usually effective: make them accountable for their work, treat them with respect, and say thank you. These principles have value whether you work at a large corporation or in a small scientific lab.
| 3 min read
It is critical for lab managers to hire job candidates who will be real contributors and not just those who have learned to interview well. So when I interview job candidates, I ask them to discuss real examples of their skills and accomplishments. I
| 5 min read
In large companies, great ideas can fall by the wayside, especially when there are several other priorities taking up a lot of time and effort. If you want your proposal heard, it's not always wise to resort to aggressive tactics.
| 1 min read
Are you oppressed by the amount of information coming in: the steady stream of emails, instant messaging, the BlackBerry going off, the constant social media updates? You’re definitely not alone.
| 2 min read
There are six methods that you can use to control your career as a lab manager. What are the 6 C’s of control? Control the clock Some of us spend our entire careers struggling with time management. Tim
| 5 min read
Many lab managers still remember them from their student days—a handful of hastily stapled printouts sternly titled “Laboratory etiquette—Acceptable standards of conduct.” Those were rules to live by, and the smallest violation landed a budding laboratory scientist in front of the ticked-off chief instructor.
| 5+ min read
Laboratory layoffs continue although at a substantially slower pace. Currently lab layoffs are due largely to industry restructuring. Nobody likes layoffs. That includes lower and middle level lab managers. Conducting layoffs can be very stressful fo
| 4 min read
You've probably heard that it takes more than a competitive salary to attract great employees. While this may be true, it is one of the key components to retaining those employees...
| 2 min read
A new study from the University of Iowa confirms that workers who feel empowered by their employers have higher morale and...
| 2 min read
