The Research Administrator as Servant-Leader. (Commentary)

Introduction Research administrators are charged with task of supporting research enterprise. We provide many services that allow our researchers to focus more fully on their work, including guidance that helps to ensure that rules and regulations are met. We serve and we lead! This may seem contradictory, yet there can in fact be a natural progression from servant to leader. By striving first to serve, and then to lead, we can earn trust of our researchers. We often hear disparaging remarks about the administration and bureaucracy. Most of us will admit that some of these remarks are well-founded, even when they are aimed at us. Sometimes rules and regulations dictate what we do, and rules and regulations many times seem to have been created without considering perspective of people who must follow them. Of course research administrators can say that it is our job to lead, ensure that rules are followed, and see that integrity of our institution is upheld. But we can better accomplish that by serving first, teaching well, and leading in such a manner that sometimes people aren't even aware that they are being led. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Abraham Maslow developed a classic theory of human motivation that focused upon strength and adequate fulfillment of certain needs. He proposed a hierarchy of needs, suggesting that a person's behavior is motivated by his or her most basic need at a given moment. According to Maslow's theory understanding a little about human motivation can help us to provide better service. The more we know needs of our researchers and can discern their strongest need of moment, better we can serve them. Maslow's theory contends that, in beginning, physiological needs have highest priority: air, water, food, shelter, and other basic needs. If these needs are not fulfilled, person finds difficulty focusing on any other needs. A classic example of Maslow's theory suggests that a person who is hungry or homeless will most likely be consumed by that basic need and will not be able to think about a higher goal, such as a fulfilling career, until that basic need is at least partially satisfied. Similarly, a researcher who is frantically trying to meet a proposal deadline is most likely thinking only of finishing something on time, most pressing need at that moment. He or she is probably not thinking about what a poorly written proposal will do for reputation of researcher or even institution. Consequently, it is important for research administrators to know what assistance our researchers need from us (in this case, proper assistance to prepare a good proposal) and to provide as much of that service as possible. The next needs to emerge are safety needs. Once basic survival needs are met, humans seek stability in a chaotic world. Consider world of research: deadlines, multiple agency formats, electronic submission, award terms, and conditions. All are very chaotic, and there are many more examples. As research administrators, we contribute to security of our researchers and our institutions by helping to ensure that rules and regulations are followed. We are ones charged with knowing rules and we must use that knowledge to guide our researchers to protect both them and our institutions. Having sufficiently satisfied physiological needs and safety needs, a person's social or affiliation needs may then become more dominant. Maslow believed that once their physiological and safety needs have been somewhat satisfied, people will begin to desire to belong to a group and develop meaningful relationships. In research realm, good working relationships or even friendships can develop once a researcher receives good service from a research administrator. When researcher does not need to focus on meeting a basic need, he or she is freed to move to a higher level, where interactions are usually less stressful and consequently more pleasant. …