This is a highly interactive 3.5 day workshop in which you will develop the skills necessary to lead and interact effectively with others, in both one-on-one and group settings. The workshop will focus on techniques, situations, and challenges that relate specifically to leading and managing in the scientific workplace. It will emphasize learning by doing and will involve role playing, giving and receiving feedback, and group problem solving. Much of the learning will be peer-to-peer. Participants will be expected to discuss their own experiences and listen to others as they discuss theirs.
The workshop will help participants identify areas where they need guidance and growth, as well as how to capitalize on areas of strength. Participants will have the opportunity to share their experiences and challenges with others and to receive feedback and guidance from others with experience in leading scientists in a variety of settings. At the end of the course, participants will be linked through a unique on-line community in which they can continue learning from one another and from the course instructors.
Target audience: The workshop is targeted to life scientists making, or recently having made, the transition to leadership or managerial positions. Many of the situations discussed will be from the perspective of an independent investigator running his or her own laboratory. As such, relatively new investigators (e.g., < 3 years) are particularly encouraged to apply, as are senior postdoctoral scholars on the cusp of tenure-track research positions.
Click here to read about the impact the workshop had on a 2012 participant ("Scientists must be taught to manage," Nature 483:511), and here to read about the impact on a 2011 participant ("Training: Workshops that work," Nature 488:419-420). In addition, see this article for a perspective written by alums of the 2013 workshop ("Education: Scientists need leadership training," Nature 506:159), this article for a Careers Column written by an alum of the 2012 workshop ("Self-taught soft skills," Nature 506:257), and this article for alumni perspectives from both the 2012 and 2015 workshops ("Supervision: Clear direction," Nature 527:125-126). Finally, see this Science Careers article for general information about leadership training for scientists, featuring comments by Carl Cohen.
Carl M. Cohen, Ph.D., is President of Science Management Associates, which provides consultation and training in interpersonal, group and organizational skills to scientists and science executives in both the public and private sectors. Carl has more than 25 years of biomedical research and management expertise, including having been Chief Operating Officer of Biovest International, focused on cancer immunotherapy, and Vice President for Research and Development at Creative BioMolecules. Carl served as Chief of the Division of Cellular and Molecular Biology and Acting Chair of the Department of Biomedical Research at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center of Boston. During that period he also held the positions of Professor of Medicine and Professor of Anatomy and Cellular Biology at Tufts University School of Medicine. Carl is co-author with his wife Suzanne of the book “Lab Dynamics: Management and Leadership Skills for Scientists” (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2012).
Dannielle ("Dannie") Kennedy, Ph.D., is a former president of the Board of Directors of the Boston Center of the A.K. Rice Institute and has directed numerous conferences on authority and leadership. She is on the faculty of the Executive Coaching Program at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology and has served on the Case Series Editorial Board of the Family Firm Institute. As an adjunct faculty member at Simmons College and guest lecturer at Harvard University and Smith College, she has taught courses on leadership, executive coaching, organizational theory and consultation, post-merger integration, applied research methods, and group dynamics. She is currently a leadership coach and advisor at WorkLab Consulting LLC (formerly the Nautilus Consulting Group). Prior to joining WorkLab, Dannie was a senior consultant at KRW International, an executive development boutique. Dannie holds a Ph.D. from Simmons College and is a graduate of the Advanced Studies in Organizational Development Program at the Boston Institute of Psychotherapy. Her clients include Fortune 500 corporations and institutions in electronic information, financial services, advertising, publishing, testing and assessment services, human resources and university administration.
Application instructions: To apply, you will need to submit a curriculum vitae and personal statement along with at least one letter of reference. Your statement should describe your current position and what you hope to gain by participating in the workshop. Students will be expected to stay for the duration of the workshop, which will begin in the mid-afternoon of Friday, March 11, and end by lunchtime on Monday, March 14. The workshop will be held at the CSHL Banbury Conference Center, located on the north shore of Long Island. Click the Application tab above to begin the application process.
Cost (includes food and housing): $1,140
Additional financial aid is available; to indicate financial need, please submit a short stipend request as part of your application materials. Support for this workshop is generously provided by the NIH National Institute of General Medical Sciences.
The following button allows you to indicate your interest in the workshop if you are not ready to apply at this time. No fees are due until you have completed the full application process and are accepted into the course.