There will be times in your career when you feel a strong urge to do something that’s not in your job description. We are all, to an extent, governed by our roles, institutional rules and organisational protocols.
However, seeking forgiveness rather than permission is sometimes the best and quickest way to forge organisational change. Staff who are seen as change-makers enjoy a higher institutional profile than those who operate within the rules.
A few years ago, partly in response to the gender divide in management roles within the institution and also due to the ‘progression without process’ of a number of male staff, I convened a meeting with some senior female colleagues to explore how we could promote the career interests of female staff. We decided to establish ‘Inspiring Women’, a series of lunchtime talks designed to encourage and motivate. Any staff member could attend- but all speakers would be women.
A week later our first event was agreed; an informal network of female staff calling in favours to source a good location; word of mouth ensuring plenty of staff were aware of the event – and ‘Inspiring Women’ was launched with no institutional publicity, no budget and no formal authorisation. The inaugural event was a great success with attendees asking when the next event would be.
We have secured some top-notch female speakers; a mixture of alumni, internal senior staff and high-profile external speakers. Each event has seen an increase in numbers attending. Since then other staff have wanted to become associated with the programme so we have never been short of offer of help, for speakers- or of valuable little black book contacts.
Thanks to our (female) Provost, the initiative has since received financial support for refreshments and a formal channel to promote events and a webpage.
I didn’t seek permission; what I did was simply the right response to a situation at the right time.
There are of course some caveats to bear in mind before rushing to implement innovative institutional improvements:
- Will implementing the change reflect well on your Line Manager? If you are fortunate enough to have an enlightened manager who gives you enough rope to hang yourself with then you will probably pull it off- especially if the response from others is positive as s/he can enjoy basking in the reflected glory as your Department and organisation will look good.
- Will making the change be going against institutional strategy? Be careful that you aren’t seen as a trouble-maker. There’s a fine line between making a positive difference and sticking two fingers up to senior management. It helps have buy- in from at least one well-respected senior colleague.
- If you are able to demonstrate a positive impact on the organisational bottom line through your initiative- whether that’s a quantitative or qualitative impact- so much the better.
I took action when something mattered to me and it aligned with my values and, fortunately, with the institutional direction of travel. As a result I have become involved in a broader range of related activities. I put myself forward for the institutional Gender Task Force. I volunteered to became a ‘Sprint’ trainer- a female student personal and professional development programme. As a result of the programme’s success, I lobbied to become a ‘Springboard’ trainer so that I could provide the equivalent female staff programme, using institutional salary and role data to make the case.
What started off as one idea, evolved to shape my role and what I’m able to contribute at an institutional level.
Sometimes we may be reticent about running with an idea; we can be conditioned to play by the rules rather than break them. However, demonstrating initiative can unlock many interesting professional development opportunities, especially where these align with your personal values. By channelling your energy into things that matter to you, you can make your own role more rewarding and play a greater role in contributing to organisational success.
There are four kinds of people in the world: people who watch things happen, people to whom things happen, people who don’t know what’s happening, and people who make things happen.
Anon
