Research development professionals take on many roles in facilitating team science and interdisciplinary research, many of which are well-defined and technical while others don’t appear in guidebooks, certifications, or the lab. Beyond the challenges that arise in daily support of the research enterprise through synthesizing outputs and discrete tasks, we as facilitators and trainers may have to step into the role of temporary expert or provide non-technical guidance. Often this work is highly independent, and can involve building our own teams before we can begin providing services to others. Moreover, cultivating the next generation of professionals requires developing skills away from the benchtop, such as pairing strong interpersonal communication competence with traditional scientific and academic training.

This presentation will explore two sides of professional development: first, the skills shared across disparate backgrounds on intersecting career journeys; and second, managing the roadblocks built by imposter syndrome.

Discussion will center around:
Hidden qualifications: A recipe for synergy. Research development and facilitating team science have coalesced and emerged in the last few decades, and still lack the “name brand” recognition of other fields. Stepping outside active research and not entering industry are paths less-promoted if not less well-traveled. As evidenced by surveying the varied titles and roles within the research development teams at the ten University of California campuses alone, success is achieved without a one-size-fits-all approach. What common factors can we identify? Where do we look to find our newest colleagues?

“Yes, and…”: Self-limitation vs. external perception. Working with and on teams means we take on the responsibility of being the expert more often than may be comfortable. What skills do we need to tackle the challenge? How do we manage our own performance expectations? We’ll address lessons learned from conversations with peers and how the same advice provided in mentoring graduate students can apply to ourselves as well. Takeaways will include tips to build self-confidence and tools for identifying skills and strengths which can be applied to grow one’s own team as well as supporting others.