Switching From A
Technical To A Management Track
Karen Young Kreeger
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The call to work with people and to make a contribution
to the larger picture of one's employer is a lure
for some scientists to leave the bench for leadership
roles. Leslie May, senior R&D leader in the
vinyl acetate monomer group at Dow
Chemical in South Charleston, WV was on an
analytical chemistry technical track for about
10 years. About three years ago, she made the
switch and took a position as analytical resource
leader for all manufacturing labs at the Dow site
in Freeport, Texas, a position that involved increased
interaction with people. "I found that I
really liked it," she recalled. Following
Dow's
recent merger with Union Carbide she moved
to the newly acquired West Virginia site to help
implement some of the Dow corporate culture, especially
employee empowerment.
For other chemists, moving to a managerial role
was less deliberate. "I first wanted to be
in a technical track because I always assumed
or heard that anyone with a PhD has to manage
people," says Thea Barbarakis, a manager
in the immunochemistry R&D department at Bayer
Corp. in Tarrytown, N.Y. "That's why
I decided to get an MS when I started graduate
school. I was happy with that decision."
But as she gained more experience working in industry,
she realized that not all managers have their
PhDs.
Bayer recognizes employees that show certain
characteristics or skills in effective leadership,
and it is a company that places value on employee
development, says Barbarakis, so "they sign
us up for in-house classes." These courses
included such topics as managing personal growth,
persuasion, interviewing and hiring potential
employees, leadership, and working in teams.
Polymer chemist George J. O'Neill, who retired
from Eastman
Chemical in Tennessee in 1998 as director
of emerging technology and is now a career consultant
and presenter for the American Chemical Society
(ACS), was a research chemist before moving into
management. At Eastman there's a technical advancement
ladder and a management one. The crossover comes
at the senior associate or lab head level, which
is really a hybrid, a scientist with managerial
responsibilities. These are usually researchers
who have been with the company for 10 to 15 years
and have been successful at coming up with new
processes and products, as well as demonstrating
their ability to work with a diversified team.
"These are the growing steps to management,"
says O'Neill.
Lab chiefs at Eastman head up a team of other
scientists as they continue to do some research,
but they also must maintain an ability to work
across a broad spectrum of departments like manufacturing,
sales, and customer relations. What's key, he
says, is "your ability to get along with
people and recognize that they listen to different
drummers than you do. Your ability to pick up
on the rhythm of their drummer is critical. If
you're unable to deliver your technical knowledge
to them and understand where they're coming from,
it makes for an awkward work situation. In some
cases some individuals were barred from being
on teams or from interacting with manufacturing.
Not everyone is suited for management."
What's Important To Learn?
People management and how to guide the careers
of others are two of the most important attributes
that a manager must possess. Robert E. Lyle, who
retired in 1991 as vice president for chemistry
and chemical engineering at the Southwest
Research Institute, an independent non-profit
lab based in San Antonio, and now volunteers for
career development projects for ACS, says that
the most important quality to develop is interpersonal
skills. Managers need to be cognizant of the way
others feel in their decision-making process.
But, he adds, that "doesn't mean being too
permissive." Add to people skills some knowledge
of accounting and the ability to delegate authority
and responsibility to trusted employees.
"The biggest switch I had to make was knowing
I had to make decisions whether it made people
happy or not," concurs Barbarakis. "I
couldn't make people happy all the time. But you
have to make decisions whether they're wrong or
right and live with them. That was a hard thing
for me to change because before I just did my
work and I had my end result and it was right
and I felt good about it."
Along with new duties like hiring and firing,
she says that she's also charged with keeping
people motivated during major changes associated
with ever-present acquisitions and mergers in
the pharmaceutical industry. "I'm responsible
for the professional growth of the people who
work for me," she says. "What I'm really
responsible for is giving them the time, resources,
and encouragement to do that, just like I was
given."
Cultural Differences
One of the salient differences between working
at the bench and managing a group of scientists
is the level of interaction with other people.
"It relates to how most of us are trained
as technical folks," says May, where research
is judged primarily on individual accomplishment.
To her, one of the key issues in moving into a
leadership role-with responsibility for obtaining
business results and setting goals and objectives-is
how you have to engage, motivate, and inspire
people to follow a vision, which is different
from a technical role where you want to get the
right results and understand the science. One
is an individual role; the other is focused on
giving other employees the resources to do their
jobs, rather than sweating the details alone.
"What this means is that you have to be
the kind of person that, either naturally or by
experience, can take a lot of reward and enjoyment
from seeing other people do well," says May.
She adds that managers have to be confident enough
to not micromanage, saying to yourself, "OK,
just because I didn't do all the detail work,
I am adding something to the organization
by empowering these other people by developing
their careers." This approach also makes
good business sense because "we know it's
also more effective and you engage people's creativity."
Joan Schmidt, manager, regulatory science at
Bristol-Myers Squibb Corp. in Princeton, N.J.
agrees that the "largest difference is interaction
with people." Schmidt, who was a research
chemist for seven years and transferred to regulatory
affairs just over three years ago where she's
in charge of organizing and filing applications
for investigational new drugs and clinical trial
applications in other countries, deals with clinicians,
regulators, and health authorities, as well as
different departments within BMS. She was looking
for more interaction with people. "In a lab
there's a limited amount of that and a lot of
the job is being at the bench and doing science.
If you really wanted to, you could still be a
good chemist and not talk to virtually a soul
all day. That's not what I was looking for."
Making the Transition
For people who are contemplating making this
switch, creating an action plan is a good first
step on the road from scientist to manager. Career
change expert Jane
Allen uses the analogy of a train trip to
describe the process: You plan it, start at one
location and go to your ultimate destination,
with stops in between but there are no non-stop
career trains. The change doesn't have to be painful
but you need to know how you're going to move
from the lab into management. Here are some pointers
to keep in mind:
- Ask yourself why are you interested in managing.
Like any job search, some informational interviewing
is useful here. Talk to people you know who
are currently managers; ask them about what
they like and don't like, their main responsibilities,
skills, and other job-related questions. You
may hear things you didn't consider.
- In the same vein that scientists read technical
journals, Leslie May recommends reading leadership
and management literature. Take a look at The
Wall Street Journal, Chemical
Week, Fortune,
or other periodicals that deal with management
and personnel topics. What are the hot topics
that managers are facing?
- If you still feel this is a good move for
you, start adding to your skill base. Take a
class to help build your people management skills.
Find a mentor who can assist you in reaching
your goal. Identify volunteer opportunities
where you can hone the same interpersonal and
management skills you'll need as a manager.
- Take advantage of opportunities that will
allow you to demonstrate your managerial potential,
such as leading a cross-functional team or taking
a lead role on a project.
Karen Young Kreeger is a freelance science writer
based in Ridley Park, PA.
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