Responsible leadership

Leaders of research teams are responsible for a multitude of roles, including administration, management, allocation of financial resources and lab infrastructure, mentoring and guiding or inspiring young scientists to achieve their full potential. Research leaders can benefit from support from their research institutions to achieve their full potential as responsible leaders. This guideline presents a set of recommendations to research institutions on the guidance and resources to give to research leaders, in order to support them in building and leading an effective research group. The guideline consists of recommendations on improving institutional support structures for leaders, providing leaders with necessary guidance, knowledge, training and support, and rewarding responsible leadership in the evaluation and assessment of researchers. The guideline provides information relevant for research officers, trainers, managers, and coordinators, as well as deans, rectors and other institutional leaders. Given the broad diversity that exists among research institutions, it is possible that some recommendations are not applicable in all research settings. For this reason, the guideline should not be seen as a ‘one-size-fits-all’, but rather as a tool that can be used flexibly and adapted to meet institutions’ specific needs.