Universities have a bias towards hierarchy that can create difficulties when developing external opportunities. Seniority often influences who is involved, whose opinions carry the most weight and who is expected to lead. When an opportunity attracts institutional attention (often because of the size of the company or the opportunity), the university’s approach can become very focused on the importance of seniority. At its worst, senior staff attend while colleagues with more relevant knowledge are left out. Those colleagues then need to be briefed afterwards, while the senior attendees may have needed substantial preparation beforehand.
This becomes even more of a problem when a prospective partner approaches participation differently. It may bring people into discussions because they understand the problem, hold relevant relationships or can help develop the opportunity.
When seniority determines who leads partnership discussions, the people developing an opportunity often end up spending (some might say wasting) a huge amount of time preparing someone else to discuss it.
Fear of being held responsible for a mistake can reinforce this behaviour. A senior person may be accountable for an opportunity while relying on colleagues who understand it better. Repeated checking and involvement in every decision can feel like responsible oversight, even when it adds complexity and makes the team less effective.
Information can also lose meaning as it passes between people. Someone who understands the research or has an established relationship with the partner can recognise a concern, explore an unexpected question or identify an opportunity during the conversation. A briefing cannot anticipate every development.
An early career researcher may have the relevant knowledge and a longstanding connection with someone in the partner organisation. Their contribution should carry weight because of what it enables. Expecting them to work through a more senior colleague can make the university’s approach less responsive while adding little to the discussion. It can also look quite weird to the prospective partner: “why am I talking to someone who isn’t doing any of the actual work?”
Some external organisations also place considerable weight on hierarchy, and senior attendance can be strategically useful. Senior colleagues can also resolve blockers, demonstrate institutional commitment and provide access to knowledge, networks and experience. Those contributions can help the people developing the opportunity make progress.
I was having a laugh with Renee Winzar recently about the number of KPMG projects we worked on together where my job (towards the end of each project) was to stop talking to her (turns out “how’s it going?” and “will it be finished in time?” are not helpful comments hours from a deadline). My other key project tasks included keeping her well stocked with drinks, being ready to answer questions and quickly complete my review of the work.
In partnership development, the equivalent might be resolving an internal obstacle or making an introduction, then giving the relevant people room to develop the opportunity.
Senior involvement should help the people with relevant knowledge and relationships develop the opportunity. Sometimes that requires active intervention. At other times, it requires enough confidence to let them get on with it.
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