Shared leadership, shared responsibility

Area of Science:

• Translational Research
• Team Science
• Academic Leadership

Background:

• Traditional principal investigator roles can be isolating.
• Academic norms often favor individual leadership.
• Merging independent teams presents unique challenges and opportunities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe an unconventional co-leadership model merging clinical and scientific teams.
• To explore the impact of this model on scientific collaboration and patient-centered research.
• To analyze the creation of a sustainable and collaborative research culture.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a clinician-scientist co-leadership structure.
• Integration of patients and carers into the research process.
• Inclusion of high-performance coaching for team development.

Main Results:

• Challenged traditional academic leadership norms.
• Reduced the isolation associated with principal investigator roles.
• Established a shared patient-centered vision for translational research.
• Fostered a culture of collective responsibility, sustainability, and collaboration.

Conclusions:

• Co-leadership models can effectively reshape scientific endeavors.
• Integrating diverse stakeholders (patients, carers, coaches) enhances research culture.
• This unconventional approach promotes genuine collaboration and shared vision in translational research.