In leading a research team, it’s an understandable temptation to hide the nitty gritty that goes on behind the scenes.

The science is the cool bit, the grant management and hiring…not so much. Yet, for you as a leader, these are the plates that are spinning alongside the shiny ones. How you appear to your team is, in part, influenced by how well you’re handling all that other stuff that normally doesn’t feature in team meetings.

Why not share it?

Consider the mind-melting motivation that comes from sharing with your team the challenges you face in serving them. Put next year’s motivations in context with this year’s bureaucratic challenges.

My own motivation for doing this came from entrepreneurial inspiration. CEOs share an annual letter to their stakeholders. Whether you hold a C-suite title or not, a leader is a leader is a leader. If you have people in your care, there is a version of the letter to stakeholders that you can think about sharing.

What will it say? Who is it for? And what more might it achieve than the version of events that hides all the messiness of real life leadership?

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