We all live in a world of constant change. Change impacts both our personal and professional lives, often at the same time, but are we equipped to embrace it? Do we have the right language, tools, and skills to find our way through it?

Why do we need change?

There is no doubt that change can be complex, but rarely is it instigated for ‘no reason’. In the work context, it is often driven by the need to take advantage of an opportunity or to resolve an issue. In part, complexity is also driven by how we as individuals respond to these unsettling times – we are all different and will travel this journey in various ways and at a different pace to each other.

Research publishing is currently undergoing changes, most notably in the drive towards open access. This is in response to the need for more open, accessible research. Your members are increasingly wanting to engage with open access and look to societies as thought leaders in this space. So it’s critical that we respond to changes in the publishing landscape and to your members’ evolving priorities, so you can serve your community in the best way possible.

As leaders and organisations, how should we manage change?

As leaders and seekers of knowledge, we are not just responsible for getting ourselves through the changes, but also our teams.  So, how do we do that? To use a simple analogy from the safety briefings on an airplane, you need to “put your oxygen mask on first before you help others”.  It’s no different in the work context; we have to prepare ourselves in order to be able to prepare and support others.  Ask questions such as:

• Do I understand why this change is happening? Why now?
• What does this change mean for me? For my team?
• What’s the risk of not changing?
• What are we trying to achieve?
• What does success look like?

Preparing yourself first enables you to be an active, effective, and supportive leader to your members and those around you.  For those impacted by a change, it is much more reassuring when those we trust can answer questions in an open and informed way.  It enables your members to be advocates of the change with their peers too.

Supporting others through change, to reach the end goal

Whilst preparing ourselves and those around us is an important first step, the journey doesn’t stop there; it’s just the point of embarkation. We must maintain our efforts throughout and continue to prepare ourselves and others. To reach our end destination, we need to ensure we manage the relevant stops, get people onboard, and most importantly safeguard against them disembarking before the final stop!

This is, at a high level, what change management ventures to do. It creates plans that focus on the people side and brings them on that journey, whilst relying on the project or program side to deliver the right solution. In Research, we have recently adopted the Prosci® methodology and you can find more information and useful resources here. 

Whatever the field, whatever the organization, change impacts us all. Scholarly publishing serves as a prime example of an industry in flux; we are transitioning to an open access world, adjusting to post-pandemic life, and constantly looking to adapt to the evolving needs of our members and researchers. But by embracing change, we can make sure we don’t get left behind.