What makes a good lab manager?

Colleagues in lab

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The planning and people skills needed to keep everything running smoothly

Lab managers are stereotypically cantankerous. Red tape wielders. Closed to new suggestions. Miserable even. Sound familiar? Well, bear in mind it can sometimes be a job that no-one wants. Because in many organisations, a lab manager is not a role in its own right. Instead, some unlucky individual is probably trying to do it on top of their day job with little relevant training.