Effective leadership in the lab goes beyond just giving orders. By leading through example, addressing everyday needs, and treating team members with respect, lab managers can inspire and motivate their teams. Here, Christopher Parrett, lab operations supervisor at Johnson and Johnson, shares tips to help create a culture of innovation.
Q: Can you describe your approach to leadership? How do you inspire and motivate your team members?
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A: I would say my approach to leadership is best described as “lead by example”. Make sure that any activity you would have others do, you should have proficiency in and can perform on your own. Any standards you set for others, make sure you are always following those standards yourself. There was nothing I hated more when working for someone, especially when working in a safety or regulatory role, than seeing blatant double standards. Work actively alongside your team members and always show them how to perform a task in-person if possible. This allows questions to be asked and answered in real time and will foster a greater sense of trust among you and your fellow employees.
I find that the best approach to motivating a team member is to always treat them as a highly trained professional, with courtesy and respect for their ideas and expertise. Following the golden rule, treat others as you would want to be treated, and creating an environment in which they feel comfortable will go farther than any incentives or rewards alone.
Q: How do you foster a culture of innovation and collaboration within the laboratory?
A: As a member of the Oncology Lab Operations team, the two biggest things I can do to help foster a culture of innovation and collaboration among our scientists are:
1. To take care of the small things
2. Do my best to understand the projects that are being performed in the lab to preempt needs and to facilitate introductions.
When I say take care of the small things, I’m talking about anything necessary to make sure the lab stays running with minimal input from the bench scientists: Putting in work orders for broken equipment, making sure incubators are clean and filled with water, defrosting freezers to keep them working at optimal capacity, opening and maintaining blanket POs to allow individuals to order items more easily, and speaking with representatives from other companies to learn of any shortages or bring in new products. These sorts of tasks are necessary to keep a lab running but take scientists away from their projects for many long hours. By taking care of these sorts of tasks, it allows them to focus on their projects in turn, which allows for more time to foster collaborations and analyze new data. In addition, try your best to understand what projects are occurring in the lab. Attending meetings and seeing the data that is being generated as well as speaking with the scientists in person will allow you to familiarize yourself with their work and, in turn, will allow you to pre-empt their needs in terms of what equipment and supplies they may need. It will also allow you to introduce members of the group to one another, which can be especially helpful if someone is looking for an expert in a certain technique or if someone is looking to collaborate with a particular individual.
Q: What do you consider to be the key challenges or roadblocks of innovation in the lab?
A: I would say the main roadblocks to innovation in the lab lie in the ability to get consistent results, trying to maintain access to technology within the lab, and individuals not being confident in their abilities. Consistency has always been something to strive for in a lab environment and working in biological research can present unique challenges to achieve and maintain that level of consistency. Between variability in samples and reagents, lack of descriptive protocols, and instruments not working as intended, there are many challenges that can stand in the way of maintaining consistency in a laboratory environment. The next roadblock would be maintaining access to new and existing technology in the lab. The second-worst problem to not being able to purchase a piece of equipment is having it but not being able to access it or be trained on the unit.
The final main challenge usually comes from the individuals working in the space themselves and how confident they are to present new ideas or voice their opinion. Many times, new students or employees will feel like they should remain silent due to not having as much experience in a field as the veterans in the room. New ideas, sources of innovation, and process improvements most often come from a new individual stepping into a space they aren’t familiar with and then bringing a fresh perspective to that area.
Q: What can a lab manager do to help overcome these challenges?
A: Once again, I would come back to taking care of the small things. As a lab manager, as long as the work falls within regulatory guidelines and is being done safely, you may not have the ability to directly influence the type of work being done or how it is being performed; however, by taking care of the small things, you can help create an environment that allows theses challenges to be overcome and makes it so a scientist’s focus can be maintained on a singular goal— gathering and analyzing data—rather than spread across multiple goals. If your budget allows it, consider purchasing pre-made reagents that are commonly used to assist in maintaining consistency in the lab. Make sure all instrumentation in the lab is receiving proper maintenance and is set up in proper environments. If you do not have core facilities, designate certain individuals in the lab to be experts that can train new users and answer any questions about the equipment. Setting up online sign-up systems makes access to new and existing technology easier and allows everyone to know what technology exists in the lab without having to constantly advertise it. Maintaining relationships with vendors will allow you to keep up to date with new technology, put scientists directly in contact with individuals who can assist them with questions about reagents or instruments, and will allow you to set up events, such as lunch and learns, that will put scientists directly in contact with individuals that can answer their questions and assist them with setting up optimized protocols or acquiring products that will assist their lab experiments.
Finally, by being a friendly and welcoming individual to others in the lab, you will encourage others to be more confident in themselves and be more comfortable to ask questions, raise concerns, and suggest new ideas.
Q: What are the key factors or requirements for successful lab innovation?
A: I believe that the key requirements for successful lab innovation are having a friendly environment, setting up a space for common contact/collaboration, and being able to put your ego aside to work together with everyone. Having a simple area like a shared lunchroom and spot to grab a cup of coffee will encourage everyone to interact with one another and will foster a natural environment for collaborations. Finally, you should put aside your own ego to be able to work with everyone in the lab. Never let a personal dispute get in the way of addressing an issue and always maintain a calm and professional demeanor. By putting these factors together, you can help create a lab that will often be able to self-address issues and be more cooperative.
Christopher Parrett was born in Orlando, Florida in 1992 where he grew up and attended the University of Central Florida. He received his Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology and Microbiology in 2013 and Master of Science in Biotechnology in 2016. He moved to Warrington, Pennsylvania in 2018 to work on the Johnson and Johnson Spring House, Pennsylvania campus as a contractor with Avantor. He started working for Johnson and Johnson in 2022 as a Lab Operations Associate and was promoted his current position as a lab operations supervisor in 2024.
