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As a young assistant professor (female) in a math-oriented field, I've looped in a former colleague, now in industry, in one of my projects. While he is professional and skilled, a pattern has emerged where he initially expresses a 'happy-to-help' attitude but later requests unrelated academic favours, creating an unspoken sense of obligation. Although he self-invited himself into the project, his actions are giving me the vibe that since he agreed to be in the project, I owe him favours. I am now afraid that this may persist, and if I do not oblige, he will be negligent in his part of the project. Since he is a consultant, not my research assistant, my leverage is limited as the PI. Given his impressive skills, should I proceed with the collaboration, or are there alternative strategies to navigate this situation?

Edit: He will be a middle author in the paper. In my field, author order matters. Also, I worked with him while he was a PhD and I was a postdoc under the same advisor. He was subtly showing this pattern then, but not strong enough for me to hate him. He was generally very well-behaved with our common advisor, who I believe protected me back then.

Example of unrelated favors: help in doing some of his works in other joint projects.

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    This is a judgement call that we don't really have enough evidence to help you with. But, at least speak with him about his expectations for a successful outcome. Think about whether it is going to be a true collaboration, which requires mutual respect. Consider authorship questions, though in pure math authors are usually listed alphabetically.
    – Buffy
    Commented Nov 9, 2023 at 20:38
  • I agree with Buffy: much depends on the "vibes". Senior researchers that latch on junior ones to make them do their work. However, there is also the opposite: junior researchers that are quick to ask for help, but are less reciprocative and much more protective of their own resources. While mature senior researchers are more tolerant of that, one should be careful that it does not look like a one-way road. You speak of "impressive skills". Will you profit from them? If you get something from their contribution, see helping them as a give and take. I found generosity usually reciprocated.
    – Captain Emacs
    Commented Nov 10, 2023 at 2:53
  • Where this is not the case, i.e. you find that after a while you do not get your time's worth out of the collaboration, you can let it starve out gradually. I recommend, though, not to open detailed accounts "I got that service for that effort" (this is quite off-putting), but rather, develop a feeling how you can grow the joint added value (or, if it turns out, not).
    – Captain Emacs
    Commented Nov 10, 2023 at 2:55
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    @CaptainEmacs Yes, he knows about the specific topic we need for the project. My PhD student also thinks that having him on the team will be a great value. I am not super happy having a collaborator whom I feel uneasy about, but I am willing to let that uneasiness go for the greater good. Also, he is exactly like what you described: "quick to ask for help, but are less reciprocative and much more protective of their own resources"
    – user179146
    Commented Nov 10, 2023 at 3:10

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