Members only: An IES joint research project with Henley Research Forum will explore questions around developing change-capable teams.
There’s a lot of change about for organisations and the pace and complexity of change is increasing. What’s not so predictable is the nature of the next and subsequent changes. Harvard Business Review’s latest cover page (May–June 2018) urges the creation of ‘a truly flexible organisation’ and IES has been working for some time with a number of large organisations to test interventions on the ground which can deliver on the promise of collective change-readiness: that is, organisational resilience, agility and learning-orientation.
The vision of a fast-moving adaptive organisation is appealing, but IES experience indicates that the role of teams is critical. Are teams change-ready to face challenges thrown up by a change process? Are teams change-capable to deal with moving to the hoped-for ‘sunlit uplands’ of the future? It’s all too easy for teams to feel that change is being foisted on them, and suffer ‘change fatigue’ at the thought of yet more changes. This can be a significant psychological and practical issue that makes any process harder.
In theory, all organisations know that they should have change-accepting, -ready and -capable teams if they are to remain dynamic and thrive in a modern environment. In practice, what really constitutes readiness and capability may not be clear-cut at all to team members or team leaders. Making the human aspects of change, rather than the organisational impacts, a particular target for attention is crucial to the success of change initiatives.
Developing a better understanding of what underpins change-readiness and change capability will benefit both organisations and individuals. A new IES joint research project with Henley Research Forum will explore questions around developing change-capable teams from two perspectives: firstly, the conditions that contribute to change-readiness at a team level; and, secondly, the personal attributes that help readiness and capability of teams. The study
Building change-ready, change-capable teams complements IES’ other research into change methods and the best strategies and tools for negotiating the sometimes difficult processes and outcomes of change.
IES and Henley Forum member organisations have an exclusive opportunity to be part of this new research project, bringing people and ideas together to spark new thinking and develop actionable insights for participants and their organisations. The project is looking for teams involved in change, at the start of a process, in the throes of change, or at the end and taking stock.
The research process will span several months, and participants should gain practical insights into what’s needed to be a change-capable team. Both IES and Henley Forum are committed to generating knowledge and advancing practice by developing insights and practical guidance to help organisations to thrive in a changing world. Research workshop dates are confirmed for 28 June and 27 November at Henley Business School riverside campus and, of course, research findings will be shared with Network members.
Please get in touch with Alison Carter, IES principal research fellow, for more information: [email protected].
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