Putting the Team first: Why Joe Maddon Wins and Principal Investigators Fail
As I have watched the past two seasons of Cubs Baseball, I’ve observed a few things about success and teamwork that academic biomedical Principal Investigators should take to heart. Winning baseball is more than just individual great players. A key element to building a successful team is exploiting talents of average players; bring out the best in everyone. Successful baseball teams transcend egos, pedigrees and pettiness. Good managers know that on field victories trump money, prestige and individual glory. Creating this kind of winning ecology springs from outstanding personnel management, flexibility and one simple yet frequently forgotten element: pure joy.
A study in contrasts
Academic labs are autonomous units, lead by one lone wolf individual and this individual has power over all the personnel in this sphere of influence. They hold the funds, so they hold control. For academics, winning is bigger grants, publishing papers and increasing lab space, which are all individual victories. There is no incentive to view team achievements as positives. It is my hope that these types of attitudes are changing with the realization that outside of academic labs, this structure no longer exists. But the majority of professors working today are still old school and detrimental outdated thinking prevails. It is a rare PI that actively encourages technicians to return to graduate school or pushes productive postdocs out the door. And even less likely, a PI who sees change coming and actively provides training to staff to move into higher positions, such as project managers to oversee multiple lab grants. This lack of flexibility and lack of talent recognition will ultimately hurt all biomedical research.
Lessons put into action
Joe Maddon takes a direct opposite approach to his team. Team is first. Wins are team efforts and team celebrations. No one is benched, sidelined or dumbed down. He has been creative in his use of individual players, moving them around when the situation dictated unconventional thinking and action. So how does this translate to our academic world? First, PIs need to stop believing that success is their personal winning, especially at the expense of lab scientists and assistants. Maybe labs should have actual team names and mascots, keeping score by daily experimental successes? Next, people should be moved around in roles. Technicians should be encouraged to start manuscripts. Postdocs should lead a grant writing team efforts. PIs should spend time in the lab to remember the struggles of unsuccessful experiments. The final and most important change is to bring back that feeling of pure excitement and fun now lacking because labs are too big, too pigeonholed, too competitive and unsupervised by ego-driven professors.
The Happiness Factor
The daily interaction between Joe and his players and coaches on a joyful level has created one of the most life affirming sports stories in recent memory. Joe Maddon generates affection and productivity through genuine kind acts. He is transparent and consistent in his management. He promotes positive thinking and pushes his players to achieve because he believes they can. Not everyone is a superstar, but he creates a culture that tells everyone they are appreciated, respected and valued as part of the whole picture. Celebrate the wins and let go of the losses. When he came out to the mound on the last home game to allow fans a chance to say goodbye to a BACK UP catcher, he made me understand the power of joy to motivate people to amazing heights. Sadly, I haven’t seen much of that type of lab culture since moving to these large research-driven universities from smaller programs. Start celebrating your team PIs. The days of individual achievement, celebrity scientist status and raging egos is waning. If you need guidance to transform yourself into today’s leader, watch my Cubs conquer the world!