EMBO Lab Leadership for Group Leaders
A leadership course for scientists who lead a research group. Here you can find out more about the course and book for workshops taking place in 2027.
The EMBO Lab Leadership course is designed to teach you leadership skills and tools that are effective in research environments. You will work with your peers over three days of intensive training to explore your experience and leadership style, and apply new approaches directly to your leadership challenges.
In addition to the live training, you receive 12 months of access to our Training Hub to help you implement your new leadership approach over time, and bring your lab or team with you as you learn and grow.
Depending on your needs, you can choose to join us in person in Leimen, Germany, or take part in one of our engaging live online courses with peers from around the globe. Both courses provide identical skills, tools, and opportunities for discussion and reflection.
You will learn
Each course dynamically adapts its schedule to the needs and priorities of the participants. In principle, though: On the first day, we spend some time getting to know one another and building a level of awareness and trust. The course thrives on your contributions and insights, so we want you to feel welcome to share your experience and knowledge.
We spend time thinking about what it means to be a leader and how your values, experiences, and emotions impact the way you approach leadership. We look at how teams work effectively together and what sort of support they need from you, both as a collective
and as individuals within the research space.
We look at how you manage your time and attention across the many roles you play as a leader in research; from bottle-washer or debugger to visionary and everything in between.
Finally, we spend some time reflecting on the values that drive our perspectives and behaviour and explore how values can help diverse groups of people understand each other more deeply and find effective ways to share resources and work together.
Topics Covered
Leadership & Management | Role development | Team development | Values
On the second day, we will spend time reflecting on how we are influenced by our emotions, and what impact this has on our effectiveness as leaders.
We will explore a model of communication that looks at how and why people communicate in certain ways, and what impact our own communication style has on the willingness of others to work hard, be honest, develop themselves, and take ownership of their work.
In the afternoon, we will look at the importance of clarity and empathy when delivering feedback to ensure that it is effective and will lead to development and change.
We will finish the day by looking at motivation and what different people need to feel motivated. We will share a diagnostic tool to support you in trouble-shooting low levels of motivation.
Topics Covered
Emotional Intelligence & Personality | Communication | Feedback | Motivation
On the third day, we spent time understanding the nature of conflict and looking at communication and other tools that can help us to identify and resolve conflict.
We will explore the environment in which we work and the impact of other people’s expectations, emotions, and needs on our work together.
We will share a tool for supporting the people you are leading to help them take on work effectively; delegating to them in a way that is aware of their level of development and motivation.
And finally we will look at supporting people in an adaptive way to ensure that when you assign work to them, they are set up for success.
Topics Covered
Conflict management | Working environment | Delegation | Empowering others
EMBO Lab Leadership for Group Leaders
In Person
Secure your spot early and enjoy special reduced pricing available until 8 weeks before the course start (full price € 2,590 incl. VAT).
What’s included
- 3 full days of training
- 12 months Training Hub access
- 3 nights of accommodation
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Course materials
Live Online
Secure your spot early and enjoy special reduced pricing available until 8 weeks before the course start (full price € 1,990 excl. VAT).
What’s included
- 3 full days of training
- Dynamic digital experience
- Course materials
- 12 months Training Hub access
Dates & Locations
Our Training Team – Specialised for Scientists
Our trainers come from many different backgrounds, and all have been working directly and extensively with leaders in the life sciences for many years. Our team includes scientists, organisational development experts, human resources professionals, MBA graduates, mathematicians, professional coaches, and others with significant and relevant experience to supporting leaders in the life sciences.
For each course, we provide two trainers to balance their expertise and diversity to ensure that you receive the widest range of expertise, experience and insight possible from your training team.
After taking this course, I am well equipped to lead my research team. I am a better supervisor, capable of delegating tasks, solving conflicts, and managing my employees.
Anna Starnawska | Assistant Professor
Aarhus University
This course provided leadership exercises directly applicable to my daily work. The in-person meetings facilitated valuable peer exchanges, making it a memorable experience.
Nicolas Huguenin | Group Leader
ETH Zürich
The course has been a game changer in my leadership journey! Empowering me with crucial aspects like team management and conflict resolution.
Isis N. O. Souza | Assistant Professor
University of Rio de Janeiro
EMBO Lab Leadership at your Institute
If you have a group of leaders that you would like to train together – maximising the benefit of the course by creating supportive, professional relationships between them in addition to building their leadership skills – then we’re happy to come to you! Find out how…