Please note: This story reflects the personal experience and perspective of its contributor. Academic careers vary widely, and others may experience different challenges and opportunities. 

Career Story 

In the early stages of running my lab, I wanted to embark on all research projects available to me: new projects for collaborative work and new projects for each new idea that I had. I have diverse interests, and that felt exciting. Over time, however, my group started to feel incoherent and fragmented. There was energy, but not enough shared direction.

Through a training session, I was encouraged to give my lab a clear “vision” and “mission”. I explicitly classified projects into subgroups and began to ask whether new work genuinely fitted that vision. I now try not to take on work that cannot sit clearly within those themes. This has helped bring lab members towards a common goal and has clarified what we do to external parties.

Patience has also been a key lesson. Be patient with the publications, they will come and the best can take many years to materialise. Methods and experiments that worked before will not necessarily work the same way in a new environment. Take the time to establish protocols properly. Do simple experiments to high robustness before attempting more complex procedures.

At one point, my proposed project was too ambitious and we were not making sufficient progress with the original method. One post doc was nearing the end of their contract and we were aiming for a second publication. A second post doc had started and was encountering the same technical challenges. After attending a conference and speaking to a former colleague, I realised we could make progress by investigating the problem in the reverse direction, a completely different approach.

We committed to that change. The first post doc shifted to a lower hanging fruit project and secured another paper. The second post doc bravely pursued the reversed method. It took three years of hard work, but it worked. We achieved a strong result from what risked being an unfeasible and failed project.

Running a lab has also reshaped what I think are the key responsibilities for leading a lab. Effective recruitment and people management are the key tasks. Hiring the right people can boost the whole group and trigger success across multiple projects. Every individual requires specific management. You must adapt carefully to what each person needs.

Reflections I would offer now 

• Be patient with publications. Focus first on building robust methods and protocols. 
• Not every ambitious idea needs to be pursued. Define a clear vision and mission for your lab. 
• If progress stalls, consider whether a different direction, even a reverse one, might unlock momentum. 
• Recruitment and people management are central to success. Hire carefully and manage individuals, not generic roles. 
• Strategic focus can feel restrictive at first, but it strengthens coherence and external clarity.