Why emerging leaders should focus on being good postdoctoral supervisors

Many postdocs work as leaders later in their career. But how do postdocs acquire the skills to become leaders? Postdocs from the international Marie Skłodowska-Curie leadership program (LEAD) at the University of Copenhagen postulate that supervision should be seen as an opportunity for training leadership skills. However, although every postdoc will supervise a student sooner or later, too many might find it a burden, which can lead to poor supervision and frustration. To help peers overcome problems in supervision, LEAD postdocs provide concrete tips for supervisors regarding planning, expectations alignment, and trust building. These tips can help supervisors establish a healthy, professional student-supervisor relationship that fosters the students' independence and ultimately leads to good science. Furthermore, the authors point out that the tasks related to supervision translate into leadership skills, such as delegation, decision-making, and relationship building. Hence, by focusing on becoming good supervisors, postdocs can prepare themselves for future leadership positions and provide a fruitful professional environment for students.