In an effort to gain insights into change management concepts, tools and frameworks suitable for the HEI environment to drive cultural change, we spoke to Jochen Barth, Group Lead Networks and Transfer (smart3) at the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology.
INTRO
What role does culture play in universities’ ability to become more open and innovative actors connected to their regions? Organisational culture impacts everything from performance to the way people work together. Promoting and implementing cultural change amongst academics, therefore, is no less important than in any other sector. However, most of HEIs’ efforts are targeted at either creating strategies focused on external engagement and entrepreneurship. This can be through the establishment of innovation centres, or the introduction of specific personnel and offices responsible for partnering, knowledge / technology transfer and entrepreneurship. While these support structures are valuable, addressing cultural change is crucial for organisations to take full advantage of them.
ARGUMENT
Before joining Fraunhofer, Jochen Barth led the Service Science Factory at Maastricht University and has years of experience in organisational development and change management in the private and HEI sector. Below are five key things he believes HEI leaders should be aware of when instigating cultural change towards more external engagement and entrepreneurialism:
1 – Aligning culture with strategy. The strategic value of culture is often misunderstood. Culture should be developed based on the strategy of the organisation. Often these are seen separately, and culture is something that “just develops somehow”, while it should be steered explicitly to best serve the strategy.
2 – Ensuring transparency and commitment from top management. Presenting a clear vision and integrating those ideas coming from the bottom up is critical. Imagine a “circular waterfall” (stream coming from the top, going down, and up again); this wave is something organisations have to manage. Ideas coming from the bottom up can be difficult to harvest in large universities, therefore it’s important to find and involve people that are interested in being part of the change from the beginning and allow an open feedback process.
3 – Identifying cultural ambassadors. Cultural ambassadors can help organisations build communities of change if given a mandate and resources. “These are people in the organisation who are already showing the right attitude and behaviour. Use them and give them a key role in the change program,” says Jochen.
4 – Defining what goals are the achievement of change. It is important to connect change to results and make people aware of relevant achievements. Some may be quick wins, and some long-term goals. For a leader, it is important to connect things that are happening to the key messages of the desired change. For example, “We do this because we agreed that it is important to… This is a very good example of where we are already improving… etc”.
5 – Making clear what does not need to change. Clearly distinguish and communicate about what is valuable and works well; not everything needs changing. “There are always things that go well, and it should be made explicit”. In that way, people are not overwhelmed by the process.
CONCLUSION
Cultural change is a lengthy process and showcasing practical case studies is an effective way to illustrate success and get people on board. Most of all, it’s important to focus on the positive examples, celebrate small wins and be flexible.