Research and Resources
QUICK LINKS - QUEEN'S IRC ARTICLES & PAPERS
CONTACT
For more information on Queen’s IRC’s practitioner-focused research, please contact our research team at: ircresearch@queensu.ca
ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT
Organizational Transformation: Why it’s So Hard, Why it Matters, and Why You Should Start Now!
If there is one thing we’ve re-learned over the past few years, it’s that change is constant, whether we like it or not. The COVID-19 pandemic has often been credited for being the catalyst of changing the way we work, but it was only a reminder of how quickly people can adapt when they need to—and how resilient they can be. Today, adaptability and resilience are required on a regular basis. Market volatility has made strategic transformations essential for some industries to survive. Critical and topical initiatives like equity and inclusion, digital transformation and building a future-proof workforce represent massive shifts, particularly for organizations where culture has remained unchanged in decades. Here is where organizational transformation comes in.
Leading Organizational Transformation
What is Organizational Transformation? It is a fundamental, radical, ground breaking paradigm shift, such as re-imagining an organization’s structure and culture. It involves integrated, synergistic, aligned, system-wide deliverables for which all employees and leaders are responsible, individually and collectively.
Team Effectiveness: From Pandemic to Promise in the Learning Organization (Executive Summary)
This research on the effectiveness of teams was conducted in the early fall of 2020. It is largely supportive of, and consistent with, much of the thinking of others who were paying close attention to the experience of teams and leaders in a virtual environment. And the focus on teams also highlights the important relationship between teams and organization leadership and their interdependencies. The research also highlights a number of important insights and ‘learnings’ that will serve us well in the coming months; while it is difficult to predict with any certainty, it is possible that new habits will emerge as teams continue to focus on their overall effectiveness in support of organization priorities.
Team Effectiveness: From Pandemic to Promise in the Learning Organization (Research Report)
This research captures how organizations are re-thinking the role of teams, the work they do and how they approach and carry out that work. This report is based on a survey of team leaders, organization consultants and leadership coaches, as well as research in the field. The survey on the effectiveness of teams was conducted in the fall of 2020 with a goal to examine the following: What we have learned at the team level of the organization from the experience and challenges of moving through a pandemic? What has taken on greater clarity for leaders, managers and supervisors in terms of priority areas as teams strive for sustained effectiveness over the next period of uncertainty?
Canada’s Pandemic Response: Key Learnings for Building our Future
What if the entire population becomes vulnerable due a pandemic? COVID-19 took the world by surprise, then by storm, compelling us to adapt to new realities which considerably impact our individual, social and professional lives. The Canadian Federal Government, responsible for leading the pandemic crisis response, had to take effective and swift action in a rapidly shifting environment, driven by a new and mysterious threat. Implementing a multitude of effective responses across the country during COVID-19 posed a significant challenge for the Federal Government with regards to speed, agility and performance, and they proved up to the task, using an action learning, collaborative and iterative approach.
Leveraging Pandemic Learnings (Part 3)
A blueprint for the future is beginning to emerge: one that will involve greater use of interactive technology, system-wide collaboration, widespread innovation, improved systems thinking capacity, and stronger recognition and appreciation of the female leadership brand.
Leveraging Pandemic Learnings (Part 2)
This is not the first time Canada has faced pandemics. What have we learned from past experiences? How can we leverage these learnings, now and for the future? How can we continue to evolve and improve? Here’s a summary of our experience so far.
Leveraging Pandemic Learnings (Part 1)
Emergencies and crises often create the perfect storm for transformation, as change is primarily driven by the powerful winds of Pain and/or Gain. Not surprisingly, up to 80% of change is propelled by Pain, a wake up call that pushes us out of complacency, providing opportunities to raise the bar, innovate, shift paradigms, modernize, and make systems work better for more people.
Preparing for the Future with Scenarios
Our lives, personal and professional, have been disrupted in a way that many of us may have never imagined. As schools and businesses close, people find themselves isolated from colleagues, friends and family, and sometimes facing this challenge alone. Everything that we took for granted seems to be upside down and inside out. And there is no definitive end in sight.
ABOUT OUR PRACTITIONER-ORIENTED RESEARCH
Our research includes a variety of activities that complement our programming. Through surveys, interviews, and articles, we aim to communicate trends in the HR and LR fields.
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
Join our community to receive monthly updates on our practitioner-focused research projects and what’s new and exciting at the IRC. If you’d like to receive our newsletter, please subscribe below.
DOWNLOAD OUR SPRING 2021 PROGRAM PROSPECTUS
