Leading the people and leading the work: Practical considerations for ethical research.

Scientific work is demanding and complex, requiring leading researchers to be simultaneously innovative and ethical in their work. In addition, those leading scientific teams must be able to influence the work being done and the lab members doing the work. Thus, both leadership and management skills are necessary to effectively navigate the organizational, social, and ethical components of the research process and to conduct rigorous, ethical, and high-quality scientific work. This article recommends several practices that foster excellence and integrity in research labs, including management behaviors for “leading the work” and leadership behaviors for “leading the people.” Researchers can take an intentional approach to leadership and management to create a robust environment for ethical research. Therefore, as the leader of their lab, a researcher’s routine behaviors should establish a healthy work environment and promote effective interpersonal interactions among lab members, which requires the design and implementation of routine procedures and structure to provide adequate oversight of the research. Further, this article addresses challenges that may arise when implementing leadership and management practices, along with strategies for overcoming these challenges. Avenues for future research and policy development related to leadership and management in scientific contexts are discussed. What is the significance of this article for the general public?—Researchers are called on to do excellent research with the utmost integrity. Thus, those who lead research teams must create, through their leadership and management practices, a work environment conducive to research excellence and integrity. This article provides 2 actionable checklists for researchers who aim to adopt best practices in their labs for “leading the people” and “leading the work.”