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Creating Positive Cultures: Stories from the archive
Episode 6 • 14th November 2024 • Changing Academic Life • Geraldine Fitzpatrick
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Continuing our culture theme, I revisit past podcast conversations that explore how to foster positive research environments and cultures. We hear from people such as Elizabeth Adams, Tanita Casci, Jolanta Burke, Janet Reed, Alex Taylor, Kia Hook, and Lindsay Oades, who share their experiences and insights on creating a sense of belonging and collegiality within academic settings. Their stories emphasize recognizing individual strengths, promoting transparency, celebrating achievements, and the importance of supportive management practices for bringing out the best in people. Hopefully you will take away practical ideas and inspiration, and recognise the importance of both micro-actions and collective efforts in creating supportive, transparent, and inclusive cultures.

00:00 Intro

00:29 Episode introduction - fostering good cultures

03:48 Glasgow Uni's Research Culture Awards

07:51 Jolanta Burke on positive organisations

09:53 Janet Read on flexibility and supporting people with young families

11:47 Janet Read on know your team

12:32 Janet Read on bringing out the best in people

16:14 Alex Taylor on the power of the collective

22:25 Kia Höök on Fika

25:50 Lindsay Oades on autonomy, rationales and leeting people they are valued

29:58 Wrapping up

33:18 Outro

34:05 Repeating what Lindsay said

Related Links

Past episodes used in this curated episode:

Tanita Casci and Elizabeth Adams on supporting, rewarding and celebrating a positive collegial research culture (from May 2021)

Jolanta Burke on burnout, harmonious passion, positive workplaces & helping others (from Nov 2017)

Janet Read on charm bracelets, finish tape & the work to be a complete academic (from May 2018) 

Alex Taylor on research at the boundaries, moving from industry to academia, the labour of academia & the power of the collective (from July 2019)

Kia Höök on challenges of success & value of slowing down and re-connecting (from Feb 2017) 

Lindsay Oades on academic wellbeing, connecting to strengths, meaning and purpose, and not taking the system too seriously (from Sept 2018)

And others you can search for on Changing Academic Life who also talk about culture (among many others): Sarah Davies (part 2), Mark Reed, Karen Stroobants, Elizabeth Churchill.



This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

Transcripts

Geri:

Welcome to Changing Academic Life.

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:

I'm Geraldine Fitzpatrick and this is

a podcast series where academics and

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:

others share their stories, provide

ideas and provoke discussions about what

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:

we can do individually and collectively

to change academic life for the better.

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:

What are the everyday sorts of activities

and interactions that we can have in our

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workplaces and in our research groups.

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That contribute to creating great

research environments in which people

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can really do great work together.

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In this episode, we'll continue

on this theme of research

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environments and research culture.

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And we'll do this by revisiting some

snippets of past podcast conversations

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from way back in the archive where people

have shared what they've been doing to

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foster a sense of belonging and to create

collegial, supportive research cultures.

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Hearing these diverse voices

and different approaches might

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:

provide some food for thought.

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And of course you can always go back

and listen to the full conversations

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with the people that I've included here.

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And I'll include links to their episodes

on the webpage for this episode.

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And at the end I will also

point to yet more conversations

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that I haven't included.

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That also talk about culture

if you were looking for more.

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Across the snippets.

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I think you'll recognize a lot of

the themes that Nina from the Danish

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young academy identified across

their research environment proposals.

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And so we'll hear things like

the importance of recognizing

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everyone as an individual.

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And that can just be their own individual

preferences and styles of working.

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It can be recognizing the particular

strengths that they bring, recognizing

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their particular life circumstances

and how they can be supported in that.

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We'll also hear about being very

explicit about rewarding and celebrating

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both effort and achievements.

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We'll hear about creating situations.

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In which people can gather and meet and

talk and just connect in different ways.

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Well, so I hear about the importance

of transparency and clarity

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around roles and expectations.

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And also being realistic about

what you can offer to people.

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And all of these sorts of things

go towards fostering a sense

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of collegiality and community.

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And creating environments where

people really do feel seen, heard.

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Valued and respected.

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All really key aspects for

creating a sense of belonging.

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And that sense of belonging is also a key

underpinning for what we talked about last

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episode, in terms of psychological safety.

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So the first extract I'd like to

replay is from a:

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with Elizabeth Adams and Tanita

Casci from Glasgow university.

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At Glasgow university, they had also

implemented an awards program to

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celebrate good research cultures.

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And so they'll talk about

that program a little bit.

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And also I've collated some where they

talked about including collegiality

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as a criteria for promotion.

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Elizabeth: So we introduced

the Research Culture Awards.

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maybe two years ago.

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We're on our third iteration now.

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And the purpose of the awards was

really to showcase and highlight good

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practice or things that people were

doing a little bit differently to try

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to bring about a positive research

culture to run mentoring programs or

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early career researcher networks, or

I think, supporting people to think

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about open research or just new ways

of doing research that's maybe a little

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bit progressive and something that other

people can learn from and to celebrate.

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I think the important thing for me is

that the awards aren't just sitting there

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on their own, because I think if they

were just out there on their own it would

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feel quite tokenistic, like that we once

a year we celebrate the four things that

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people have done of being nice to each

other, which, and it's not about that at

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all That's one strand of a bigger plan.

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So the fact that we've introduced

collegiality into our professorial

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promotions criteria is really, really

important in sending the message

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that this is important in all ways.

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And the awards is just one way

of highlighting good practice,

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but also it's expected.

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that you will be collegiate in your

teaching and in your research and your

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knowledge exchange and all the different

things that you do and that you'll support

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others um and that by doing so um research

is going to be better for everyone.

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Tanita: We try as much as possible

to convey the idea that culture,

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as Elizabeth has said, is the

vehicle to better research.

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It's not being nice to each other.

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We, you know, I hope we are.

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It's actually integral.

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to the process of developing good quality

research that stands the test of time,

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that actually, you know, pushes the

boundaries of knowledge, improves society,

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and creates a welcoming environment in

which talented staff will be attracted

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to, uh, and can develop within.

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And we, we think very much

about the academic output being

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publications, societal impact.

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But I would add to that, the people

we develop, the skills that we

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put out into the world, the next

generation of academics that we

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develop, that needs to be a crucial

pillar of the academic endeavor.

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And so we should be asking every

relevant, important opportunity,

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how an academic has supported

the careers of those around them.

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And if someone hasn't taken the

opportunity to give that back and to

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create that sense of community and

camaraderie and, you know, that peer

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group that supports each other and

what good quality research is, Then

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they're missing an important part of

essentially what I think should be there,

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a fundamental aspect of their role.

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Geri: And isn't that a

lovely challenge to us all.

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To think about what are the

particular ways that we can give

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back to contribute to creating that

sense of community and comraderie.

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To supporting one another.

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And that if we're not doing that, We're

missing a really fundamental aspect of the

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academic endeavor, because as Tanita says

at the end, It's the people we develop.

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That's a crucial pillar of that endeavor

for the benefit of good science.

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Tanita also made the comment about,

it's not just about being nice to

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one another for its own sake that it

actually is what enables good science.

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And this theme is also picked up on,

in a conversation with Jolanta Burke.

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Who was a positive psychologist and she

was working at university of east London

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when we recorded this interview in 2017.

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And in this snippet, she's

reflecting on this whole notion

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of positive organizations.

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And she also talks

about the importance of.

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I guess what being nice enables in terms

of bringing out the best in ourselves

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and bringing out the best in one

another and working to our strengths.

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A theme that we'll also hear towards

the end, in one of the final snippets.

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Jolanta: So I think positive

organizations to me are organizations

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that understand the importance of.

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Working on people's strengths, on

creating an environment that has a nice

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balance of, you know, creating positive

emotions, but also negative emotions.

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They are really important in many

situations, but understanding this rather

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than being, limited in your views and

maybe focus on one theory or another.

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I think that's what's important and

we definitely need to come out, go out

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to organizations with that message.

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And unfortunately, the positive in

positive psychology sometimes is

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stopping us from doing it because the

managers, leaders would straight away,

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say, you know what we don't need.

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We know that positivity is nice

and happiness and well being,

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but this is not what it is about.

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And it is not about happiness.

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Positive organization is

about high performance.

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It's about getting the best

out of people and for people to

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get the best out of each other.

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Geri: So getting the best out of people

and for people to get the best out of each

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other, that we can do that for each other.

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So this leads nicely to the next snippet.

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I want to share with you here.

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Which provides some practical

examples for creating those

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positive cultures of care, I guess.

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And this is from a conversation

that I recorded with Janet Reed.

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Who's a professor in child

computer interaction at the

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university of central Lancashire.

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We've recorded this back in

:

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airport if I remember correctly.

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So in this first part, Janet shares

how important it is to understand the

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situation that people in, for example,

people with young families and how to

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really support them in having a good

home life, as well as a good work life.

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Janet: and we have these

conversations in our group.

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Which is nice, that's why groups are good.

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Most of my group have got young

families, so, I appreciate they want

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to go home and do sports day, they

want to pick the kids up three days

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a week, or whatever, and, Whatever

situation they find themselves in.

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Um, I've now got young

grandchildren, sometimes I'm

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called upon to look after them.

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Sometimes I just want to go

and have coffee with one of my

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daughters, and I think that's

nice, you can do those things.

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So, when my two younger ones

were little, The older ones were

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old enough to notice things.

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And they once said to me, Mum,

when you're working at home, the

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children, the children, I mean this

was the nine year old, you know,

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talking about the four year old.

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The children don't know if

you're being a mum or not.

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Geri: Oh, goodness.

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Janet: That was very perceptive.

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And I've taken this to my team and I've

said to my young team, who are young

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families, who've got young families,

I'll say to them, guys, if you're

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going to work at home, don't work

at home when you're being a parent.

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You know, it's not fair on your young

children to do this, because my

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children told me this and, they'll

say I'm working at home because they

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think it's convenient to work at home

while they're looking after the kids.

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Dream on, you're looking after the

kids, you're not working at home.

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And so I think that's an interesting

conversation I think if you've got

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a An understanding manager, they will

understand that if you are working

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at home for seven hours and you've got

young children at home for seven hours,

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you're probably doing two hours worth

of work, and there's only a certain type

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of work you can do in that environment.

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Geri: I love the respect and understanding

that this shows in recognizing the

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situations that other people are in and.

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Just having that honest conversation

about what your expectations are and

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that it's okay to put family first.

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Janet talks later on about also

getting to know people and the

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ways in which they're different.

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So a short snippet on that from Janet.

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Janet: Other people can

never work to deadline.

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You know, I have PhD students who never

worked in, you know, they, they wanna

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have everything ready six days before.

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And I found that bizarre, I

think, what's wrong with you?

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But you have to also understand that

the people around you, and, and one of

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the things about teamwork, you know,

in our team, you have to understand

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each other's team practices, and you

have to understand how your colleagues,

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Geri: how you're going to negotiate those

different preferences together, and how

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Janet: they want to work

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Geri: Janet also had some lovely things

to say about how to be a manager who

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can help bring out the best in people.

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And she starts on this topic

by reflecting on watching her

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daughter in a management role.

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Janet: So one of my daughters is

a manager in a retail company.

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She manages the team and

she is such a good manager.

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And I never understood

management until I watched her.

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Watched her, as in not standing there, but

watched her as a human doing management.

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And that's active person management, and

she gets the best out of those people.

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And I think to myself, why have I not

had the luxury of that kind of management?

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And that's a bit rubbish.

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Even her recruitment processes.

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Really robust.

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Yeah.

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Or appraisal processes are

really robust and in university

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you don't get any of that.

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It's just kind of all a bit ad hoc.

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Yeah.

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Yes.

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You'd have thought the least you

would do is try and not manage as

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in manage, but it's the fact that

it's, it's the encouragement, the

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understanding individual needs.

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It's those key things.

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You encourage, you understand the

needs, you motivate, you say, well done.

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Yes, you say well done.

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You say well done.

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Wouldn't it be nice to get

a well done sometimes, Sam?

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Oh, well done, Janet.

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You know, the other day I actually

emailed my boss and I said, Hey, I've

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had a great day, by the way, today.

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Two papers accepted, one

funded bid submitted on a roll.

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Oh, yay.

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He did actually e mail back and

say, great, that was nice, you know.

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But, you want a little bit of

encouragement from time to time, you know.

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Indeed, yeah.

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What we have, we have this finish tape,

you know, for Children's Sports Days.

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You know, on the run, they

run across the finish line.

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So I bought this finish tape.

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And anyone who finishes something that

they've really been struggling with,

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they can come to me and get a finish

tape and we tape it across our doors.

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. And then we had certificates.

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We've got, like, certificates

of rosettes and things.

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We have, like, rosettes for great work.

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That's funny.

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I just think they're so, so important.

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But universities don't do this, do they?

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. .

Geri: And do universities don't often do this, do they?

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But what, what are universities here?

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I mean, universities

really are ultimately us.

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They're the people.

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And I think what Janet has

pointed to so powerfully.

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Is how important just

these little things are.

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So she says, just to repeat what she said.

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It's those key things.

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You encourage, you understand the

needs you motivate, you say, well done.

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Wouldn't it be nice to

get a well done sometimes.

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And so it's just these really little micro

moments of connection and encouragement.

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That can make all the

difference to people.

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And I love the example of using a

finish tape that they hang up when

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they've overcome something that

they've been struggling with, or

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little moments of celebrations.

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And.

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And gestures and rituals

like their certificates.

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Small actions that can have a big impact.

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That all contribute to building this

culture of collegiality and support.

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So I want to move on to the

next conversation snippet.

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And this is with Alex Taylor.

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Who's a reader in the center for

human computer interaction design

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at city, university of London.

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And we recorded this

in his office in:

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Alex particularly talks about

the power of the collective.

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And he talks about that in

a variety of different ways

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throughout the conversation.

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And here, I just pick up on some

parts in which he talks about bringing

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people together, just through things

like creating meeting groups or the

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reading groups or the different types

of meetings that they might have.

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Again just creating those opportunities

for people to gather and talk and share.

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Alex: and of course, you know, important,

particularly important to me were the

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early career researchers, and that, as you

say, they feel totally vulnerable because

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they don't have the position to say no.

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In fact, their careers depend on

saying yes, and I just want to

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create the opportunities for them

to come here or to work in place.

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You know, my, my only advice in it.

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Impoverished advice is to say,

find the right people that will

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support you, that won't subject

you to those sorts of pressures.

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And that allow you to flourish.

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But of course, that's,

that's a non trivial thing.

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recommendation.

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Geri: But we can all be part

of creating those spaces.

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Yeah.

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Just thinking back, um, from the

beginning of this sort of university

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position to now, and you talked

about learning, not that you don't

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have to be good at everything.

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And so what would be some of the

sort of key other lessons that you've.

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learned

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?

Alex: I've said this a few times, but I, I don't think there's any easy answers.

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And I think this sense of having

people with you, um, and creating an

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environment in which everyone can be the

best that they can be, not the worst.

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Not the worst and I think, again,

that sounds incredibly grand, but

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I think it gets done in small ways.

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Um, and, you know, we've really,

within the centre, enlivened these

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senses of meetings, not just for

meetings sake, but for spaces in

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which we allow thinking to flourish.

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Geri: So how do you do that practically?

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Alex: So I think it is about getting

the right people to set the groundwork

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for these spaces of, of thinking.

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So in our writing group, we've

just hired a new, lecturers, Sarah

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Heitlinger, who, has, has been doing

some great sort of feminist inspired

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work and she's really trying to set

in place, uh, a turn to the writing

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group, much like Ali Black spoke about.

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, I have a reading group and it's about,

you know, I'm designing that reading group

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to think both about obviously content

that's relevant to our students, our

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PhD students and postdocs, et cetera,

but also that starts to introduce, um,

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these layers of thinking and criticality.

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And so, as we started

off saying earlier on.

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These modes of being critical are

not somehow in parallel to what we

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do, they're part of, they furnish

our intellectual capacities.

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And so it's, it's letting

those things live together.

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Um, Simone Stumpf, one of

our other senior lecturers,

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is running a research group.

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And, you know, everyone has a voice.

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Everyone has the capacity to bring work.

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Um, and I think it's just great.

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And these things, of

course, all take time.

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Well,

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Geri: I was just going to ask,

how do you get people together?

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Alex: Yeah, not everyone comes.

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I think you have to kind of work from

where people are able to make these.

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And, so in my own reading

group, I don't enforce it.

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And different weeks, we

have different people.

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And that's why, in a way, I think it's

about giving a sense of the environment

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we're in and what we're open to.

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Geri: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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So would these groups happen

each of them every week or

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is there some sort of rhythm?

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Alex: My reading group's every other week.

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Yeah.

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the writing group is every week.

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It's a two hour block.

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Mm.

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Mm.

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You bring something, um, and we kind of

talk about through what, what we're doing.

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I think we're thinking also of

having writing retreats where, you

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know, there's a different emphasis.

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Um, the research group is once a

week, we have a once a week seminar.

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And again, you know, each of these things

on their own could, could be trivial.

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But collectively, who you ask to come

and talk in a seminar series, who you

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read, what you write about together,

um, all those things start to add up.

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Yeah.

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, And set.

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these conditions for what

we're in business about.

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Geri: I can see lots of ways that

these would be really useful in creating

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spaces for people just to connect.

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Yeah.

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For learning from each other,

from being supported, helping

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the intellectual endeavor.

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I mean, there's just

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Alex: To make that possible for people

and to, for, especially for those who

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are new to an academic environment.

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life to realize that there

are places like that.

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Um.

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Geri: And they're all very collective.

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You know, everyone's got

something to contribute.

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Absolutely.

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And conveying that message.

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Yeah, I

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Alex: really am, you know, I'm

thrilled to be part of a, a center

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and an organization that, wants it.

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that wills people to have a voice.

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Geri: So some lovely examples

there of creating the spaces in

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which people can come together.

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And I love that emphasis on

enabling people to have a voice.

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The next one is a short

example from Kia Hook.

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Kia is a professor in interaction

design at KTH in Stockholm, Sweden.

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And we've recorded this in person in 2017.

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And Kia, will talk about a particular

practice that they have in Sweden

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that you may well have heard of.

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Called Fika.

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And she will explain this and,

and their different sort of

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approach in how they encourage

people to come together for Fika.

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Kia: Oh yeah, yeah.

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We had a very, very strong culture,

very much like you come to the seminars

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and we had, you know, the Swedish fika.

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So, uh, it's coffee, coffee breaks.

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So we had one enforced fika every week on

Wednesdays where everybody had to come.

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Geri: and

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Kia: drink coffee and

sit around and socialize.

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We call it the enforced socializing.

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And it's so funny because I

would walk through the center.

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This is an open office landscape.

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I would walk through the center

and say, okay, now it's three

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:

o'clock and it's Wednesday.

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It's enforced socializing.

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You come now.

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And people were, yeah, yeah, yeah.

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But I just need to, you know.

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And then they would come, and then I

couldn't make them leave, because they

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:

were all like, blub, blub, blub, blub, you

know, talking about their research, uh,

387

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and so these things are super important.

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So we did that, we did joint trips,

we would hold full day meetings at

389

:

a partner location, we would hold a

meeting at Ericsson or, or Nokia or

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whatever, you know, so we really worked

hard on, uh, making this one center

391

:

Geri: So again, another example of very

deliberately creating the spaces and

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opportunities for people to get together.

393

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And, and it also reflects quite

a different approach to what we

394

:

heard Alex talk about in terms of

encouraging and making people attend.

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And so I come to the final snippet

that I want to replay here.

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And that's from a conversation

with Lindsay Oades.

397

:

Lindsey is a professor at the university

of Melbourne and director of the

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:

center for positive psychology there.

399

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And this is a conversation that we

had in:

400

:

the positive psychology conference.

401

:

What Lindsay starts off

reflecting on is the importance

402

:

of autonomy for many academics.

403

:

But also the parallel importance

of helping create clarity through

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:

providing rationale for people.

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It's that finding that balance

between letting people be totally

406

:

free to run off and do what they want.

407

:

Versus micromanaging.

408

:

And so that sort of a clarity

of roles and expectations and

409

:

transparency is really important.

410

:

And he also goes on to talk about,

people not being dumb and that

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:

people really want to feel valued.

412

:

And that it's important that we tell

people what we value about them.

413

:

And to help them recognize what

their own strengths are and to help

414

:

them be able to shape their own

work with the term job crafting.

415

:

Now, during this conversation, this really

interesting part of the conversation.

416

:

Unfortunately, we did have a

problem with Lindsay's microphone.

417

:

It fell down a bit and neither

of us saw it early enough.

418

:

So see how you go understanding

what he says in his own words.

419

:

And if you can't understand it,

stay to the end of the podcast.

420

:

And I will repeat verbatim what

he said there so that you don't

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:

miss out on his lovely insights.

422

:

So this is Lindsay.

423

:

Lindsay: The academics also,

they love autonomy and, but

424

:

they also love a rationale.

425

:

So, self determination theory, for

example, will tell us, give people

426

:

autonomy but also give them a rationale

for what, so autonomy doesn't mean

427

:

anything goes, it means, like, for

example, we got, we got some big research

428

:

income targets we got to hit, um, that's

an external thing, we got to hit it,

429

:

it's expected, um, so it's, here's our

challenge, we got to hit this, we got

430

:

to hit this research income target,

you That's not really that negotiable.

431

:

We've got to get these we've got to get

in this zone with this level of staff

432

:

This is what's expected How do we do

it and then let the smart people do it

433

:

don't come in and tell them and that

they've got to have micromanaged bits

434

:

and pieces And some of them the whinge

they'll say but it at it But there's a

435

:

rationale for why they've got to do it

and where, how they'll usually find a

436

:

way, um, because they're not dumb people.

437

:

Geri: So this, this points to you as a

leader or a director of center needing

438

:

very good people skills and being

prepared to take the time and having your

439

:

patience that you talked about earlier

440

:

And in part of responding to this,

he talks about a strategy document.

441

:

They have that helps people

see where they fit in.

442

:

And this is also where the audio

quality starts to deteriorate a little

443

:

bit more, as I said, see how you go.

444

:

Lindsay: And I've really been

pushing the strategy document so

445

:

that people can see where they

fit in where we're trying to go.

446

:

Um, and that takes time.

447

:

It does.

448

:

It actually takes a lot of time.

449

:

Geri: I'm always interested in turning

our research back on ourselves.

450

:

So if you think about what you would say

to workplaces, if you're doing well being

451

:

in the workplace consultancy externally,

And then you turn the lens back into

452

:

your own centre or academia generally.

453

:

What are the things that we're

not doing well or you're not doing

454

:

well or whatever that we would

be telling other people to do?

455

:

Lindsay: It sounds really trite,

but the evidence bears it out.

456

:

Fundamentally, people at

work often feel undervalued.

457

:

In general or by their immediate boss.

458

:

Geri: Yeah.

459

:

Lindsay: So simple things about what

do you actually value about your staff?

460

:

And have you told them and in

what medium have you told them?

461

:

So that, that's probably number one.

462

:

Yeah.

463

:

And number two would be the

stuff we've been talking about

464

:

too before about strengths.

465

:

Have you actually had

conversations with staff Oh.

466

:

About their role in the job

description and how it can be crafted

467

:

so they can use their strengths

more than they currently are.

468

:

And that might take time as well.

469

:

It's not, because there are

organizational constraints that, you

470

:

know, you've got to deliver this or

we've got to get this class taught or

471

:

we've got to generate this income or

we've got to get that contract done.

472

:

So right this moment,

we might not be able to.

473

:

get you exactly fully there but at least

having a conversation so there's a plan

474

:

of how it's going to migrate there um and

that those conversations are important

475

:

because again with academics if there's a

rationale and there's been a conversation

476

:

they'll probably accept it for a while

yes if there's a good intent yes yeah

477

:

um so there's a couple of things here

that's just that that that Enabling

478

:

them to feel valued and then enabling

them to use this strengths and mold

479

:

their work, or job craft their work.

480

:

Geri: And so I love that, I love that

valuing because that talks about that

481

:

issue that you mentioned earlier about not

getting any local validation and, but that

482

:

we can still do that as managers as with

anyone that we work with, whether you're

483

:

the director of a center or project team,

or even just a colleague, we could do

484

:

that colleague to colleague, couldn't we?

485

:

And now this is me back in real time.

486

:

I really loved those two simple

things that he talked about.

487

:

One is, what do you actually value about

the people that you're working with?

488

:

And have you told them.

489

:

Have you told them.

490

:

And the second one was having the

conversations that are about their

491

:

strengths and how you can help

people shape their work, to better

492

:

fit their strengths, where they're

going to do a much better job.

493

:

And it's also a way of bringing

out the best in people that

494

:

connects to what Janet said and,

and what others have talked about.

495

:

So I hope these snippets from different

people over the years might give some

496

:

food for thought about just different ways

that you might contribute to creating the

497

:

sort of environments that you want to see.

498

:

Recognizing that we all

have a part to play.

499

:

We can all make a difference.

500

:

And they don't need to be grand gestures.

501

:

They can just be little everyday things.

502

:

Uh, small actions can

have a really big impact.

503

:

And go a long way towards

creating cultures that are

504

:

collegial and supportive.

505

:

And then enable us to

do great work together.

506

:

And the snippets that I presented

here from way back in the archive.

507

:

And so if you're interested in the scene

to more conversations, Uh, that also pick

508

:

up on notions of culture and creating

great work environments in different ways.

509

:

I can recommend a couple of others that

you might put on your listening list.

510

:

So Sarah Davies in part two

of my conversation with her.

511

:

Sarah talked a lot about creating

cultures of care and things like setting

512

:

expectations, as well as acknowledging

the work, especially the sort of

513

:

invisible work that people do that

go to contributing to great cultures.

514

:

Mark Reed in the conversation with

him, he talked about building a

515

:

compassionate culture and then

talked about what that meant.

516

:

Karen Stroobants in my conversation

with her talked about culture.

517

:

More generally.

518

:

And in particular about how

we need change of culture.

519

:

As a key part of how we shift

the emphasis on just having, for

520

:

example, high impact journal.

521

:

Papers as the only output that we value.

522

:

And that we need to change that.

523

:

And Elizabeth Churchill.

524

:

Also talked about what they were

doing at Google when she worked

525

:

there towards creating more inclusive

cultures and in particular, she

526

:

focused on building a team culture.

527

:

So there are some other pointers that

you may want to go back and listen to.

528

:

And gather more ideas.

529

:

And I invite you just to

leave this thinking about.

530

:

What might be one or two small actions

that you can do right now, right today.

531

:

That contributes to creating

the culture that you want.

532

:

You can find the summary notes,

a transcript, and related

533

:

links for this podcast on www.

534

:

changingacademiclife.

535

:

com.

536

:

You can also subscribe to

Changing Academic Life on iTunes,

537

:

Spotify, and Google Podcasts.

538

:

And I'm really hoping that we can

widen the conversation about how

539

:

we can do academia differently.

540

:

And you can contribute to this by rating

the podcast and also giving feedback.

541

:

And if something connected with you,

please consider sharing this podcast

542

:

with your colleagues together.

543

:

We can make change happen.

544

:

As promised, I'm going to read out what

I could transcribe from what Lindsay

545

:

said when we had that microphone drop.

546

:

So you may remember that he'd been

talking about just letting smart people

547

:

get on and do it and you don't have to

tell them they have to have micromanaged

548

:

parts that'll usually find a way.

549

:

So he continues saying, You have to do

this both individually and as a group.

550

:

And I've been trying to push this strategy

document so people can see where they fit.

551

:

into it and where we want to go.

552

:

And that takes time.

553

:

I raised some question then about

turning the lens back onto academia.

554

:

And he says, it sounds really trite,

but the evidence bears it out.

555

:

Fundamentally, people at work

often feel undervalued in general

556

:

or by their immediate boss.

557

:

So simple things about what do

you actually value about your

558

:

staff and have you told them?

559

:

And in what medium have you told them?

560

:

So that's number one.

561

:

And number two would be the stuff we

talked about before about strengths.

562

:

Have you actually had conversations

with staff about their role, and the

563

:

job description, and how it can be

crafted, so that they can use their

564

:

strengths more than they currently are?

565

:

And that might take time as well,

because there are organizational

566

:

constraints, that you have to deliver

this, or get this class taught, or

567

:

we've got to generate that income, or

we've got to get that contract done.

568

:

So, while at this moment we can't get

you exactly fully there, at least we

569

:

have that conversation, so there's a

plan of how it's going to migrate there.

570

:

And those conversations are really

important, because again with academics,

571

:

if there is a rationale and there has been

a conversation, they'll probably accept

572

:

it for a while if there's good intent.

573

:

So there's a couple of things there,

enabling them to feel valued, and

574

:

enabling them to use their strengths

and mould their work, job craft

575

:

their work from a strength space.

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