How to collaborate with unmotivated postdocs

Question

As a PhD student in a multidisciplinary subject, I am grouped with a postdoc by my supervisor. In our lab, the usual rule is student do the theory and coding, and postdoc do the experiment.

My collaborator postdoc is highly unmotivated: he badly performed the experimental tasks that I told him to do (most of the time, the experiments was unqualified), and delayed our project progress.

I am much younger than him, and he refused to follow my instructions, and instead fed me with unreliable “ideas” and asked me to do his job... My supervisor knows the situation, but does nothing and just watches. Each weekly meeting I am the only guy having progress.

At end I had to do the experimental part myself. It was tough but finally the project was accepted to a top journal. I have done 95%+ works, but have to add the postdoc as a coauthor (he didn’t even take part in writing the paper)

I anticipate similar course of action in future projects. I can’t change the group.

How can I properly motivate my postdoc to get him work for me?

Edits:

The question has been revived and let me summarize some of comments. It helps to clarify some statements:

• "get him work for me" simply means "do his duty as a collaborator".
• The postdoc received authorship; but I am actually the guy doing all the works.
• The whole story is, I gave up pushing on him, did the bio training myself, and finished the data acquisition myself.
• In this question I am humbly asking how to avoid similar situations from happening again.
• I am not being harsh from the very first beginning. I was polite to the postdoc, even after wasting months.
• Technician is not a negative word. If you are familar with bio labs, you will know most postdocs are no more than a "technician", most of them cannot get a decent faculty position (e.g. top 100 US universities). I am a technician too, but just in coding. The only scientist is the professor.

Answer 1

How can I properly motivate my postdoc to get him work for me?

You don't. Changing anyone's behavior is difficult; changing your "superior's" behavior will be even less successful and will lead to conflict.

I would start by trying to figure out how long the post-doc is planning to be around. It may be that he is on his way out; this would explain both his lack of focus and the professor's apathy.

In any case, I agree with the discussion in the comments -- the situation as you describe it is inexcusable. But as a PhD student, your options are very limited. I would suggest asking the professor for a private meeting. In the meeting, I suggest making the following points.

• You successfully published a paper in a top journal
• The post-doc contributed virtually nothing to this work, and in fact delayed progress
• You feel it "may have been inappropriate" to even list the post-doc as an author of the paper
• Based on this experience, you think it would be more fruitful to work independently from the post-doc on future efforts.

The professor will likely not be receptive to this, and will make some vague promise about speaking to the post-doc. So, the real question you should be asking (yourself) is:

Should I finish my PhD with this advisor or find another group?

If you are willing to leave (and you are sure!), you can mention this to your advisor if his initial reaction is not satisfactory. This may change the calculation for him -- or he may be more candid with you (e.g., telling you that he is about to fire the post-doc). Or he may let you go.

If you are close to graduation, then it's probably worth sticking this out. Adding people as authors when they didn't contribute much does not really rise to the level of serious academic misconduct, so I would simply avoid relying on the post-doc as much as possible.

Answer 2

To motivate someone, or at least not demotivate them, you should make them feel valued and taken seriously. Everything you are saying points in the direction of that not happening.

For example, your postdoc isn't working for you; he is working with you. Or at least, that's how the situation should be if you want him to be motivated. You are also saying he has to follow your instructions, and do experiments you tell him to do. You describe him as a technician. If I were the experimentator in such a collaboration I'd be very unwilling to put in any effort.

Obviously, making someone feel valued and taken seriously will not turn them into a better experimentator. So in some collaborations being respectful towards your collaborator will be very effective, and in some collaborations it won't be. But the way I see it, you have nothing to lose.

Answer 3

As a postdoc who is often unmotivated, I will try to help you out.

Clearly you are not in ideal academic ambiance for high-quality intellectual output. Your supervisor looks parasitic in relying on others to work on their own albeit in his behalf, and this postdoc is relying on you to do the hard work. Providing the worst quality results for a demanding mate is the oldest recipe for not being asked to do anything. (Like breaking some expensive piece when pushed to wash the dishes).

In that case you're stuck and I don't see anyway around it. However parasites have a lot to lose, in fact more than their host.

I suggest you be bold and do the unexpected: tell your postdoc and boss you're fed up and leaving. My guess is that they'll make concessions to keep you. Do not expect them to change this game: you will just get something this time, for a while. In any case, should you leave anyway, I don't think you will be doing a bad business.

In most cases dropping a bad PhD is way better that swallowing it whole, and still much better than not having had the experience. Reconsider this logic if you must return funding/salary (see your contract conditions).

Shake these mites off you and get on with your life.

Answer 4

What's in it for this postdoc?

I would suggest that you sit in on some courses where you would learn what you need to know to be able to take the data comfortably, without stress, more autonomously.