Most postdocs supervise and mentor graduate students, technicians or even undergraduates but the step up to becoming a team leader in academia, industry or in another work environment is significant.

This webinar will introduce leadership styles and discuss the need for each of us to find our own unique style. Particularly when it comes to leadership, what works for men might not work for women. Many of us try to emulate a mentor or a leader we respect but that approach has the critical flaw that we are not that other person, no matter how hard we try. In a crisis, our weaknesses become apparent when we are not being authentic to our true selves. The path to finding our unique best leadership style comes from exercises in self-awareness, receiving feedback from others and leadership experiments.

Speaker: Angeliki A. Rigos, Ph.D., MBA (she/her)

Rigos is a scientist, educator, and consultant interested in working across disciplines to promote gender equity and sustainable solutions to global problems. Rigos began her career as a principal scientist at Physical Sciences Inc. where she worked on defense and energy contracts. She transitioned to an academic position as associate professor of chemistry at Merrimack College where she taught courses in chemistry, women in science and sustainable energy and science and energy policy. For twelve years, she also worked as an energy consultant at Levitan & Associates, Inc. with a focus on power price forecasting, LNG, fuel cells, and renewable technologies. In 2017, she became the executive director of the MIT Tata Center for Technology and Design. In 2021, she founded the nonprofit Epistimi, Inc to expand the leadership training of women in STEMM globally. She also teaches a leadership course in the MIT LEAdership and Professional Skills and Strategies (LEAPS) Program. Rigos holds a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry from Cornell University, a doctorate in physical chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Master of Business Administration from Northeastern University.