Graduate School News and Events
Learning Leadership Skills
Most graduate students spend their time conducting research on their own, sequestered in the library or the laboratory. However, as they join the working world, they quickly realize that team-building and leadership skills are also essential to a successful career.
“One of the most important things for students to recognize is that employers of all kinds are interested in hiring candidates who offer more than just the ability to do a task,” says Victoria Blodgett, director of Graduate Career Services. “Students who can demonstrate leadership, team building, and effective decision making will stand out in both the initial stages of a hiring process and for promotion.”
To help graduate students identify and develop their skills in these areas, McDougal Career Fellow Maria Lebedeva (Genetics) invited Heidi Brooks, an expert from the Yale School of Management (SOM), to lead students through an evening of discussion and self-exploration. The program was presented by Graduate Career Services.
For the past fifteen years, Brooks has coached high-level corporate, non-profit, and academic leaders. Currently, she is a lecturer in Organizational Behavior at SOM and assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine.
When it comes to work, everyone has an individual style, but most people fall into one of four categories, Brooks said. Some people take a logical and rational approach to tasks and excel in systematic analysis. Others enjoy organizing and planning, with special attention to detail. Creative people, who care most about the big picture, provide vision in the workplace, while the fourth group derives job satisfaction from interpersonal connections and working with others. A successful team will recognize these different working styles and accommodate them, to bring out the strengths of all members, Brooks said. Likewise, an effective leader knows how to communicate with and motivate these different kinds of workers. Those who value relationships, for example, benefit from more personal attention and encouragement than those who focus on rational analysis. Similarly, those who see the big picture may become overwhelmed by too many details; and those who are detail-oriented may be frustrated by co-workers who see only the big picture.
Besides working differently, people listen in different ways. For example, some people respond best to a succinct, fact-driven message, while others pay close attention to the speaker’s emotions. Understanding the different listening styles and recognizing your own can lead to better communication, Brooks said.
Brooks teaches these and related topics in her Emotional Intelligence course at SOM.
By Maria Lebedeva (Genetics)
and Alice Ly (MCDB) 
Back to Home page
Heidi Brooks