Intuition Issue 28 Summer 2017 intuition-_issue_28_summer-2017 | Seite 21

HOW TO...
...WORK TOGETHER
base’ from which we can develop
and innovate. It tells us the precise
behaviours that promote that secure
base: consistency, fairness, reliability,
attentive listening and interest.
Promoting security by adopting such
behaviours automatically improves
employee engagement, retention,
performance and morale.
Thinking about attachment also
helps change: whether to introduce
changes given the disruption to
attachment, and if so, how to minimise
the destabilising eff ects caused by
disrupted attachment.
Loss
Closures and radical change in the
sector cause far-reaching, acute and
painful loss. Loss in organisations is,
of course, diff erent from personal
bereavement. But, without some
mourning, organisations, like
individuals, risk ongoing depression
that seriously decreases vitality and
potential. Mourning helps us separate
from the past, adapt to the future and
move on.
Leaders need to build the space and
capacity for mourning in themselves,
their teams and organisations. They
need to encourage staff , both in teams
and one to one, to voice their fears
about change, and take these seriously.
Too often leaders fall into the trap of
introducing change by dismissing what
has gone before. Instead they need to
value the positive elements of what
exists and consider, with their staff ,
what will be missed and what should,
if possible, be maintained.
Our research for FETL confirmed
the relevance of psychoanalysis and
systems thinking for FE leaders. The
risk of ignoring the impact our psychic
lives can have on our actions and our
organisations, is too great to ignore.
Andrew Morris
is an honorary
senior lecturer at
the UCL Institute
of Education and
a member of the
national planning
group of the
Learning and
Skills Research
Network.
Andrew was
research
manager at the
former Learning
and Skills
Development
Agency.
Contact Andrew
at a.j.morris@
ucl.ac.uk
By Andrew Morris
Einstein and Newton may have been loners, but for the rest of us
it’s not quite like that. We need to work with others, and nowhere
is this clearer than in practice-orientated research.
Collaboration is crucial and it works on many levels. Looking
at it methodologically, mixing people with diverse specialisms –
ethnography, statistics, experimental design, for example – helps
match a research design to the problem in hand.
Practically, bringing together people with skills for the various
phases of a project – reviewing literature; bidding for funding;
gathering, analysing and interpreting data; publishing and
communicating results – gives research a much greater chance
of not only being sound but getting noticed. Financially, as well,
collaboration wins out. Combining four or five budgets creates a
stronger, longer-lasting project and spreads its impact more widely.
Schools are increasingly urged to team up with others, forming
networks to encourage innovation. For colleges and training
providers, collaboration across teams, departments and campuses
alone can bring in diversity of outlook and skills. Working with other
organisations can be inspirational, and joining forces with researchers
in a university or institute adds to the pool of expertise and knowledge.
But how do collaborative efforts ever get started? The key here
is networking.
Some colleges, such as Liverpool, Blackburn and Bedford, are
developing internal research networks with designated or informal
leaders. You can find out more in a recent guide, Leading Research
Engagement in Education (see below). It’s by the Coalition for
Evidence-Based Education (CEBE), which offers start-up advice.
At the regional level, convenors of the Learning
and Skills Research Network (LSRN) bring
together research-minded colleagues for
occasional workshops.
Nationally, conferences of the
Education and Training Foundation
(ETF) and the Association for Research
in Post Compulsory Education
(ARPCE) provide other opportunities.
A final word of caution –
collaborative research depends
critically on good project management,
as a 2004 study, Collaborative Research
in Practice, showed (email me for a
copy). Prepare yourself with
planning and monitoring
tools before you start!
FURTHER READING
• Read the CEBE guide here goo.gl/1MGnCr
INTUITION ISSUE 28 • SUMMER 2017 21