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Optimizing Post-Doc Training: Getting the Post Doc Training You Need

00:00:16.10 Congratulations! You've just completed your Ph.D.
00:00:19.15 You've gone through four to six years of rigorous training. You've become an expert in something.
00:00:26.02 You've learned how to design and troubleshoot and analyze experiments and interpret data.
00:00:33.28 You've learned how to read the literature and ask brilliant new questions that emerge from that.
00:00:38.27 You've learned how to persevere and how to deal with failure,
00:00:44.04 ultimately to come through with resounding success.
00:00:49.00 You are at the top of the most highly educated, most highly skilled young adults in society.
00:00:57.13 and so now you're heading to the next stage of your career progression. You're going to do a post-doc.
00:01:04.12 A post-doc is not a job. If it were a job, we'd pay you better and give you retirement benefits.
00:01:12.15 A post-doc is for training experience and a transition to that real job.
00:01:18.14 So what I want to tell you today is how to get the most out of that post-doc and how to do it in the most efficient amount of time.
00:01:26.14 The situation now is that people are taking longer to get their Ph.D's and their post-docs and to move into new jobs.
00:01:35.05 And that works for a principle investigator
00:01:38.16 because we can keep these skilled researchers in our labs, but it doesn't work so well for you.
00:01:46.15 So what I want to do is to try to empower you to have expectations of yourself and expectations of your mentor
00:01:55.24 that are met to ensure that you can go through this post-doc training and transitional period
00:02:02.06 to emerge at the end, ready to move into, successfully, to compete on the job market
00:02:09.09 for the career position you're looking for.
00:02:12.16 Few of us at mentors, as principle investigators, were ever taught how to run a lab
00:02:20.11 or how to mentor individuals through this training process
00:02:24.11 we each have learned by example from our own mentors and our own experiences
00:02:29.20 those examples may have been good or bad or in between
00:02:34.14 but we don't really have any formal training
00:02:37.08 and so I took a class in the last year, or in the last two years, on leadership training
00:02:43.18 and I want to share with you one of the most important things I learned
00:02:48.11 about leadership and situational leadership that I think can help you as post-docs
00:02:54.00 move through this transitional period more effectively
00:02:57.22 and I want you to mentor up, that is I want you to think about these techniques
00:03:05.26 and ask and help you mentor to help to apply them in your own training
00:03:11.27 So let's think about situational leadership.
00:03:14.29 Basically, fundamentally, it means that for each task and for each individual
00:03:20.20 you go through a learning curve. That learning curve can be pretty prescriptive
00:03:27.11 that is at the beginning, let's say the first couple of months in your new post-doc position
00:03:33.24 you're very excited, you're very committed, you've finished your Ph.D., you're an expert, you're moving into a new lab
00:03:41.02 you're excited about the project and your commitment level is very high. You're enthusiastic.
00:03:47.20 But, you are moving into a new situation. New skills are required, new techniques have to be learned.
00:03:54.12 So your skill and competence level is low. At this stage, you're an enthusiastic beginner
00:04:01.12 Month or two, three or four, or five into your post-doc, things aren't working
00:04:09.09 the experiments aren't going well, you become a little discouraged
00:04:13.22 so your commitment and motivation is going to drop as you hit that wall
00:04:18.20 of realizing that things are not as easy as you hoped they would be
00:04:23.10 You are still, however, slowly acquiring the new skills and competence that you need to ultimately be successful.
00:04:31.20 At this stage, you're a disillusioned learner.
00:04:36.18 As that skill level continues to rise, ultimately to where you need it to be,
00:04:42.28 your commitment can now increase, but there are set backs as always
00:04:50.29 and your confidence, your self-confidence and your motivation can waver during this stage
00:04:55.23 when you're a capable but cautious performer.
00:04:59.04 Ultimately, you're successful, your experiments worked, you've learned the new skills that you need to learn,
00:05:06.16 you're beginning to be able to communicate your results effectively and to talk about and become
00:05:13.03 exude expertise in your new chosen field and once again, your commitment level goes up
00:05:20.14 You can see that, if I were to use the same kind of leadership style for people
00:05:29.02 at these different developmental stages, it wouldn't be very effective.
00:05:33.18 If I took you as an enthusiastic beginner, and just let you loose in the lab and said "Good luck, I'll see you in a year" that wouldn't be successful.
00:05:43.02 If I took you as a self-reliant achiever who can accomplish the task at hand but I didn't challenge you
00:05:53.12 and push you to be better, then you would plateau and perhaps not achieve the highest level that you could possibly have
00:06:03.05 Or if I continued to be directive and to tell you on a daily basis what I expect you to do you're going to be a very frustrated worker.
00:06:13.02 So, clearly there needs to be different leadership styles for each of these stages and progressions.
00:06:19.07 That's where we talk about what the mentor needs to do
00:06:24.27 and how you as a mentee can help impart this information and ask for this kind of support from your mentorship.
00:06:34.25 The types of leadership styles differ in how directive the behavior is.
00:06:40.29 That is, are you instructing day-to-day on the types of experiments to be done?
00:06:45.27 Are you putting that person in touch with who they need to work with to learn a new skill, to acquire a new methodology?
00:06:54.06 Are you outlining the experimental plans and the controls and what needs to be done?
00:07:00.10 Or are you low directive, letting them take over the project on their own?
00:07:05.18 This of course will vary, depending on the skill level and commitment of the trainee
00:07:13.09 On this axis we have supportive, where you're low or high.
00:07:19.05 Again as a new enthusiastic beginner, I don't really need to be a cheerleader as a mentor
00:07:24.20 Rather, I can let you and your own enthusiasm take over
00:07:28.28 Rather, I need to help you focus that enthusiasm and do the right tasks at the right time to get those short term victories.
00:07:38.15 In contrast, when things are not working and your confidence level is wavering
00:07:45.20 that's when I need to be more supportive, that's when I need to listen and understand
00:07:49.28 where your problems are coming from, why you're de-motivated and how I can help to
00:07:55.26 move you out of that cycle of wavering commitment back to that self-reliant achiever.
00:08:03.00 So what might this look like for you as a mentee?
00:08:07.19 At the beginning or your post-doc, you want to be in there talking to your advisor on a regular basis.
00:08:13.26 You want to ask ahead of time what experiments should you be doing, what should you be doing first,
00:08:19.00 how should you prioritize your time? You want to write that research proposal where you really try
00:08:25.06 to look three years out and get a sense of the project and where it might go and what its potential is.
00:08:31.09 and use as much of your mentor's time as you can at the beginning to get explicit instructions of what needs to happen
00:08:40.14 At that same time at the beginning, be talking about your expectations
00:08:44.20 What it is you're trying to accomplish. Give a time frame of that.
00:08:48.10 Think about where you want to be and when you want to be there and bring your mentor on board
00:08:54.07 so that the two of you can be partnering for your success.
00:08:58.06 What does this look like? Now you're doing experiments, now you're getting results,
00:09:03.23 now you can come to your mentor in a more organized fashion with real questions that you have to ask of her.
00:09:11.11 Ask those questions, seek advice, get input and have a back and forth again on the details of what you're doing
00:09:21.10 so that you're not stumbling. You want to do this as soon as you can, as soon as you start stumbling,
00:09:27.15 not waiting four or five of six weeks of banging your head against the wall.
00:09:31.28 That's going to make you commitment waver and your ability to accomplish your tasks drop.
00:09:39.10 So, engage your mentor in coaching activities at this stage.
00:09:43.25 What is a supportive behavior look like as you go through this capable and cautious?
00:09:49.15 There you want to be sharing with your advisor the successes that you've had and the good results
00:09:57.01 and then coming in with the problems. So, this is working, this isn't working.
00:10:02.28 Now you're partnering together, you're more on working, collaborating and discussing the experiments, the results and the interpretation
00:10:12.09 Seek feedback: "How am I doing? Is this going the way it should be going? Am I on the right track?"
00:10:17.26 "Are there other skills I need to learn to accomplish these goals?" Go back and forth.
00:10:24.11 Use your advisor at this stage in your supportive behavior as a sounding board not only for experimental advice but also for career advice.
00:10:34.10 What does this look like, as a self-reliant achiever? Now you're looking for more independence
00:10:41.14 you want to show off your skills and training ability by passing that knowledge on to incoming graduate students and incoming post-docs,
00:10:51.25 by going to meetings and presenting talks and presenting posters.
00:10:56.04 You want your mentor, however, to be challenging you, pushing you, focusing you,
00:11:01.15 helping you to set and meet timelines for publication, for job applications, for job searches.
00:11:08.09 Have them pushing you a little bit all the way along. So the delegating stage isn't a hands off mentorship stage.
00:11:19.12 But, its one where now, you're working together, closer as peers to push and inspire and motivate you to go to even higher levels.
00:11:30.27 So think about these things--you're different developmental stages and where you might be with each different task.
00:11:40.02 You may be a self-reliant achiever when it comes to doing experiments but to prepare and write that paper you may be back here as an enthusiastic beginner.
00:11:49.13 And you need to go back to your mentor and say "OK, now I need you to help me do this."
00:11:53.16 "Thank you for getting me here, now we're back with this task."
00:11:57.19 Think about where you are, think about what you need from your mentor and work together, partner together
00:12:04.11 to be successful and to move through this career training as efficiently and as straight a path as you possibly can.
00:12:15.02 So the message here is one size doesn't fit all and you want to convey that message
00:12:23.13 to your mentor and you want to think about that for yourself. In one size doesn't fit all,
00:12:31.00 you may not get all that you need from a single mentor. So think about getting help from other faculty members
00:12:38.13 and other colleagues that you know in your department or your institution.
00:12:45.16 Don't forget about your peers. That senior post-doc that's going through this, or that's already gone through these same stages
00:12:51.26 or are a partner in your lab that's one of your peers. Ask for critical feedback
00:12:59.01 Make sure you're asking people "What are my weaknesses?" Identifying those,
00:13:04.08 because you really need to improve on your weaknesses. It does you no good to be patted on the back for your strengths.
00:13:11.14 You want to improve all the time and reach the highest level you can possibly reach.
00:13:16.16 Match your career goals with your passions and your abilities and assess those abilities together with your mentor
00:13:25.14 to make sure that your career goals are aligned with those.
00:13:32.05 Finally, once again, congratulations! Go to work, and partner with your mentor for your own success.

This Talk
Speaker: Sandra Schmid
Audience:
  • Educators of H. School / Intro Undergrad
  • Educators of Adv. Undergrad / Grad
  • Researcher
  • Educators
Recorded: December 2010
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Talk Overview

As a post-doc, have you ever wondered how to get the best mentoring from your supervisor? Or as a principal investigator, have you ever wondered how best to mentor your post-docs? If so, watch Dr. Sandra Schmid’s lecture for some sound advice. Schmid discusses how to optimize post-doc training and get the best mentoring from your supervisor.

Speaker Bio

Sandra Schmid

Sandra Schmid

Dr. Schmid is the Cecil H. Green Distinguished Chair in Cellular and Molecular Biology at UT Southwestern Medical Center and she was President of the American Society for Cell Biology in 2011. Her lab investigates how clathrin coated vesicles are pinched off from the plasma membrane. Continue Reading

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