Applying change management to making a research impact (Part 1)
Like everyone else I’m starting to think about both the end of this year and the beginning of the next. I am not one to make resolutions per se, but I do like reflecting on what’s working in my day-to-day (and what’s not) and setting some intentions for my year.
Reflections force me to slow down and consider when my days feel organized and stimulating (or when they feel draining and frantic). Reflections allow me to acknowledge the progress I have made and to see where there are opportunities to grow.
Intentions, once set, force me to be an active participant in my life. If my intention is to exercise 5 days a week, I need to make sure to arrange my calendar in a way that allows that to happen. If my intention is to have fewer screen distractions when hanging out with my family, I need to make sure that my phone is out of reach. If my intention is to regularly publish something for this blog, I need to make sure that I have content ready to go Tuesday morning.
As I’ve started reflecting and setting intentions for the upcoming year I came across this article about change management from McKinsey and Company. The article starts by discussing the increased rate of change in the business world, saying that many companies are implementing 5 times the number of change programs yearly than they once did. The data also suggests that this pace isn’t going to slow and is likely to increase. At the same time support for the process of change in organizations has dropped dramatically, leaving employees struggling to keep up.
Sound a little familiar?
While I don’t work at a for-profit corporation, change is hard everywhere. So, how do we manage all of this? Well, the McKinsey article goes on to outline 4 levels of change (3 of which I will talk about below).
What I liked about these levels of change is that they are broken down to make the “BIG” change possible and scalable. If you are thinking about adjusting your individual research program Execute might be realizing that YOU need to learn a new data analysis technique and finding a workshop to learn that new technique. Mobilize might be recognizing that YOU’VE participated in these kinds of workshops in the past, but that you didn’t implement the learnings because you really didn’t dedicate yourself to the change. With that realization, maybe you add some dedicated “new project” time to your calendar after the workshop. Transform might be YOU setting some intentions for projects or publications, finding ways to balance work and home life, and then regularly monitoring your behaviors towards these objectives to track your progress.
The same steps could also be followed if you’re working as part of a research team. What are the basics your team will need to level up to the next new research program? What are your team’s mindsets that may be holding them back from taking that next important step? What does “leveling up” your team’s research look like in practice (ex. more publications, more presentations, more community engagement)? How will you help them maintain their health along the way? How will you track your team’s progress?
The final thing to recognize about these levels of change is that they in fact build off each other. That is, you shouldn’t just jump right to reinvention (even though that might be tempting). Think of it like exercising, most of us wouldn’t wake up tomorrow and run a marathon, right? We’d train for months to build our stamina before entering the big race. Changing your research program should be no different. It will take time, preparation, and practice before your latest change is complete. Come back next week to see a real life (though retrospective) example of moving through these change levels towards reinvention.
Looking to make some changes in the New Year, fill out this little survey to see if I can help.