Labwork to Leadership: A Concise Guide to Thriving in the Science Job You Weren’t Trained For

by Jen Heemstra

A roadmap for running a lab—and developing the leadership skills you didn’t know you needed.

As a graduate student and postdoctoral researcher, chemist Jen Heemstra learned how to collect data, write papers, and give talks to other scientists. But when, just a few years into her first job as a principal investigator, conflict broke out in the lab, she realized there was one skill she hadn’t leadership.

Labwork to Leadership is the book that every PI needs. Drawing on her decades of experience—including plenty of trial and error—as well as research from psychology and business management, Heemstra nimbly guides readers through the essentials of scientific leadership. From fostering an inclusive lab environment to setting effective goals and learning to give and receive feedback graciously, she uncovers the curriculum successful PIs must follow to motivate lab members, communicate key values, and inspire confidence.

With candor and humility, Labwork to Leadership demystifies the critical leadership skills that too many universities fail to teach. And it shows how teaching scientists to lead can boost productivity, spur innovation, and, above all, help research teams rediscover the joy of science.

Genres: Leadership, Nonfiction, Science

328 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 5, 2025

About the author

When I decided to pursue a career in academic research, I thought I was signing up for a science job. What I didn’t realize is that I was actually getting a leadership job and that success would rely on my ability to recruit, empower, and inspire a group of research students and staff. And that required a set of leadership skills I hadn’t learned yet.

Just as I was starting to thrive as a leader and my research group was hitting our stride, my tenure vote came along, and it didn’t go how I expected. I was devastated. But, that failure gave life to my career goal of creating a healthier academic culture for future generations of researchers.

I’ve since come to appreciate that positive change doesn’t happen by accident. Rather, it is the result of a clear vision built on consistent values and animated into tangible actions. We will all make mistakes in our leadership but we can all do something each day to create a place where people are treated with dignity, kindness, and respect.

Reviews

[Allie Guerra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll admit I was nervous this book wouldn’t live up to the expectations I set for it, but it actually exceeded all my expectations. Heemstra did exactly what she said she would- she wrote a compact guide to leadership from an academic and lab work perspective. This isn’t a comprehensive leadership guide, nor was it supposed to be, but a starting point- packed full of references and resources to continue your leadership growth.

As with a lot of leadership books, I feared the writing would feel prideful or conceited. However, Heemstra’s humility shined through. Somehow she perfectly balanced humility and confidence and wisdom. She expertly balances personal anecdotes with factual evidence and references. It’s informational without being overwhelming making it easy to digest for a wide range of readers.

I’m so excited that I have 1 concise book I can now recommend to academics interested in improving their leadership instead of listing a dozen books that are half relevant.

In closing, I wish every academic institution made this required reading for faculty. The book actually made me sad reading about great leadership and mentorship and seeing the contrast with most faculty that I know.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of, if not THE, first book directly discuss what leadership looks like for academic PIs/people hoping to becoming academic PI. For the first time I don’t have to envision how to apply principles from some business leadership book in the academic settings but instead have it written on the wall for me, with directly relevant and relatable examples. There’s also something so reassuring that an academic PI wrote it and seeing through her perspective as a successful PI. (I was also particularly excited to read this because the author comes from both of my previous institutes and I know of her despite of different department).

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and plan to revisit from time to time. This is a book that I actually put a highlighter/pen on. The Motivation section made me tear up especially when things are hard (uhm, like rn in the US), and I really enjoyed the last section about passing leadership onto future generations.

The book does come with recommended reading and assessment tests and every chapter end with action items. I do wish it comes with some practical templates, exercises, and examples. Nevertheless, for a book that’s first of its kind, 5 stars. I hope it will trigger a cascade of new materials catering specially for future academics.

[Hind · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Definitely giving this to my advisor. But also, nothing groundbreaking. That is probably a good thing, none of this stuff should be totally new to a person, but still good to spend time thinking about them.