Thrive as part of Research Leadership Development Programme (RLDP)

Posted on: 20 May 2024 in 2024

Ireen Litvak-Zur

In this blog, Dr Ireen Litvak-Zur, Senior Consultant, Research at Advance HE, talks about the similarities between Advance HE’s Research Leadership Development Programme and Thrive.

Thrive as part of Research Leadership Development Programme (RLDP)  

As part of a newly developed approach, a dedicated team of research leadership experts have developed a 3-tiered Research Leadership Development Programme (RLDP) to address challenges faced by research leaders, and provide sector-wide insights into current issues around research culture and leadership.  
 
I am lucky to operate as the RLDP programme director, and to be involved with the Thrive project – a two-year project funded through Research England. The project is led by the University of Liverpool and is being run in partnership with AHRC and Advance HE to define and develop an approach for team-based research.  
 
The programmes, in some sense, share a similar goal – both are offering new perspectives on research leadership in search of more inclusive and innovative approaches, and both programmes keep exploring new ideas and consider new voices.  

In the new RLDP, each tier focuses on one specific question: 

  1. Who am I as a leader?
  2. How do I enhance team performance?
  3. How can I influence and lead change?

While all RLDP tiers address complex research team dynamics, RLDP2 delves deeply into team dynamics. The Thrive approach is well-aligned with Advance HE’s approach to innovative models of research teams. A few points worth emphasising: 

  1. Understanding research teams - RLDP emphasises understanding team dynamics, exploring models of team interactions and learning how to manage conflicts effectively. Thrive presents an alternative to the conventional PI-led research paradigm. Instead of relying solely on the PI, it promotes collaborative leadership. The approach offers a fresh perspective on leadership. 
  2. Enhancing team performance - by distributing leadership responsibilities across the team, the Thrive approach builds on collective strengths and expertise, which ultimately boosts overall team performance. It encourages research leaders to recognise themselves as part of a collaborative effort, rather than isolated leaders, and offers one potential answer to the main question of the second tier of RLDP.
  3. Fostering diversity and inclusivity – the key to a successful and thriving research culture is diversity and inclusion, and this view is supported throughout all tiers of RLDP. Thrive aims to enrich research teams with varied perspectives and insights. Inclusive and collaborative working opens doors for a broader spectrum of research leaders, dismantles traditional power dynamics, and increases research team resilience. In turn, this resilience is disseminated and strengthens organisational research culture. 

The new RLDP acknowledges that research leadership development is not one-size-fits-all. Research cultures vary across organisations, across disciplines, and across cultures. If we can all agree with this argument, then we can all agree, so does research leadership.  

There are no two identical research teams, and we cannot expect one leadership style to fit them all. The Thrive approach dovetails with this perspective, as it does not assume one leadership style. Focused on process, it provides a baseline of inclusivity of all research team voices and eliminates the role of the traditional PI. By doing so, it speaks to the recent paradigm shift, striving for a more equal and sustainable research culture.    

In summary, the RLDP and the Thrive approach both recognise the importance of team thinking, effective collaboration, and inclusive leadership. By equipping research leaders with the right skills and promoting team-led approaches, we can unlock higher research impact, innovation, and thriving research environments. 

Find out more about Thrive.

Keywords: Thrive, research, leadership.