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Jayne Price on making work work better (CAL137, S8E2)
Episode 228th January 2026 • Changing Academic Life • Geraldine Fitzpatrick
00:00:00 01:13:15

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Jayne Price is all about making work work better. She is the Transformation Director and Head of Continuous Improvement at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). Jayne discusses her journey to her current role in UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and the strategies she employs to foster human-centered, purpose-led change in the organization. She emphasizes the importance of leadership that is grounded in trust, accountability, and psychological safety, and the role of experimental and agile approaches in driving systemic transformation. Jayne also shares practical examples, including the implementation of Holacracy and continuous improvement initiatives. The conversation highlights the challenges and successes in transforming our traditionally bureaucratic research culture into a more effective and innovative environment. Jayne offers valuable insights for leaders at all levels and showcases the value of empowering teams to do their best work.

00:29 Introduction to the Episode

03:41 Introducing Jayne and her Career Journey

06:52 Understanding Project versus Program Management

07:59 From Change to Transformation

12:14 Implementing Experiments and Measuring Change

14:10 Challenges in the Academic and Research Sector

19:54 Innovative Approaches to Leadership and Management

27:21 Designing Alternative Promotion Routes

29:21 Challenges to Identity and Developing Leaders

35:50 Moving from 'I' to 'We' as a Leader

37:53 The Mindset to Move to 'We'

40:13 Humility, Vulnerability and Authenticity in Leadership

43:26 Shadow Sides, Blind Spots and Experimenting with Different Approaches

47:31 Starting to See the Benefits

50:53 Creating Workplaces For People to Flourish

53:04 The Holacracy Experiment - Creating Clarity

55:42 Doing Meetings Differently

59:22 Empowerment and Autonomy with Accountability

01:01:47 Corporate Rebels and Other Inspirational Resources

01:06:31 The Critical Importance of Leadership Buy-In

01:08:01 Everyone Can Choose Leadership Behaviours at Any Level

01:09:51 Encouragement for Change Agents

01:11:39 Outro

About Jayne:

Jayne Price https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayne-price71/

UKRI https://www.ukri.org

STFC https://www.ukri.org/councils/stfc/

Related links:

Cynefin framework for making sense of complexity

Corporate Rebels

Diederick Janse and Marc-Peter Pijper from Corporate Rebels supported the Holocracy Trials

GlassFrog: “the cutting-edge self-management platform that empowers teams with clarity and autonomy”

Tuff Leadership Training

Books:

Aaron Dignan, Brave New Work, Portfolio, 2019

Daniel Pink, Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us, Riverhead Books, 2011

Joost Minnaar and Pim de Morree, Corporate Rebels: Make Work More Fun, 2020

Jon Alexander, Citizens: Why the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us, Simon and Schuster, 2023

Diederick Janse & Marco Bogers, Getting Started With Holacracy: Upgrading Your Team's Productivity, 2020, AbeBooks

Robin Sharma, The Leader Who Had No Title, Free Press, 2010.

Harvard Business Review

Related CAL Podcasts:

Fostering psychological safety in research environments 30 Oct 24

Elizabeth Churchill on creating culture, leading teams, loving challenges - she talks about Cynefin Framework ~6:30 mins

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