DisCouRSE Focus Group: Team Culture and Leadership in dRTP contexts
Participants in this DisCouRSE first focus group1 are gathered to explore how leadership can influence a healthy team2 culture in a dRTP context, with the aim of exchanging ideas and practices. The format will begin with a provocation by a researcher and leadership coach drawing on selected leadership studies3 followed by a dRTP leader response4. The day will include presentations on practices from the community with time to reflect on their applicability. Ultimately, the objectives of the day are to:
- settle on a shared language to reflect on leadership and team culture,
- document valuable practices and models which align with the dRTP community values and, last but not least,
- propose some directions to refine the DIRECT competencies framework5 and plan future training activities.
Note that this event is in-person only with no hybrid option. Registration has now closed.
Facilitators
- Arianna Ciula - DisCouRSE Co-lead (focus group organiser), Director and Principal Research Software Analyst, King’s Digital Lab, King’s College London
- Jonathan Cooper – DisCouRSE Lead, Director of Collaborations, Advanced Research Computing, University College London
- Adrian Harwood – DisCouRSE Co-lead, Head of Research Software Engineering, Research IT, University of Manchester
- Dave Horsfall – DisCouRSE Co-lead (focus group organiser), Head of Biomedical Research Software, University of Newcastle
- Kirsty Pringle - DisCouRSE Co-lead, Project Manager, Software Sustainability Institute, University of Edinburgh
- Mark Woodbridge - Senior Research Software Engineer, e-Research, King’s College London
Schedule
| Time | Description |
|---|---|
| 9.15-9.30 | Arrival |
| 9.30-9.45 | Welcome and introduction - chaired by Arianna |
| 9.45-10.10 | Provocation “Maybe you’re not actually a good team leader” by Katie Best - Visiting Senior Research Fellow, Business School, King’s College London, Leadership Consultant & Coach |
| 10.10-10.35 | Response “Enabling Community Leadership” by Emma Karoune - Principal Researcher, Alan Turing Institute |
| 10.35-11.05 | Discussion on terminology and key reflections - facilitated by Jonathan |
| 11.05-11.20 | Break |
| 11.20-12:35 | Leadership models – presentations by the community - chaired by Mark |
| 1. Creating Mentally Healthy Teams: a Practical 3-Tier Model for dRTP Leadership – Dave Horsfall (Head of Biomedical Research Software, University of Newcastle) | |
| 2. A dRTP Team as a Service Provider - Chris Fullerton (Deputy Head of RSE, University of Manchester) | |
| 3. The distributed RSE team of the DiRAC facility - Ilektra Christidi (Senior Research Software Engineer, ARC, DiRAC team co-lead, University College London) | |
| 4. Reflections on identity and culture in a new group: emergence vs design - James Graham (Head of RSE, e-Research, King’s College London) | |
| 5. Systems leadership in research communities - Sara Villa (Community and Training Lead, OLS/The Turing Way) | |
| 12.35-13.20 | Lunch |
| 13.20-13.50 | Discussion on models - facilitated by Kirsty |
| 13.50-14.20 | Reflections on key practices, challenges and relevance to dRTPs - facilitated by Dave |
| 14.20-14.30 | Comfort break |
| 14.30-15.20 | Competencies and Training: DIRECT framework and beyond - facilitated by Adrian |
| 15.20-15.30 | Closure and follow up - chaired by Dave |
Acknowledgments
With thanks to colleagues Antonia Coote, Jodie Jackson, Zihao Lu, Mehdi Mehtarizadeh, Pam Mellen, Gillian Sinclair, and Shane Warren for their contributions to this event.
References
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We use focus group in the business analysis sense as a technique bringing together a selected group of experts in a structured and facilitated setting to gain multiple perspectives on the same topic rather than necessarily gain consensus or produce a specific output. (Paul et al. 2020) ↩
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By team we intend a highly interdependent group who “plan work, solve problems, make decisions, and review progress in service of a specific project. Team members need one another to get work done.” (https://rework.withgoogle.com/intl/en/guides/understanding-team-effectiveness) ↩
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Not necessary but you might want to find out more about Project Aristotle and the Four I’s of Transformational Leadership prior to the focus group. ↩
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Not necessary but you might want to find more about the concept of emergent strategy in this book by Adrienne Maree Brown and browse these resources from The Turing Way: Emergence as The Turing Way’s Strategy; Important Features of Leadership. ↩
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You can find out more about the DIRECT framework draft at https://directframework.com/ ↩