Changing Academic Life

Jayne Price is all about making work work better. She is the Transformation Director and Head of Continuous Improvement at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). Jayne discusses her journey to her current role in UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and the strategies she employs to foster human-centered, purpose-led change in the organization. She emphasizes the importance of leadership that is grounded in trust, accountability, and psychological safety, and the role of experimental and agile approaches in driving systemic transformation. Jayne also shares practical examples, including the implementation of Holacracy and continuous improvement initiatives. The conversation highlights the challenges and successes in transforming our traditionally bureaucratic research culture into a more effective and innovative environment. Jayne offers valuable insights for leaders at all levels and showcases the value of empowering teams to do their best work.

00:29 Introduction to the Episode

03:41 Introducing Jayne and her Career Journey

06:52 Understanding Project versus Program Management

07:59 From Change to Transformation

12:14 Implementing Experiments and Measuring Change

14:10 Challenges in the Academic and Research Sector

19:54 Innovative Approaches to Leadership and Management

27:21 Designing Alternative Promotion Routes

29:21 Challenges to Identity and Developing Leaders

35:50 Moving from 'I' to 'We' as a Leader

37:53 The Mindset to Move to 'We'

40:13 Humility, Vulnerability and Authenticity in Leadership

43:26 Shadow Sides, Blind Spots and Experimenting with Different Approaches

47:31 Starting to See the Benefits

50:53 Creating Workplaces For People to Flourish

53:04 The Holacracy Experiment - Creating Clarity

55:42 Doing Meetings Differently

59:22 Empowerment and Autonomy with Accountability

01:01:47 Corporate Rebels and Other Inspirational Resources

01:06:31 The Critical Importance of Leadership Buy-In

01:08:01 Everyone Can Choose Leadership Behaviours at Any Level

01:09:51 Encouragement for Change Agents

01:11:39 Outro

About Jayne:

Jayne Price https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayne-price71/

UKRI https://www.ukri.org

STFC https://www.ukri.org/councils/stfc/

Related links:

Cynefin framework for making sense of complexity

Corporate Rebels

Diederick Janse and Marc-Peter Pijper from Corporate Rebels supported the Holocracy Trials

GlassFrog: “the cutting-edge self-management platform that empowers teams with clarity and autonomy”

Tuff Leadership Training

Books:

Aaron Dignan, Brave New Work, Portfolio, 2019

Daniel Pink, Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us, Riverhead Books, 2011

Joost Minnaar and Pim de Morree, Corporate Rebels: Make Work More Fun, 2020

Jon Alexander, Citizens: Why the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us, Simon and Schuster, 2023

Diederick Janse & Marco Bogers, Getting Started With Holacracy: Upgrading Your Team's Productivity, 2020, AbeBooks

Robin Sharma, The Leader Who Had No Title, Free Press, 2010.

Harvard Business Review

Related CAL Podcasts:

Fostering psychological safety in research environments 30 Oct 24

Elizabeth Churchill on creating culture, leading teams, loving challenges - she talks about Cynefin Framework ~6:30 mins

Dr. Sarah McLusky, is an advocate and role model for research-adjacent careers. As an advocate Sarah hosts the 'Research Adjacent' podcast, which showcases career opportunities beyond traditional academic and industry roles. She talks about why started the podcast and also talks about her four main categories of research adjacent roles, emphasising the importance of recognising the many contributors to successful research. As a role model, Sarah shares her own experiences moving into a research adjacent role post-PhD, now working as a freelancer who supports research organisations through events and communications. Some of her key insights are around how to prepare participants for meaningful engagement at events and the value of effective research communication. She encourages us to rethink career possibilities and the significance of culture in research environments.

00:29 Intro to the Episode

02:49 Introducing Sarah McLusky

04:33 The Concept of Research Adjacent

08:00 Research As a Team Sport

12:02 Career Paths Beyond Academia

20:10 Four Main Categories of Research Adjacent Roles

24:22 Sarah McLusky's Journey to a Research Adjacent Role

29:36 Balancing Passion and Pragmatism

33:17 Navigating Freelance Work

34:51 The Importance of Gathering with Purpose

45:54 Supporting the Communication of Great Research

48:49 Final Thoughts and Resources

51:25 Outro

Related Links:

About Sarah and her work

Website https://sarahmclusky.com/

Newsletter https://sarahmclusky.com/gathering-with-purpose

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmclusky/

Research Adjacent Podcast

https://researchadjacent.com/podcast/

https://pod.link/1663857550

For this last episode of the year I revisit the Long Play (LP) template, inspired by vinyl records, as a way to intentionally reflect on and celebrate this past year and to be more intentional about how we move into our new year. The Ps of the template are personal, people, play, and projects and we use the Ls to reflect across there:  what did you land, love, labor on, and learn this past year review, and what do you want to look forward to, let go, let grow, and let be for the next year. You can download a template to create your own personalised reflections and plans, individually or within groups, to help you shape your good academic life.

Overview:

00:29 Setting up the LP

03:34 LP Replay

05:05 Introducing the LP Table Template

08:59 Taking Time to Savour and Celebrate

12:06 Looking forward to the 2026 LP

16:12 Wrapping Up and Summary

19:09 Final Pointers

19:49 Outro

You can download your LP template here. Feel free to tailor it to what works best for you! And I'd love to hear back how you used it and evolved it.

In this very personal solo episode, I share my journey through infertility and the impact it had on my academic and personal life. Inspired by Susan Dray's story, I decided to share our challenges of trying to start a family while managing a career in academia. I discusses the physical and emotional toll of infertility treatments, the loneliness of not sharing my struggles with colleagues, and the moral dilemmas we faced. Mine is just one story, and we can be sure that many of the people we work with are dealing with their own challenges or carrying their own sadnesses so this is a call for more empathy, kindness, and support in academic environments, emphasizing the importance of recognizing the human side of our lives. I conclude with a message of support for those facing similar challenges and a reflection on how my career path, though unintended, brought its own form of fulfillment.

00:29 Introduction: A Personal Journey

01:05 The Inspiration Behind This Episode

03:58 Opening Up About Women's Health Issues

07:23 The Struggles of Infertility

12:15 Navigating the Moral Dilemmas

14:51 Navigating Our Journey

17:43 Navigating Career and Personal Life

22:44 Moving On and Finding New Paths

26:48 Things Coming Together in the Move to London

30:13 Reflecting on an Academic Career Without Children

33:53 Final Reflections

Related Link

CHI Stories @CHI2017: Midwifery, Babies, HCI: “Doktormutter”hood and Sustainable Academic Life

In Part 2 of our conversation, Susan Dray continues to share deep insights about the importance of self-awareness and authenticity, empathy and listening with heart, and dealing with professional discomfort and personal adversity. She discusses her mentoring style, centred around being empathetic and supportive. And she talks about the importance of service and community, as well as the current challenges faced by early career researchers.

Susan also shares deeply personal challenges and losses, and the accompanying emotional journey of accepting and learning from setbacks, the value of honouring people's experiences, and the importance of collaborative support. She reminds us, paraphrased here, that few people understand how special they are, and that what really matters is who you are. Because this is going to mean that what you do is important and makes a difference. Susan has certainly made a difference. 

Overview:

00:29 Introduction to Part Two with Susan Dray

02:18 Navigating Discomfort and Deep Learning

05:47 Mentoring and Community Support

08:51 HCI in Africa and Global Recognition

13:28 Supporting Early Career Researchers

19:12 Mentoring and the Joy of Service

22:11 Reflections on Mentoring and Authenticity

26:08 Evolving Roles, Willingness to be a Beginner

29:40 Postscript - Personal Reflections and Adversities

30:55 Lessons from Sailing

32:21 Coping with Loss and Finding Positivity

35:08 Final Reflections on Life and Legacy

36:50 Wrap up

38:27 End

Related Links:

Susan Dray's webpage and LinkedIn profile  

The wonderful Dr Susan Dray shares her journey from obtaining a PhD in experimental and physiological psychology at UCLA to becoming a pivotal figure in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). Susan recounts her transition from academia to industry, including roles at Honeywell and American Express, and her eventual shift to independent consulting. She discusses the evolution of HCI and human factors, the significance of ethnographic studies, and the importance of listening with one's heart in diverse cultural contexts. Susan also reflects on the birth of SIGCHI, organizational challenges, and her expansive international work. Her insights provide a rich, historical perspective on the ongoing interplay between technology, human behavior, and organizational dynamics, and on the contextual and cultural nuances in technology adoption. She also demonstrates the power of curiosity, self reflection and a service mindset. 

Overview

00:29 Episode Introduction

02:49 Susan's Background

03:52 Transition from Academia to Industry

05:37 Early Challenges at Honeywell

06:56 Gaithersburg Conference and SIGCHI Formation

10:15 Human Factors and Computing Systems

13:34 Human Technology Impacts at Honeywell

16:40 The Mindset of a Scientist

22:59 Mentorship and Career Advice

26:30 Career Transitions and Reflections

28:06 Early Challenges in Consulting

30:12 Setting Up a Consulting Business

31:59 International Projects and Usability Studies

38:22 Navigating Cultural Differences and Lessons in Challenges

45:24 Innovative Research in Korea and South Africa

49:26 Embracing Discomfort Curiousity and Self Reflection

52:17 Wrap up

Related Links

Susan Dray webpage  and LinkedIn

ACM SIGCHI Special Interest Group On Computer-Human Interaction

Building on the last episode’s topic of meetings, the focus here is on our one-on-one meetings. In his book, 'Glad We Met: The Art and Science of One-to-One Meetings,' Steven Rogelberg discusses how these meetings can be practical, personal, and developmental. We can also think of these as the four Ps of care—process, progress, product, and person. Drawing on insights from Rogelberg’s book, along with some timely recent posts, I draw attention to the role of empathy, authentic communication, and regular, intentional meetings in supporting PhD students, postdocs, and research assistants. Practical tips include setting regular meeting cadences, being attentive and present, and ensuring a respectful and effective meeting environment. These are all skills we can work on to better support the practical, personal and developmental in our 1-1 meetings.

Overview:

00:29 Introduction to Effective Meetings

01:55 The Importance of One-on-One Meetings

03:25 The Four Ps of Care in Meetings

04:14 Practical Aspects of Supervisory Meetings

05:06 Caring for the Person in Meetings

05:35 Skills for Effective Meetings

09:12 Student Contributions to Meetings

11:01 Preparation and Presence in Meetings

12:18 Time Management and Respect in Meetings

13:23 Listening and Asking Good Questions

14:25 The Cadence of Meetings

17:55 Practical Suggestions for Meeting Environments

19:14 Career Conversations and Resources

20:20 Conclusion: The Art, Heart, and Science of Meetings

24:02 End

Related links:

Steven Rogelberg's webpage, LinkedIn profile, and Meeting resources and previous CAL episode on Transforming Academic Meetings

Book: Rogelberg, S. G. (2024). Glad We Met: The Art and Science of 1: 1 Meetings. Oxford University Press.

Recent posts mentioned:

#116 - 6 Communication Strategies to Get What You Need From Your PhD Advisor (Without Being Annoying), Emmanuel Tsekleves , PhDtoProf Newsletter 1 Oct 2025

A toolkit to foster great career conversations, Rachel Chin and Rachel Herries, Auditorium Blog, 7 Oct 2025

Related Changing Academic Life episodes:

Oscar Trimboli (Part 1) on being better listeners 

Oscar Trimboli (Part 2) on how to listen deeply 

Michael Bungay Stanier on the power of curiosity and taming the advice monster 

RW (solo) Asking good questions, empowering good people

Dr. Steven Rogelberg, an organisational psychologist from the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, draws on his extensive research on workplace meetings to share how we might make acadmic meetings better. We discuss the inefficiencies of academic meetings, with Steven suggesting academics suffer from particularly ineffective meeting practices. He offers practical advice on improving meeting productivity, particularly for Faculty meetings, such as using targeted agendas and smaller group discussions, and stresses the value of bringing scientific rigour to meeting management. He also critiques the hybrid meeting format, advocating instead for fully virtual or in-person meetings. If you are looking for more insights about evidence-based meeting practices, I can highly recommend his books 'The Surprising Science of Meetings' and 'Glad We Met: The Art and Science of One-to-One Meetings' . 

Overview:

00:29 Introduction: The Meeting Dilemma

01:42 Introducing Dr. Steven Rogelberg

03:56 The Academic Meeting Problem

09:23 Common Mistakes in Leading Meetings

11:06 Strategies for Effective Meetings

13:12 Having a Meeting About Meetings

14:34 The Importance of Feedback and Audits

15:55 The Faculty Meeting

18:15 Challenges of Large and Hybrid Meetings

19:21 More Inclusive Alternatives to Large Meetings

22:20 Hybrid Meetings and Virtual Meetings

23:54 Final Takeaways and Resources

25:46 Postscript

30:16 End

Related links:

Steven's web page, LinkedIn page and online meeting resources

https://www.stevenrogelberg.com

Steven's books:

Rogelberg, S. G. (2019). The surprising science of meetings: How you can lead your team to peak performance. Oxford University Press.

Rogelberg, S. G. (2024). Glad We Met: The Art and Science of 1: 1 Meetings. Oxford University Press.

And his academic publications, for example the two we mentioned:

Rogelberg, S., Kreamer, L. M., & Gray, J. (2025). Thirty Years of Meeting Science: Lessons Learned and the Road Ahead. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 13.

Rogelberg, S. G., King, E. B., & Alonso, A. (2022). How we can bring IO psychology science and evidence-based practices to the public. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 15(2), 259-272.

And here is a template to help you reflect on your meetings.

Professor Emeritus Deborah Boehm Davis, George Mason University in the US, is one of the pioneers of the CHI conference. Deborah discusses her varied career building from her psychology background and spanning roles in human factors at Bell Labs, NASA, and General Electric. She then talks about her extensive tenure at George Mason University in both faculty and administrative/leadership roles, eventually becoming the dean of a college. Deborah shares reflections on career transitions, the importance of making a difference, effective leadership, the significance of collaborative work, and the challenges and strategies for navigating academic leadership, as well as managing academic responsibilities alongside family life. She also talks about her last industry role at Oculus Research and offers insights into the skills and approaches necessary for effective academic and industry leadership. The conversation also touches on the importance of interdisciplinary work and mentorship in academia.

Overview:

00:00 Introduction

00:29 Deborah Boehm-Davis: Career Overview

03:24 Early Career and Human Factors

04:54 Transition to Academia, Balancing Faculty and Administration Roles

09:38 Reflections on Career and Impact

17:39 Navigating Academic Leadership

25:14 Collaborations, Interdisciplinary Work and Collegiality

28:18 Interdisciplinarity and Being Strategic

32:57 Transitioning to Leadership Roles, Developing Leadership Skills

33:53 Handling Difficult Conversations

36:39 Balancing Decisions and Stakeholder Concerns

40:29 Engaging Faculty and Effective Communication

44:51 Leadership in Industry vs. Academia

46:54 Mentorship and Support Systems

50:24 Proudest Achievements and Work Skills Course

56:28 Reflections on Women in Academia

59:37 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

01:00:46 End

Related links:

Video of a 2024 talk to the Uni of Virginia HFES Student Chapter: “A Career in Human Factors: A Lifetime of Change” [40:51 mins]

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah-boehm-davis-05b50

Website: https://psychology.gmu.edu/people/dbdavis

In the first episode of season seven, the 10th year the Changing Academic Life podcast, I invite us to reflect on the theme of being intentional about what we want for ourselves at the beginning of this new academic year for many of us in the northern hemisphere, or for any temporal landmark that is relevant for you.

As example and inspiration, Anna Cox from UCL shortly shares her strategies for setting clear priorities, maintaining work-life balance, and managing her remaining 'available time to promise', recognising every yes entails a no to something else. This is a great example of the 'fresh start effect', using the temporal landmark of a new academic year, as talked about by Katy Milkman and colleagues, and reminds us of the importance of creating pauses for reflection.

So how will you be more intentional about your fresh start?

00:34 Introduction

01:27 Starting With Intention

05:28 Anna's Fresh Start 

07:05 Thinking About Priorities

09:01 Available Time to Promise

10:56 Creating Pauses to Think

12:20 Re-iterating Anna's Key Questions

16:29 Wrapping Up 

17:57 Pointers to Other Related Episodes

19:24 Wrapping up

20:31 End

Related links:

eWorkResearch group at UCL and Anna’s webpage and WLB definition 

Dai, H., Milkman, K. L., & Riis, J. (2014). The fresh start effect: Temporal landmarks motivate aspirational behavior. Management Science, 60(10), 2563-2582.

Loleen Berdahl, How to quit promising time and energy you don’t have

See www.changingacademiclife.com for an easy search for the related podcasts: Anna Cox, Marta Cecchinato, Johanna Stadlbauer, Amy Ko, Carmen Neustaedter, Katherine Isbister, Vikki Wright