Our last article looked at “how” a research administrator can help a research scientist discover and develop a complete vision. We talked about displaying an authentic life style in order to build trust. I would call this a personal investment on the part of the research administrator. The importance of this cannot be understated. It is only through the door of trust that you can begin to understand the scientist’s past and personality. And, an understanding of both is critical when identifying core values and purpose.

Building trust is somewhat mysterious in that there is no set formula for it. There is time involved, but also comparisons to other people in the life of the scientist. Do you know who you are being compared too? The most likely answer includes the scientist himself and key people in his past. These people will have had varying degrees of trustworthiness. You are also likely to be compared to institutions. For example, one of the jobs of most administrators is to provide financial information or statements about ongoing research budgets to the scientist. Do you know who else in his life performs a similar function? Most likely, it is a bank. While the reputations of banks have taken a severe hit recently, they do a remarkable job in delivering accurate financial statements in a timely manner. How many times have your bank statements been late? How many times have they contained errors? How would your scientists compare their experiences with their bank statements to their research accounting reports? We will discuss this more in a future article.

Posted by Jim Wrenn, December 10, 2009, blogger@itworks-inc.com