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CHAPTER 5 • LEADERSHIP 55

iousness of most faculty is not necessarily

innate, but happens because people can only

process the available information. Lab citi-

zens can carefully and restrictively filter this

relevant information. A new P.I.’s increased

visibility as one of “them” means that every-

one is aware of her presence. For example,

silence will descend when a P.I. enters a

crowded and cheerful elevator, and she will

probably hear less swearing than she is

accustomed to in the lab.

In the one-on-one advisor-student rela-

tionship, the filtering can be an impediment

to the progress of the research. Many stu-

dents are happy to speak to their advisor

when things are working, but avoid them

when things are not; they may be reluctant

to admit confusion or defeat. A P.I. must,

therefore, learn to listen carefully and close-

ly to what the student does not say, since

silence probably indicates perplexity. It is

important to ferret out the problems, with

patience and compassion.

“My Students Don’t

Tolerate My Faults; I Am

Just a Human Being.”

One graduate student weighs in, “I’ve

heard this ‘The P. I. is a human being’ schtick

before. I just don’t buy it.” There may be no

immediate solution to this, but someday this

graduate student is likely to be running a lab

of his own. Like new parents who suddenly

develop an appreciation for the behavior and

foibles of their own parents, new assistant

professors almost always have retroactive

sympathy for their former advisors.

In the end, every new assistant professor

must develop her or his own style of mentor-

ing and managing a research group. Senior

colleagues can be an invaluable source of

advice, and friends in business or other fields

who manage teams of people may be even

more helpful. The learning curve is very

steep for the first few years, but when the

team works well together to develop a new

breakthrough, the taste of success is much

sweeter than individual accomplishment. ■

THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR CELL BIOLOGY

Even though the new P.I. is the

same person she was a month

before... her words suddenly

carry disproportionate weight.

A P.I. must... learn to listen

carefully and closely to what the

student does not say.