Leading your Lab
A practical management development programme - tailored for scientific leaders
Building the skills and confidence of science leaders – as leaders, not just scientists
In-person workshops | Live virtual sessions | Online learning content
Trusted by leaders at:
The importance of strong lab leadership
Scientists are highly skilled in research, data, and analysis. This expertise has helped them build successful careers. But leading a lab or a project team brings challenges that scientific training rarely covers. How do you bring out the best in others? How do you navigate conflict, manage performance, or make space for innovation under pressure?
Leading your Lab is designed specifically for scientific and operational line managers. The programme bridges the gap between technical expertise and people leadership. It builds the confidence and capability they need through leadership training for scientists, developing strong leadership skills for scientists and effective management skills for scientists to lead people, manage performance, and build teams that collaborate, adapt and deliver.
This enables your organisation to adapt to change, achieve strategic goals, and sustain high performance across teams.
Effective leadership and management for scientists, research and operational teams leads.
What participants gain
Practical tools to lead a lab or team with clarity and purpose
Strategies to manage people and team dynamics, including tools that work well for analytical minds
Greater self-awareness and stronger communication skills
Supportive peer connections that continue beyond the programme
Confidence in leading people, not just projects or research
Course content
In-person course (4-days)
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Core skills to lead with confidence and create a motivated, well-managed lab or team
Leading and managing your lab / team
Core behaviours, skills and mindsets for effective people leadership
Flexing your style to meet the needs of individuals, teams and tasks
Boosting motivation and emotional intelligence
Building emotional intelligence in yourself and others
Giving and receiving feedback – across, down, and up
Shaping team culture and psychological safety to build performance
Building inclusive and diverse teams
Harnessing cognitive diversity through constructive disagreement
Personal reflection and action planning
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Practical tools to help your lab/ team grow, take ownership and deliver great work.
What have you been using since last time?
Building competence and confidence in your team
Delegating to develop, not dumping through despair
Holding effective 1:1s and supervisions — including with PhD students
Setting clear, measurable, time-bound goals and objectives and the challenges of this in research-focussed teams
Reviewing progress against goals to ensure accountability
Coaching as a leadership skill
Asking better questions to helping others to think and solve problems
Distinguishing between ‘telling’ and supporting others to think for themselves
Learning a simple, structured 4-step model: GROW
Using it to help others take ownership and make their own decisions
Practising coaching skills using real work challenges inc. receiving feedback to develop skills
Personal reflection and action planning
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Confident conversations and greater influence – even in the tough moments
What have you been using since last time?
Common types of tricky conversations and how to manage them
Setting expectations clearly — including when to say ‘no’
Giving feedback that’s clear, objective and grounded in evidence
Tools and techniques to support
Staying steady under pressure
Gaining attention and buy-in from others
Managing strong emotions and tricky behaviours
Using tone, body language and language to de-escalate
Preparing for your own challenging conversation
Extended skills practice on challenging conversations - using scenarios written for scientific organisations and gaining feedback to build skills and confidence
Identifying your natural influencing style (online questionnaire completed before the course)
Using WIIFM to increase your influence and impact
Flexing your influencing style to increase impact
Personal reflection and action planning
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Strengthen your strategic thinking, widen your network, and create a resilient, responsive team ready for what’s next.
What have you been using since last time?
Strategic thinking for you and your team
Where do you want to go – and how will you get there?
Planning purposefully for yourself and your team / lab
Working on your team, not just in it
Supporting your team through change
Using the change curve and other models to understand the process of change
Identifying what is required of a leader during change and/or growth
Avoiding common pitfalls
Widening your influence and network
Supporting wellbeing in yourself and your team
Spotting signs of poor wellbeing – in yourself and others
Everyday actions that support team wellbeing
Building confidence to have wellbeing conversations with your team and colleagues
Action planning
Virtual delivery (six 2-hour modules)
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Core skills to lead with confidence and create a motivated, well-managed lab or team
What management looks like day to day in science settings
Key leadership behaviours, skills and knowledge
Adapting your leadership style to suit different situations
Increasing engagement and emotional intelligence
Practical ways to build psychological safety in the lab / team
Action planning
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Practical tools to develop your team and boost high performance in your team or lab
Setting clear goals – and the challenge of this in research settings
Giving and receiving feedback using the EEC model
Building confidence and capability across the team
Using coaching to support problem-solving and ownership
Practising key coaching and mentoring skills
Running effective one-to-ones, including PhD supervisions
Action planning to embed learning
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Strategies to handle tough talks with confidence and clarity
Identifying different types of tricky conversations
Handling challenging attitudes and behaviours effectively
A range of tools and techniques to help
Handling challenging emotions
Understanding the impact of words, tone, and body language
Recognising your own triggers and managing your reactions
Gaining the other person’s attention and buy-in
Preparing for your own challenging conversation
Action planning to ensure successful outcomes
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Increase your presence and influence both within and outside your organisation
Using the circle of control to identify what you can (and can’t) control and influence
Identifying your natural influencing style
Flexing your influencing approach to expand your impact
Understanding the difference between intention and behaviour
Communicating and presenting with impact, online or in-person
Creating impact through your voice and body language
Action Planning
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Practical strategies to guide your team through uncertainty and create a healthy, sustainable working culture
Managing change at work
Using the change curve and other models to understand the process of change
Identifying what is required of a leader during change and/or organisational growth
Taking your lab / team with you and avoiding common pitfalls
Supporting wellbeing in your team or lab
Practical ways to support your own and your team’s wellbeing
Spotting signs of poor wellbeing – in yourself and others
Building confidence to have wellbeing conversations
Action planning
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Tools to shape your direction, grow your network, and make an impact
Setting strategic direction for yourself and your team
Planning purposefully for career and lab or team priorities
Working on the team, not just in day-to-day delivery
Aligning actions to the bigger organisational picture
Expanding influence through networks and relationships
Navigating politics and increasing the visibility of your work
Creating clear, practical action plans
Contact us to find out more or Schedule a 15 mins meeting.
Programmes designed for scientific minds
Having worked with scientists for many years, we know they have naturally enquiring minds. Our leadership training for scientists approach is backed by robust evidence and rooted in behavioural science helping participants understand what works, why it matters, and how to apply it with impact.
We take a practical approach, sharing tools and techniques that can be used straightaway to make a difference. This supports scientists and operational managers to grow their leadership skills for scientists and develop strong management skills for scientists in ways that are relevant, practical, and grounded in their world.
Our online learning portal includes peer-reviewed research and evidence supporting the leadership training for scientists programme content and approach.
Our online learning portal includes peer reviewed research and evidence supporting the programme content and approach.
Who’s it for?
This programme is tailored to the participants and is ideal for:
Science and operational leaders leading a team
Group leaders, PIs, lab managers, postdocs
Operational or business support managers in scientific settings
Anyone responsible for managing people in a science or research environment
Our training is interactive and practical, with discussion, reflection, and skills-based activities. Case studies from scientific settings make the learning relevant and immediately applicable.
Flexible delivery, designed for real-world demands
Today’s scientific and operational leaders are balancing high workloads and shifting priorities. That’s why Leading your Lab is built to flex around your organisation’s needs, ensuring both quality and impact.
In-person workshops
Bring people together for high-impact, practical learning in a collaborative setting. Ideal for focused discussion, shared insight, and stronger connections across teams.
Live virtual sessions
Engaging, facilitator-led sessions delivered online. Interactive, focused, and designed to encourage full participation from any location.
Online learning hub
Support learning between sessions or beyond the core programme with access to digital resources and optional modules to deepen key topics.
Leadership diagnostics (optional)
Use tools including 360 feedback or strengths-based psychometrics to provide increase self-awareness and spark focused development conversations.
1:1 leadership coaching (optional)
Personalised coaching to embed learning, build confidence and support individual development. Delivered virtually for maximum flexibility.
Email Support
Ongoing email support from your trainer for 12 months after completing the programme for those who’d like it.
Click to view sample programme
What our clients say...
Interested in exploring how this could support your organisation?
Contact me to find a convenient time or Schedule a 15 mins meeting.
