Navigating Uncharted Waters: Lessons From Driving Business Impact-Focused IP Transformations

This article was first published at IAM.com

Change is hard. This is true for any organisation, or any function. People will naturally resist change in most situations as change introduces uncertainty, and uncertainty breeds fear. This near-universal truth will be recognised by leaders and change managers across organisations and contexts. However, IP organisations display a couple of characteristics that, in our view, make them particularly resistant to change.

"Even when your team seems to grasp the new model, repeat your message to ensure it resonates."

This was the advice given to a Head of IP at the start of their implementation of a new organization and way-of-working. Months in, she thought she and the management team had communicated clearly, but the employees’ persistent questions and evident dissatisfaction told a different story. With energy levels running low the question loomed: how could she break through and get the team’s commitment to change?

In this article, we will draw from our experience in supporting IP functions of different shapes, sizes and organizational contexts to become ‘business co-creators’ - focused on working in close collaboration with multiple internal stakeholders to achieve maximum business impact from IP. This requires the IP function to become an accepted business partner that is invited to take part in the ongoing corporate strategic dialogue.

To realize this, there is usually a need for changes in relation to the formal organisation and governance of the IP function: roles, reporting lines, interfaces for communication and decision-making with key business stakeholders, mechanisms for steering and aligning within the IP function, and IP processes. However, the required change in IP counsel mindset and skill sets in most cases poses an even greater challenge.

To be accepted as a true partner to the business, IP teams must demonstrate both an ability to understand the most pressing business issues, as well as an ability to propose and execute IP actions with a clear strategic business rationale. This requires a broad skill set that spans business strategy, technology, law and intellectual property, as well as an internal ability to draw on the complementary strengths of all the individuals in the IP team. Without this combination, the IP function will find it exceedingly difficult to contribute in a valuable way to strategic and operational business discussions.

However, achieving this combination often poses a significant transformation challenge. The high degree of subject matter specialisation in combination with formal accreditation, tends to cultivate a particularly strong sense of professional identity among IP counsels. Consequently, despite the promise of increasing IP counsels’ importance and relevance in the organization, changes to the role can trigger deeply felt uncertainty among individuals who fear their professional identity is under attack.

Further, IP counsels typically have limited firsthand experience with organisational change processes. While they may have encountered changes throughout their careers, such as switching companies or transitioning between external counsel and in-house roles, these experiences often don't equate to living through a fundamental organisational transformation. Such transformations, which profoundly impact their work, are seldom part of their professional journey. Whereas other parts of any larger corporation (R&D, product management, procurement) see reorganisations happening on a regular basis, legal and IP functions are typically affected by such corporate transformation to a much lower extent. Their contact points may change as the surrounding organisation changes, but the internal operations of the IP department often continue with limited disruptions. Consequently, in our experience, IP counsels are not as jaded as individuals in other functions can be when it comes to dealing with the inevitable uncertainty of organisational change processes.

In view of these characteristics, it should not be surprising that a change to a business-driven way-of-working – which brings changes to what, how and why IP tasks are performed – triggers resistance. A subset of IP counsels fear they will not be able to develop the new skills and behaviors that will be required of them, that they have a lot to lose, and have limited experience and trust in change processes. Any business-driven IP change initiative that does not plan for this and fails to provide the proper guidance and support, will face a considerable risk of stalling and ultimately failing due to persistently high levels of resistance.

Do you want to reach out to one of the authors? 

Any transformation starts with the design of an organisational ‘blueprint’ outlining the new structures and way of working, that is the roles, reporting lines, communication interfaces and decision-making mechanisms which define the way of working.

Once that has been set, we favour an implementation process that comprises three distinct phases: a change preparation phase; a change initiation phase; and a sustained improvement phase (to make the change stick and scale).

Effective change management is achieved by creating an environment where personal motivation and organisational goals are in sync. In the ‘Prepare change’ phase, the groundwork is laid. This includes developing a comprehensive implementation plan including, for example, a communication plan, announcement of new/open positions, preparation of launch guide materials et cetera. Piloting often starts here and allows the organisation to evaluate the change in a controlled environment, prove its value, and make necessary adjustments before a full-scale rollout. It's crucial at this stage to anchor the vision and objectives for the change to ensure alignment across the organisation.

The ‘Initiate change’ phase involves the active rollout of the change. The Programme Management Office (PMO), which orchestrates the efforts, ensures that workstreams align with the change objectives and that there is a coordinated approach. Focus of the organisation is to operationalise the design blueprint and make it work in the daily operations, by creating process templates, updating supporting IT-systems, agreeing on meeting agendas, et cetera. In this phase, the new design and way of working will normally be challenged.

The ‘Make change stick and scale’ phase is where the change is fully implemented, and efforts are made to embed it into the organisation's culture. In this phase, it is key to continuously evolve and integrate the new business-driven approach until it becomes the established norm. Across these phases, the core imperative for change leaders is to ensure that both motivation and ability levels evolve on upwards trajectories. Through our experience, five distinct change practices have emerged as particularly important for succeeding in addressing typical motivation and ability gaps and overcoming resistance to change in IP functions.

1. Two-way communication

Effective communication helps everyone in the organisation understand what is changing, why the change is needed, the current problems that the change aims to address, and the potential benefits of the change. Without clear and consistent communication there is a high risk that the new way of working will simply not take root. Best practice dictates first developing a narrative that clearly communicates to all relevant stakeholders the essence, urgency, and timing of the change. This should be followed by consistently reinforcing the message using simple, memorable language to ensure it resonates and is retained.

However, listening and adapting is equally important. Adopting a dialogue-based style of communication will not only make you understand what others don’t, but also help build trust and foster collaboration. Further, by employing a mix of channels and combining online resources (guides, trainings) with in-person formats (workshops, coaching, one-to-ones), the chances of getting the message to resonate with employees increase dramatically.

As an example, consider how a Head of IP at a major tech company hosted a series of sessions focused on topics with risk of becoming implementation hurdles, such as the scope of the new roles, collaboration best practices, and how to engage effectively with business stakeholders. Each session started off with a concise introduction, explaining the rationale and design, followed by an interactive segment where participants could ask questions and engage in discussions. The initiative enabled everyone to get a better grasp of the changes and nurtured trust in the transformation process, eventually leading to decreased resistance for the new way of working. The direct involvement of the Head of IP also reinforced the transformation’s importance for the company.

2. Change profiling

At an early stage, when the objectives and ambition of the transformation are set, we have found that identifying and getting key individuals onboard and involved in a deliberate way will greatly increase the likelihood of success. To this end, a simple profiling exercise in relation to the impacted individuals can be quite valuable. Such a profiling exercise considers the different stakeholders affected by the change, both inside and outside of the IP organisation, and asks:

• who is impacted to what degree by the change;
• what attitudes they appear to have towards the change (including what their main reservations are); and
• what level of influence they have on other individuals in the transformation.

By combining these factors you can identify individuals with potential for becoming champions for the change, and give them the attention and training needed for realising this potential. Such internal champions can have a significant impact on the attitudes of the larger team, by leading the way and demonstrating the benefits of the new way-of-working in practice.

3. Sustained management support

In the end, successful transformation is about changing discrete day-to-day individual behaviors in a new direction. The importance of management attention and guidance across all stages of the change to achieve this cannot be overemphasised.

A typical pitfall is when managers, in a well-meaning attempt to stimulate team engagement and involvement in the change, let employees find their new roles organically with very limited guidance or structure. This approach can easily have the unintended consequence that for many team members, the roles become new in name only, that is despite having a new role, their work practices and behaviours remain more or less unchanged.

We have also seen several examples of where an initially effective implementation starts to unravel at a later implementation stage. Often triggered by a period of unusually heavy workload, IP counsels can start to revert to familiar behaviors and ways of doing things as this can feel easier and more efficient. In these situations, it is imperative that management quickly recognises what is happening, and takes deliberate measures to ensure IP counsels get sufficient bandwidth to get back on track. Similarly, managers must be diligent and persistent in communicating and enacting new behaviours long after a go-live event, to make sure these behaviours become embedded in the organisation's culture.

4. Adapted goals and incentive structures

Another common pitfall is to overlook the impact of unaligned organisation- and individual-level goals and metrics. If not aligned with the new way of working, they can exert a strong force in maintaining the status quo. The impact of organisational level metrics, such as a one-sided focus on filing volumes, are usually recognised by most. Individual level goals, such as objectives in personal business plans can be more insidious. Still, they too can exert strong influence on a given IP counsel’s willingness to embrace key aspects of the proposed change.

5. Orchestrated business pull

To effectively engage with business stakeholders, the IP team must broaden their skillset. However in our experience, providing development opportunities to strengthen business acumen in the IP team will not be enough. In addition, management should focus on different ways of fostering direct interactions with business teams.

A practical approach involves conducting specialised training for business teams. This helps them understand the role and potential of IP in their operations. By equipping them with the right questions and expectations, they can effectively collaborate with a business-oriented IP team. The goal is to position the IP team as a pivotal contributor to the organisation’s success.

Moreover, implementing a system where business stakeholders give a net promoter score (NPS) has proven effective in numerous change projects. This survey evaluates how well the IP team grasps business priorities, engages in meaningful conversations, and translates business insights into a comprehensible and valuable IP strategy.

A corresponding survey for the IP team can also be beneficial. This dual-feedback system allows for balanced insights and fosters mutual understanding. By tracking progress through structured feedback, the IP Management can swiftly pinpoint successes and address challenges, guiding the team towards a more business-centric approach.

• By re-focusing IP management on business impact, IP teams can significantly increase their contribution to the organisation's strategic and operational goals. This evolution of the role of IP counsels from being legal advisors to becoming strategic business partners requires changes both to the formal organisation and governance of the IP function, as well as to the mindset and skill sets of IP counsels. The latter change is in many cases the more challenging to overcome.
• Resistance to change from IP teams is often rooted in a perceived conflict with the strong professional identity, amplified by a general lack of experience with organisational change processes. Overcoming this resistance requires a carefully planned approach, addressing both motivation and ability concerns in multiple ways over time.
• The transition journey itself should be meticulously structured. Each phase in the three-phase approach – prepare, initiate, and make it stick – plays a critical role in setting the stage, rolling out, and embedding the new way of working into the organisation’s culture.
• Key practices such as two-way communication, change profiling, sustained management support, adapted goals and incentive structures, and orchestrated business pull are instrumental in overcoming resistance and ensuring the transformation's success. These practices not only address the immediate challenges of the change process but also lay the foundation for a sustainable shift in the organisational culture and mindset.