The tipping point of change
After five months in my new job as a coordinator of innovation and development for the Ghent University library I finally have the feeling that some pieces of the puzzle are falling into place in a way that I can be the best version of myself to work on the ‘generous’ ambitions of the university. A year ago, in a pre-corona world someone sent me a message about a vacancy that I was not aware of because the university community was not immediately the place that I had in mind for myself working as a civil servant. With a lot of challenging projects on my agenda as a self-employed consultant, it was more than an overnight decision for me having been happy for almost 10 years as the CEO of my own one-woman company. So why did I actually change jobs? That question still keeps me awake sometimes but it has become clear to me that the most important reason for doing it was right. I wanted to take the opportunity to work in a large organization (yes, I have 15,000 colleagues) where the outside world turns much faster than the world inside. In this setting it is really hard to make change happen.
Innovation or change is not an end in itself
Of course, innovation or change is not an end in itself. But universities, like other organizations, face the same challenges of adapting to expectations in a complex and constantly changing world. Despite the fact that I am working as a digital strategist I am not a solutionist thinker about technology. Technology in itself is never the only instrument for change. That said, technology can be a driver or catalyst for change. But there is always more involved than technology.
My 30/30/30/10 rule to make change happen
In large organizations with a long history, it is a big challenge to find an angle where you can start to change things on a deeper level than implementing another software tool, designing a new interface or adding features to existing tools. My way of tackling this challenge is all about finding a startup spirit as a tipping point for change. This means that you need to work with different horizons while combining focuses with an artificial time management rule such as 30/30/30/10. It’s artificial because in reality everything is mixed up, but generally speaking my working time is divided as follows:
- 30%: busy with things that need to be done to run the business as usual
- 30%: working with a startup mindset as a translator between today and the future
- 30%: communicating with people (online, in meeting rooms, at conferences or in coffee bars) in order to have a stream of input and feedback
- 10%: reading and answering emails (which I constantly try to move to one of the other three categories)
The common thread in all of this is a communication and coaching mindset, because nothing can be done alone: all work that has to be done is teamwork. If you do something on your own, you can’t speak about change or innovation. If there is no intense collaboration in interdisciplinary and cross-organizational teams it is impossible to handle all the challenges in an increasingly complex world.
Room for change as a minimal requirement
Change is never a big bang - it is always a process with communication as a key element. Communicating is time-consuming; this is why change can feel slow while it is too fast for others. And even with a 30/30/30/10 rule, there is no magic formula for innovation. The only condition is room for change. That is why I am happy in my new work environment. The ambitions are high, the challenges are big but there is room for change and I am surrounded by smart colleagues and we’re making work of strong partnerships. Oh, and have I already mentioned that I have an office in one of the world’s most beautiful buildings?
