“We’ve always done it this way” might be one of the most consequential phrases an organization can use. Sometimes it reflects stability, experience, and practices that have served an organization well. But it can also signal stagnation, missed opportunities, or resistance to necessary change. During my time at AAPG, I have heard this phrase used often along with subtle variations, including, “We used to do it this way.” These conversations have prompted important questions: What brought us to this point? Which traditions and practices still serve our members well? Which must evolve? And, most importantly, how can AAPG remain relevant if we are unwilling to change? Respecting our history and embracing progress are not opposing ideas. Our responsibility is to understand what has made AAPG valuable for more than a century while continuing to adapt to the needs of today’s geoscience community.
Becoming Ambidextrous
A while back, I was gifted a book by my company’s CEO and mentor called Lead and Disrupt by Charles O’Reilly III and Michael Tushman. In this text, O’Reilly and Tushman argue that to survive long-term or to interact with a dynamic business environment, established organizations must become ambidextrous. By this, they mean organizations must simultaneously master exploitation and exploration, which sounds a whole lot like the petroleum business. In the book’s context, “exploitation” means improving the core business through efficiency and incremental change while “exploration” means discovering new business domains or growth opportunities through experimentation and flexibility.
In my June Explorer article, I talked about the incremental changes we have made to our core business. The exploitation side of AAPG. We have sought to become more efficient through platform modernization and automation. Additionally, we have made structural changes to create space to focus more on member value proposition activities. And in the July Explorer, I discussed our new partnership with GeoScienceWorld to bring Geosapien AI to our members. This solution will leverage our library of peer-reviewed publications to generate trustworthy AI search results and will be a new member benefit. We are entering a new domain through a knowledgeable partner and are flexing our exploration skills. Effectively, we are on our way to becoming an ambidextrous organization.
The Change Proposition
The drumbeat of the “We have always done it this way” persists, however, and we must become more willing and better equipped to embrace change. To effect change, I believe the following propositions to be true. I am borrowing some of these thoughts from Stacy Aaron and Kate Nelson’s book The Eight Constants of Change.
1. People make change work or not work.
2. It is easier to not change than it is to change.
3. Resistance to change must be brought out into the open, so it can be better understood and addressed.
4. To affect and effect change, people must have the data to understand why a change is needed. They need context to enable them to embrace the need for change.
5. To make change truly happen, people must be involved in crafting the needed outcome.
6. Leaders must be at their very best to make change happen. They need to help people connect with the need for change and align their efforts accordingly.
7. Communication is very important in making change happen and the reasons for the change must be messaged often with consistency.
8. Lastly, successful change must be celebrated and reinforced.
The Executive Committee and I often talk about the organizational health of the AAPG. We discuss the obstacles and barriers the organization and staff are encountering. And we seek consensus on what needs to change and what is going well. Ultimately, we are looking to build a better, more successful AAPG that is relevant today and will be tomorrow. I will say as geologists, we spend most of our time on proposition four. We love data and making sure we understand the need for change.
Bright Spots
As a leader, I am always continuing to hone my change-management skills, but I often marvel at all the good going on in our Association. Our Women’s Network is vibrant with creative programing. Our European Young Professionals group is growing and enabling networking while learning about new topics. The Imperial Barrel Award competition is on the rise, and students are being engaged with industry relevant challenges. The Bulletin is improving their review and publication cycle time. Our workshops, webinars, and events are well attended and delivering timely, relevant content.
These bright spots all have one thing in common. It is leadership. Each of them either has a volunteer or staff member who is passionate about the work they are doing on behalf of AAPG. They are committed to the cause and are engaging to make positive things happen. I thank them for being bright spots. I also thank them for having the mindset of “If there is a better way, let’s find it and do it.”
Help Us Find a Better Way
The new Executive Committee has just been seated. One of their planned first action items is to revisit our published three-year strategy (https://www.aapg.org/news-and-media/explorer/a-three-year-strategic-plan-for-aapg/). During this strategic review, I have no doubt they will be asking what we need to do better and where do we want to get to. Their answer will enviably require the organization to evolve and change. As the Executive Director, I will be working to support their vision and making sure the organization has the tools and resources to be ambidextrous. And to our members I ask the following. What are you passionate about? Are you willing to volunteer? Will you help us find a better way? Will you be a bright spot?