Miscommunication in the lab

[samman1994]

Hello everyone,

So I've recently started my new job, and I've already come across.... a potential misunderstanding. It's a research position, and I work in a group of 3, the PhD project leader, and me and another research associate. From my understanding, the project leader comes up with a way to direct our project, and our job is to basically follow that procedure. However, this being a research position, and me being new, I've been trying to provide alternatives e.g. "Why don't we do this instead" or "Why aren't we doing this"? Now these questions are simply me trying to understand what we're doing in the lab, and why we're doing it. I don't want to just blindly say, yeah I can do this, I want to understand why we're doing it, and why we aren't doing an alternative (usually my alternatives don't work or are impractical, but that's exactly what I'm trying to find out). The problem is, he printed out a "project design", which is basically a sheet telling us what the next step in the project is, and it states we are going to take our samples and run them on a reverse-phase column to try and find separate the precipitate from our protein, then run SDS-Page gels to find out whether the precipitate is our protein (basically one approach to our problem). I pointed out, why can't we simply filter out the precipitate, then resolubilize it and run it on SDS-Page (what I thought to be an alternative to would save us time and money). His response was literally: "listen buddy, I'm not going to rewrite the design, this is what we're going with ok". Now I wasn't asking to rewrite the entire design, but rather I was trying to understand why we're going with this technique in particular (versus what I was stating). After I told him this, he told me because filtration was a poor method of trying to separate the precipitate from soluble protein, and reverse phase was the best (basically my method doesn't work, his does). Which is fine, that is exactly what I was looking for. 

However, his response came across as if he sounded annoyed, or I don't know, thought I was just trying to one up him or say my idea is better. In reality, I don't entirely know what we're doing, but I also want to contribute, and these questions are a way for me to do both. I don't want to come across as trying to tell him what to do, or take his place and be the project leader, or think I'm smarter than him etc. I just see myself as a researcher who works under him, but also alongside him, and don't just want to be a drone who says yes master and does w.e. he says. 

This got me thinking, maybe there has simply been a misunderstanding. I could just email him, apologizing if my question annoyed him or something, and state my intention in my questions are only to understand what we're doing and why, and that I have no desire to rewrite or overwrite the current project design. If he likes my idea, great than we can rewrite the design, if my idea doesn't work, great he can explain to me why my idea sucks, but my intent is not to tell him what to do. But, I could simply be misunderstanding the dynamic. Maybe my role is to simply comply, and every once in a while state an objection or a thought. Maybe you don't tell your project leader your thoughts and ideas for alternatives, I don't know. This is my first job in an industry setting in the research lab, so my understanding of the dynamic is just coming from academia. Frankly, I don't know any people in industry, all from academia, so I really don't have anyone else to ask. 

So before I went forward and sent an email, I thought I'd get some feedback first. I want to have a friendly enjoyable dynamic within my group and project leader. I don't want to come across as a smartass, or annoying, and whatnot, especially not my first week!. Should I email him? Let him know where I'm coming from and continue asking questions and providing alternatives? Should I shut up?  Like stop reading these articles, stop asking me questions, just follow the protocol that I've designed. Or should I lay low? Just follow along for a couple weeks/months, get myself really situated, then start getting involved like this. Or is that not how it works at all? Is my job as a research associate only to assist and follow the project leader and nothing else? Thanks ahead for the feedback ahead of time! 

[lemma]

Don't send an email. It will make it a bigger deal than he needs to be. Just turn up next week, and do what he says without interjecting. He will notice the difference. 

Industry is more about getting things done than exploring all potential paths for the sake of it. They have a process and their process runs well - they don't see a need to necessarily change it now. My recommendation would be to be quiet when he's explaining things unless you don't understand the procedure - he's trying to teach you so you can get up and running ASAP. If you have qualitative and conceptual questions, ask him at a time when he's not busy (ie. not showing you how to use the equipment), or ask someone more junior. You can collate a list of questions to ask at a convenient time. 

You may also want to think about how you're phrasing your thoughts, because although your intentions are good, the way you're saying it could be perceived as crossing the line. I would probably be mildly irritated if I was under pressure and had a new employee telling me how to do my job without understanding the systems. When you ask, ask "why" rather than "why not like this". There is a place for "why not like this" but only once you're familiar with the work and have reason to think it needs improvement - not in your first week.

(I have been in industry a few years.)

Edited November 4, 2017 by lemma

[Hope.for.the.best]

7 hours ago, samman1994 said:

So before I went forward and sent an email, I thought I'd get some feedback first. I want to have a friendly enjoyable dynamic within my group and project leader. I don't want to come across as a smartass, or annoying, and whatnot, especially not my first week!. Should I email him? Let him know where I'm coming from and continue asking questions and providing alternatives? Should I shut up?  Like stop reading these articles, stop asking me questions, just follow the protocol that I've designed. Or should I lay low? Just follow along for a couple weeks/months, get myself really situated, then start getting involved like this. Or is that not how it works at all? Is my job as a research associate only to assist and follow the project leader and nothing else? Thanks ahead for the feedback ahead of time! 

Totally agree with what lemma suggests. It is always good to have curiosity and come up with new ideas, but you just need to voice them appropriately. Your leader was trying to explain to everyone what needed to be done, but somehow he got interrupted by your questions of "Why not such and such?". Understandably, he got a bit annoyed. You get annoyed too when someone keeps "challenging" you while you are talking. Personally, I don't see that as miscommunication. I think the best thing to do is to shut up and listen when he is explaining what to do. He may ask whether anybody has questions afterwards. It would be your time to ask any questions. However, if you do have a lot of questions/suggestions of alternatives, then it is best that you make a time with your leader and discuss. If you indeed concern that you made your leader upset, then I would suggest that you clear that up at an appropriate time, e.g. when you bump into him in the pantry/common room and he appears not in a rush. Note: Don't email him or book an appointment for that. The idea here is causal chat. You can apologise and explain to him that you are simply curious and have a lot of ideas, and that you did not mean to challenge him or make his life harder. He should take that well. You should then ask how he would like you to ask questions/make suggestions. That way you two will work better. 

[TakeruK]

I also suggest **not** sending an email. I don't think you need to bring this up again, just don't do it again. As others said, outside of academia, the world is a little different. It's not always about finding the best way to do things, but rather, doing things in the way that works to get the results you want. Each group dynamic is different and it seems like you misunderstood the environment here. 

Going forward in this lab and thinking about future labs, I recommend this piece of advice from Chris Hadfield: "Aim to be a zero" when you are the new person. Hadfield is a Canadian astronaut and he writes about this advice when joining any new team. He applies this advice when he was a new astronaut but also even when he was a super experienced senior astronaut joining a new group for the first time. This advice came from his book, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth. I think this book is full of great life advice and highly recommend it. You can read about the "aim to be a zero" part here: http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/11/20/chris_hadfield_an_astronaut_s_guide_to_life_on_earth.html

What Hadfield means is that you can think of your contribution to a team as "-1", "0" or "+1". Most new people will always start at "-1" because you're new and the team needs to train you. Not knowing standard procedure can make you get in the way of others. A lot of new people with past experience will think they are great and try to be a "+1" and add something new to the team right away (e.g. your suggestions). However, this is likely to backfire. People might think you're arrogant or a know-it-all (e.g. in your situation) or you might go and try something new and screw it up and put everyone behind. Instead, Hadfield says to adjust your mindset and instead of trying to be a +1 right away, just aim to be a zero. Don't get in people's way. Do what the procedure says to do. Make sure you are a well functioning member of the team first, and then ask questions about the process later. 

In your specific situation, in your first few weeks, you should always follow the established protocol. There's probably a very good reason why that is the established protocol (i.e. they likely tried other ways before and found this one to be the best fit). I think the main questions you should be asking in this stage should only be questions to clarify steps if you are not sure about something. Once you are trained and can fit into the team, then it's a good time to start asking questions to understand the process. After this time, you will likely figure out the dynamic and know how to ask questions, or you could be very careful to make sure they know you are just trying to understand the reasoning behind the process better. And remember, suggestions like "why don't we do X instead?" aren't actual questions that signal seeking knowledge, they are the type of statements you make when you think your way is better. So don't ask it like that.

When you do ask these questions though, don't be surprised or discouraged if the answer is "because that's how we always do it" or if they have been doing it that way for so long that they don't remember why. In that case, just go with the flow, don't make the group leader feel uncomfortable about it. Unless your job description requires understanding all the details, remember that you are not in a learning environment and it's not really their job to train you beyond what you need to do to get your job done. 

[fuzzylogician]

So, this isn't exactly a case of miscommunication. Whether you meant to or not, you appear to be continuously challenging your supervisor's authority. I would apologize *in person* and stop asking so many questions, at least until you have a better sense of procedures and who to ask. In any event, the time to ask these questions wouldn't be in front of everyone during a presentation but in private in a one-on-one situation, when your supervisor has time (or better yet, ask someone else), and you should figure out a way to express that you're just curious and not that you think what your supervisor is doing is wrong ("why did you choose to do X", not "why not Y"). 

[samman1994]

Thanks for the feedback guys! Well now I'm glad I didn't email him. I'll just lay low for a while, try to get myself properly situated, and then discuss potential alternatives when I really get in the flow of things. I really like the -1,0,+1 idea, and I'll try to follow that format as I progress. Although one final thing, once I do get situated and in the flow of things, is it best to email your suggestions and advice? So they can look at it and answer it in their own time. Or could you just discuss it as your discussing the project direction, or in the middle of just running an experiment, etc.

[TakeruK]

6 minutes ago, samman1994 said:

Although one final thing, once I do get situated and in the flow of things, is it best to email your suggestions and advice? So they can look at it and answer it in their own time. Or could you just discuss it as your discussing the project direction, or in the middle of just running an experiment, etc.

Once you get situated, you will likely know how to best communicate with your team and who to ask these questions to (maybe it should be the other RA instead). You will also know when it is a good time to ask questions and when it's not. I don't think there is a right answer we can give you since each person is different. You will have to get to know them to know when they are open to discussing details vs. when they are under other pressure and just need to give you the instructions or get things done without having to deal with your questions.

One thing though, the way you phrased this question, it sounds like you expect them to answer your questions (e.g. "so they can ... answer it in their own time"). Be sure to not convey this tone/expectation. It's likely not their job to explain these things to you so if they are willing to do it, it's on their own time and out of the goodness of their heart. Some people are happy to do things like this, others hate it and will resent you for asking and others still will be in between and depend on their stress level, mood, availability etc. Get to know them and find out. Just don't expect anything. If they say "because that's how we always do it" or something along those lines, I wouldn't push it further. 

[samman1994]

2 hours ago, TakeruK said:

Once you get situated, you will likely know how to best communicate with your team and who to ask these questions to (maybe it should be the other RA instead). You will also know when it is a good time to ask questions and when it's not. I don't think there is a right answer we can give you since each person is different. You will have to get to know them to know when they are open to discussing details vs. when they are under other pressure and just need to give you the instructions or get things done without having to deal with your questions.

One thing though, the way you phrased this question, it sounds like you expect them to answer your questions (e.g. "so they can ... answer it in their own time"). Be sure to not convey this tone/expectation. It's likely not their job to explain these things to you so if they are willing to do it, it's on their own time and out of the goodness of their heart. Some people are happy to do things like this, others hate it and will resent you for asking and others still will be in between and depend on their stress level, mood, availability etc. Get to know them and find out. Just don't expect anything. If they say "because that's how we always do it" or something along those lines, I wouldn't push it further. 

Oh ok, thank you! My project leader seems like a nice guy, and he's answered everything very detailed so far (nothing like that's how we always do it). I'm almost positive he didn't even mean to come across the way he did when he responded he's not changing the procedure. I just came to the realization from that, that I may be overstepping my boundaries, or coming across as annoying, etc.. There is clearly a different dynamic here than academia, and I just wanted some help understanding the dynamic, so thanks to everyone who gave feedback!