Amarjot Kaur, David Morganstein, Cyrus Mehta, Tony Cai, Donsig Jang, Barry Nussbaum, and Donna LaLonde

“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”
— Henry Ford

During the 2017 Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM) in Baltimore, the American Statistical Association, International Indian Statistical Association (IISA), International Chinese Statistical Association (ICSA), and Korean International Statistical Society (KISS) organized a workshop on career development and leadership skills. The workshop was organized by the taskforce created under ASA President Barry Nussbaum’s initiative to identify ways the societies could collaborate to identify and address distinctive needs and concerns of Asian statisticians and to help enhance their professional growth.

The workshop was successful in providing an opportunity to interact with and learn from the leaders who are passionate about the development of Asian statisticians. The keen interest of the audience of more than 30 was exemplified with their active participation, leaving no time for the prepared questions. And that was great!

The distinguished panelists, representing all four societies, included David Morganstein from Westat and former ASA president, Cyrus Mehta from Cytel and former IISA president, Tony Cai from the University of Pennsylvania and current ICSA president, and Donsig Jang from NORC at the University of Chicago and KISS president-elect. The discussion was moderated by Amarjot Kaur from Merck Research Labs and past-president of IISA. Nussbaum made the opening remarks and provided motivation behind the initiative.

Topics Considered

The statistical leaders’ diverse backgrounds affected their own professional experiences, challenges, and ability to overcome cultural barriers. They discussed unique challenges they encountered due to different cultural backgrounds and communication skills and the approaches they took to overcome them, professional benefits of working with statisticians with diverse backgrounds, and the important skill set of Asian statisticians and potential areas of improvement.

Morganstein provided his perspective as a native speaker during both his interactions with family members from Asia and colleagues at Westat. He emphasized communication skills and networking and shared solutions to overcome barriers, such as joining in ASA and other society activities. Cai focused on new researchers in academia and gave practical advice for research and journal publications based on his experience as past editor of the Annals of Statistics. Mehta emphasized presentation and leadership skills that are fundamental to entrepreneurship. He brought in the perspective of Cytel employees. Jang emphasized collaborative skills and that clients define the true value of statisticians. He also described various career stages of the Asian statistician. Kaur weighed in on communication and leadership skills and shared anecdotes from her journey.

Typically, the early struggle for Asian statisticians includes language and cultural barriers, along with the general fight for survival.

Sage Advice

 
Volunteer Your Time

 
Find a Mentor and Network

 
Learn to Communicate

—Don’t hang out solely with colleagues from ‘back home.’

—Accent reduction, while acknowledging that good communication is not merely accent reduction
—Writing style; join writing workshops
—Logical presentation

—Seek feedback.
—Practice and do dry runs.

—Speak up at meetings.
—Know when to intervene.
—Overcome a sense of inferiority.
—Realize that technical prowess alone is not sufficient.

 
Partner with Colleagues and Collaborate

 
Publication Pointers

 
Imbibe the Culture and Socialize

 
Other Professional Tips

All these activities can help build confidence, develop social and presentation skills, and increase the chances of finding the right path toward your professional goals.

Looking Forward

Statistical societies such as the ASA provide encouragement to young statisticians by offering opportunities to network and enhance statistical skills when attending conferences, workshops, and other statistical activities. Determining the specific needs of statisticians with an Asian background is an important first step to paving the way for further discussion and development of future statistical leaders.

The ‘Asian Initiative’ taskforce led by Morganstein included two members each from the four societies (ASA, IISA, ICSA, and KISS). They identified several actions that might enhance further growth of Asian statisticians. Two broader areas of early action include career development and leadership skills training and increased involvement of Asian statisticians with the ASA committees.

This workshop was the first step toward career development and leadership skills training, and there are plans to offer such workshops at future ASA-sponsored conferences such as the Conference on Statistical Practice. The taskforce will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of the planned activities. If you have additional ideas for the taskforce to consider, contact Morganstein at davidmorganstein@westat.com, Kaur at amarjot_kaur@merck.com, or Donna LaLonde at DonnaL@amstat.org.