Cultivating scientific leaders is a bit like drug discovery. To produce a drug, two different, but complementary, strategies are employed: random screening, to isolate the one-out-of-a-millioncompounds with the best traits; and rational design, to further improve those traits inherent to the initial structure. These synergistic approaches are the cornerstones of modern drug discovery, but reliance on either one alone rarely yields the final desired result.
In the same way, scientific leaders must possess the right mix of character traits to effectively lead a laboratory, and they must be trained so their innate capabilities are improved and effectively applied. Too often, only the first of these – innate capabilities – is used to choose the leaders of science. Scientists in leadership positions throughout academia, industry, and government often have little if any training in personnel management, financial planning, marketing, or strategic decision-making. Rather, they are selected based on their innate capabilities ...
