[rotskoff]

One peculiarity of the academic system (true to some extent in start-ups) is that people transition from researchers to managers without any real training or evaluation of their proclivity for management. While you may be a spectacular researcher, that does not mean that you have the disposition, skill, or compassion to be an effective leader. Of course, some are naturals and many others get ample experience in labs where there's a hierarchical structure. Still, the utter lack of evaluation and reflection on group dynamics, productivity, etc., strikes me as a real weakness for the way that we currently organize academic research.

[Fomite]

It often frustrates me that this is true at universities that have business schools.

I can take an 8-week summer course on polishing my NSF CAREER proposal - I'd kill to be able to do the same for basic management skills (including hiring).

[neffy]

Exactly. It's a huge problem. A promising researcher can go from managing precisely 1 person, to have to handle a team of TA's to run a course, manage Masters and Ph.d. students, effectively working as a manager, with none of the experience or training they would get in industry. There aren't many naturals, there are a few who figure it out over time, and a lot who retreat into bullying just to cover their own inadequacies.