Lab Management: Advice for when you start a new lab

Remember, your people are not you
- Students are not Ph.D.’s.
The right number of people
- It may be best to start with two students.
- After Ph.D. students are trained, recruit a few more.
Work at the bench
- Seating in your office writing grants, reading papers, and doing administrative tasks is the typical mistake during the first year.
- It is crucial that you are in the lab, train people, and set the standard.
Teach by example
- You need to convey motivation and commitment.
- You need to encourage the people in your lab and show them the beauty of what they do.
Embrace different cultures and different people
Listen and communicate
- You need to talk to the members of your lab.
- Let them know that they can talk to you about anything that’s on their mind, whenever they need to.
- Be open and approachable, listen to the point of view of others and give them your opinion, advice, and feedback too.
Be supportive and coach your people
Provide feedback in regular meetings
- Discuss their workload, the progress of their work, new ideas, concerns they may have and so on.
- Let them know how crucial they are to the lab, tell them what they do well and give constructive feedback on what could be improved.
Recognize the difference between time-urgent and important