After 38 years in academia, 19 years as the Head of a unit (@AnimEcol_UU), I have seen a lot and learnt a few things. Here are some of my reflections and experiences. Agrre or disagree, it is up to you. 1/17
If you are head of a unit, people don’t work for you, you work for them. A certain amount altruism is necessary. 2/17
Graduate students and postdocs are not your workforce to do the boring stuff, they are your colleagues, just less experienced. Use their brains rather than their hands, to the benefit of everyone. 3/17
Undergraduates respect you if you are an inspiring teacher. Insisting of titles does not result in respect but act as an obstacle to a meaningful dialogue. What’s the point of fancy titles, really? 4/17
Get well connected upwards. Salaries and resources are more related to whom you know, not what you do. Keyword = “strategic”. 5/17
If you are tenured, support the junior faculty since these are the ones who will take over after you some day. 6/17
Pouring loads of money on a few at the expense of the many does not lead to a boost in scientific output. At the most it results in a boost of egos, and that’s not a good thing. 7/17
Keep diversity of people high as it prevents intellectual inbreeding. This type of inbreeding is an infallible route to mediocre science. In addition, it is fun to get to know people from different backgrounds. 8/17
Resource allocation follows the Law of Diminishing Returns. The first grant to a scientist makes a huge difference, the xth almost none. Spreading resources to many competent scientists boost science. 9/17
Working time follows the Law of Diminishing Returns. Productivity does not increase linearly with the number of hours spent in the office/lab. Go home and do something else when you are done for the day. Even if it is at lunchtime. 10/17
Avoid big faculty meetings. They are just a venue for a small group of extroverts to do what they do best, i.e. being extrovert. A few loud ones rarely reflect the opinions of the main crowd. 11/17
If you need input from people for a decision big meetings are often useless. One to one talks gives you the true opinion of people, takes time but is so worth it. 12/17
Get a life outside academia, letting the brain rest is horribly underrated. Work-life balance is more important than you think. Vacation is not the time to catch up with literature, it is the time for rest. 13/17
Don’t put your name of everything produced in you lab. It inflates your CV to the extent that no one believes it anyway at the expense of the CV of the junior staff. 14/17
Listen. Listen. Listen. Listening to what’s between the lines and what body gestures say is hard but fundamental to know how people are doing in work and life. 15/17
We all have downs when nothing can be done. Forcing people to work anyway instead of recovering does not lead to progress, rather the opposite. Resting is the key. 16/17
Forget about “academic leadership”. What a scientist need is freedom, resources (money and time) and a good intellectual environment. But no “leaders”. 17/17
