Alpamayo Coaching on Tour meets Jennifer Clarke, for a walk around Bushy Park to talk about what has led her to the National Physical Laboratory.

Alpamayo Coaching on Tour is on the road again!  This time the gig was in Teddington, where I met up with Jennifer Clarke.  Jennifer is currently on maternity leave yet had been enthusiastic to have a catch up, tying it into a visit with some of her colleagues at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL).  We had a fabulous conversation about Jennifer’s professional journey to date, as a scientist, a contributor to change, and as a mother. 

Before getting on to the story of our conversation and catching up on the 13 years or so since we last met, there is something to say about my connection with NPL which reconnects to my time in Chemistry at the University of Southampton.  For many years I was Director of the Masters in Chemistry (MChem) programmes there, a few of which offered research placements as part of the curriculum.  As opportunities for experiential, real-world learning they did not come much better than this with final year students being placed at one of more than 80 partner organisations across 15 countries.  I remember the benefits of that programme.  Aside from their development as researchers, participants enjoyed all the challenges of career development compressed into a 6 month period:  thinking about skills; reflecting on what you want to do; building self-awareness about values and strengths; CV and interview skills; establishing new relationships….the list just goes on.

One of the hosts for our students was NPL ,and a driving force for that over so many years was one Richard Brown.  His commitment to the development of new talent was an example to all and many students benefitted from working with him, some of them taking up positions at NPL after they graduated.  When talking to Jennifer it was a pleasure to hear news about Richard who is now Head of Metrology, and how he was recently influential in arriving at a global agreement to expand the number of SI prefixes, used in describing and measuring quantities.  Kilo, and milli are two examples of SI prefixes that have been in everyday language for years.  Richard led the work behind acceptance of 4 new SI prefixes needed to support scientists in quantifying their work.  One of these is Ronna which is 1027.  Written out in full would be 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000.  I’ll leave you to contemplate just how big a number that is – my mind went to how many seconds in an average lifetime for example….and it’s waaaayyy smaller than a Ronna!  This SI prefix is needed to help data scientists with their language describing the vast amounts of data that is collected, collated, used and abused each and every day, among other applications involving huge numbers.  The pace of change in science in the last sixty of so years is illustrated by the growth in the number of SI prefixes from 12 to 24 to accommodate our ability to observe and create on both bigger and smaller scales. 

Anyway, the point of all of this is that I felt I had an existing connection with NPL, so meeting Jennifer nearby felt like a connection on two levels.  Her suggestion was that we meet in Bushy Park, one side of which is overlooked by NPL as well as another organisation known better by its TLA than its full name, LGC or the Laboratory of the Government Chemist.  I still wasn’t going to get into NPL but I would be closer than I ever had been before!  I was struck by the scale of their real estate, dominating a large area on the edge of the Park, with a focal point being Bushy House itself.

Taking a walk around Bushy Park with Jennifer Clarke. She is much better at selfies than I am, managing to compose a shot including both of us, the park, and Bushy House, part of the National Physical Laboratory (NPL)

Jennifer and I met near the Clapperstile carpark (yep, I looked up what that meant too!) where I was delighted to be introduced to her youngest daughter, four months old when we met.  Looking back, I think of her presence as having a gentle influence on our conversation, as well as having a more direct influence on our actions on the day!  She needed to be able to see what was going on and resisted being put in the pram, instead being carried facing forward by Jennifer, who also managed the empty pram, and a rucsack containing all the essentials.  Like her daughter she was determined, in this case to manage all of this herself, gently turning down my offer to wheel the empty pram.

It was a lovely day and a beautiful environment to spend some time in.  We talked about her time in Southampton where she took a Masters in Chemistry with Ocean and Earth Sciences, reflecting her interest in the environment.  She remembered her third year project on electrode sensors being an influence on her research journey as she discovered an interest in the science of sensing, and the practice of ensuring reliable results when doing measurements in complex environments, such as in the sea.

On the back of her undergraduate research she was inspired to take a PhD.  Initially she intended to stay in chemistry working on electrodes to sense carbon dioxide concentrations in water.  However, researchers in the Oceanographic Centre in Southampton successfully encouraged her to take a PhD with them. 

Jennifer had a surprise memory of our past interaction, reminding me that I had written her reference.  Her memory was that it was along the lines of ‘talented but not the brightest in the cohort, but works very hard’.  That she had seen the reference was no surprise as my commitment to transparency meant that I copied in the people I was referencing.  I did have a moment of discomfort in her paraphrasing though, maybe even a flash of guilt!  It did not feel like something I would have written, yet I suppose that intention and interpretation are often two different things.  It did remind me of Jennifer’s capacity to speak as she finds, a quality that I admire!

Jennifer found herself working for two different paymasters during her PhD, the NERC and the University.  She found being part of two similar yet distinct communities to be quite appealing to her.  She enjoyed team working, particularly when there is a common objective drawing together the diverse membership of that team.  Her research required her to become expert in using sophisticated bespoke sampling and sensing equipment.  The sort of kit with no manual and known only by the number its inventor allocated to it, in Jennifer’s case it was No 47!

Working in oceanography required being able to work in the ‘traditional’ lab as well as the ‘natural’ lab, meaning being out there, working on the ocean itself.  She went on many research cruises into remote and exotic waters (I had a moment or two of envy!).  From these she developed a wide range of skills which have since served her well, some influenced by the fact that once at sea you could only rely on yourself, your colleagues, and the equipment already on board.

Jennifer quickly learned that meticulous contingency planning and risk evaluation ensured that the carried the right spare parts to fix everything but the most outlandish technical problems.  She smiled while recalling how she carried multiples of every sort of O-ring on these trips.  I realised that I was witnessing her skill at planning and preparation on the day we met.  Her apparent ease in making time to meet with me while also looking after her then three-month-old was a testament to these skills, and her preparedness for all eventualities.  I am not sure that any replacement ‘O’ rings were called for in our time together though!

Jennifer noted how these trips gave her a different perspective on teamwork too.  A research cruise is something where there is no spare capacity in terms of space, time, equipment, or personnel.  There will be people from different projects on board, often drawn from many parts of the globe.  Everyone on board will have their research role to perform requiring a degree of focus and independence.  Yet the available ‘in-person’ help network on research cruises to remote locations is the community on the boat.  Any scientific or personal challenges must be resolved locally and this encouraged a degree of collective resourcefulness.  I had a sense that this interesting balance between independence and collaboration is something that suited Jennifer well, and which she has applied in her roles ever since.  On reflection it feels like the state of interdependence that Stephen Covey describes as the ultimate destination after growth through phases of dependence and the independence.

As Jennifer was coming to the end of her PhD she flirted with the possibility of starting a career in the private/ public sector.  I confess the language involving ‘flirting’ is mine and not Jennifer’s, yet I find myself using it quite a lot since reading it in Herminia Ibarra’s writing on the topic of approaches to career development.  Instead of having a grand career plan, she talked about adopting a ‘test and learn’ approach in which an individual does quick and accessible experiments to determine what is important to them.  She called it ‘flirting with our possible selves’.

Whether she was aware of them or not, the outcome of her experiments in the job market was an awareness that leaving academia was not right for her.  Instead, she took an opportunity to move to Germany to a post-doctoral research position at a research institute, excited by the opportunity of being at the vanguard of establishing a research group and a commercial service analysing marine samples.  There was something about the combination of research and running a commercial service that appealed to Jennifer, as did working within an Institute, which offered insights into a career in both academia and industry.

Jennifer’s postdoc did bring its share of challenges.  The twin aspects of doing research and running a commercial service turned out to be one of them.  As time passed, she experienced her status as being indispensable in delivering the commercial service resulting in her becoming more separated from the research, and from her colleagues whose focus was on research.  The balance between independence and collaboration mentioned earlier went out of kilter, and she felt the consequence of no longer having a common purpose with those around her.

Her work life was not experienced in isolation of course and at the same time as developments above Jennifer was managing a long distance relationship with Matthew, who she met during her PhD and who is now her husband.  Eventually Matthew moved to Germany seeking work too.  Almost immediately he landed a dream position.  Given the way that life tends to throw curveballs it is no surprise that the job was based back in the UK!  A combination of professional disquiet and a wish to be able to remain together conspired to encourage Jennifer to ‘flirt with her possible selves’ and step into a role outside academia. 

She applied to several organisations and ended up with several offers.  One of these was from NPL, in an international development role.  Both ‘international’ and ‘development’ piqued her interest, and she was reassured by the recommendation from a friend at NPL that the person she would be working for in post was a great leader.  For Jennifer this was important, knowing from her own experience how she responded to good leadership.  This recommendation was an influential factor in her acceptance of the position at NPL.

From the telling of this part of her story it was clear that Jennifer has no regrets about that decision.  She once again found herself at the vanguard of a project for NPL, as it sought to extend its international collaborative reach.  The things she held as important in her work all featured, and she thrived: multidisciplinary challenge; a balance between independence and collaboration; a shared purpose with her team.  Jennifer applied these skills in diverse partnerships with other national metrology labs, key organisations in South Africa, and the European Space Agency!  She was promoted to manager within a year, still working for the same person whose leadership she had heard about at the point she was applying for the job.  Her experience of his leadership lived up to expectations with one of the key aspects being ‘I know that he had my back’; a characteristic that Jennifer is mindful to demonstrate in leading her team.

Two influences exerted their profound effect on Jennifer in 2020-21.  The global influence was Covid-19 which put paid to international travel and required that NPL refocussed its resources.  A more local influence was Jennifer and Matthew started a family with the birth of their first daughter. 

I’m going to go off on a tangent here, relevant to a career journey but prompted by Jennifer’s role as a mother.  That role was played out while we were talking with her second daughter, a six-month old’s delightful and energetic presence in the midst of our conversation.  I learned from Jennifer as she talked about what being a Mum was like, learning I had not anticipated.  She talked about the physiological, physical and psychological changes she was experiencing.  Although there was no sign of it as we talked Jennifer described the brain fog that she experiences from time to time, in the form of confusion, getting easily flustered, and being forgetful.  Just that morning coming to meet me she had got on the wrong bus.  Jumping on with baby, bags, and pram she only realised her error when her body realised the bus was cornering in the wrong direction at the first junction they came to! 

I had a moment of guilt in adding an unnecessary challenge to her day and then felt privileged to be trusted with what she thought and felt, all of which was conveyed from the perspective of being an objective observer of herself.  She also talked about the difficult decisions that she and all mums have to make in relation to childcare and their job, some of them influenced by the maternity leave legislation.  All things I have awareness of, but no direct experience to draw on.  I took it in with gratitude for the greater understanding of young mothers’ predicament I now have.  The experience better prepares me for when the challenge of motherhood comes up in conversation, as it does in my wider family, in social settings and in my coaching partnerships.  At the time I was grateful for Jennifer’s trust in me, trust eventually rewarded with me being allowed to push the (empty) buggy!

Returning to Jennifer’s career, she rejoined NPL after her first maternity leave in a governance role.  I had the impression the capacity to influence in this role is something that she finds exciting and that is the same in her current role as Directorate Operations Lead, which she describes as being ‘Chief of Staff to the Chief Scientific Officer’.  She talked with some passion about her interest in NPL recently signing up to the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) initiative.  DORA is seeking to challenge the use of publication metrics (rather than judgement of scientific quality) in judgement of science and scientists.  The use of these metrics started with good intentions but as with so many developments there have been unintended consequences that many in the scientific community feel need to be corrected.

Perhaps also related to influence is her relationship with change.  We talked about this while walking around the ponds in Bushy Park where fencing allows for more exotic planting inside the perimeter because the resident deer are kept outside.  Her own story is that she is not very good with change.  She has childhood memories of getting very upset when the family car she loved was moved on, and when her bedroom was redecorated!  I wondered about this, initially suggesting that from the stories she was telling me she appeared to navigate change well.  I think I suggested the possibility that if she were in control of it, change was manageable.  Jennifer was thoughtful and agreed there was something in that. 

On thinking about it after our conversation I think ‘control’ was too blunt a word to describe how she positively engaged in change.  I say this because while talking about what is of most interest to her currently there is a strong sense of her wanting to be part of a movement influencing change in the governance of science.  As well as talking about DORA she is also personally interested in the Coalition of the Advancement of Research Assessment (CoARA) which is seeking to ensure that ‘assessment of research, researchers and research organisations recognises the diverse outputs, practices and activities that maximise the quality and impact of research’.  In her mind she was exploring the benefits of connection of CoARA with NPL.  She talked about open access publishing of science, and I felt an echo of her commitment as a student to work on the public understanding of science.  Accessibility to, and understanding of science, are big ticket items for her.

All this feels connected to another choice she has made.  Recently she was accepted into the 2024 intake to the UK Young Academy whose mission is about ‘shaping a better future together'.  This description is borrowed from their website:  ‘The UK Young Academy is an interdisciplinary organisation of UK-based early-career researchers, innovators and professionals from across society who share a passion to improve our world.’  Taking all these things together it seems that a ‘possible future self’ for Jennifer being realised right now is one with a desire to encourage change, and with the energy and drive to take an active part in it.  So, instead of ‘control’ being a factor in helping her cope with change, perhaps it is more ‘being at the centre of’ process and the communities seeking to exert their influence.

Jennifer talked about something else significant to her ability to influence change - to manage her own boundaries.  In this context Jennifer remembered some advice given to her by Rachel Mills, previously of the University of Southampton and now Senior VP at Kings College London.  Rachel shared with Jennifer about the importance of ‘being clear in your focus, being able to hold the line on what you can be involved in, and able to let go what you can’t’.  There is a connection to this advice coming to the surface and the start of her journey with UK Young Academy, as Rachel also supported Jennifer in her application to join them.

Our conversation continued to ebb and flow as we started our return to NPL through the open stretches of Bushy Park.  It was by now the middle of the day and the park was populated in equal measure by people and red deer.  Every second person was an NPL member of staff!  They either passed us at leisurely pace making use of the Park for a walking meeting or at speed on a time circuit of the park.  Another ex-Southampton graduate Paul Brewer went speeding past and Jennifer became a little wistful, as ordinarily she would have been out there with the lead group on this daily run.  That time will come again very soon, I am sure!

It was great to see the enthusiasm of the greetings between Jennifer and her colleagues, as number 2 daughter was introduced for the first time.  The mutual respect and friendship were clear to see.  On that day our pace was determined by Jennifer’s little girl who determinedly stayed awake and facing forward, sucking up everything she was sensing.  Her unspoken contribution to our conversation had been significant in making real the delights and challenges of combining career and motherhood.  I had learned a great deal from our conversation too, about Jennifer’s journey and my own experiences.  Huge gratitude to you Jennifer for your planning, getting on the right bus, for making some time, and for talking and listening so well.  Thank you both!

Alpamayo Coaching on Tour is an experience that is all about storytelling and story sharing with people who I have shared time with in the past, either as colleagues, tutees, or coachees. If you would like to be part of the tour please do get in touch with me. My 'day job' of coaching also involves being interested in the way that other people narrate their stories. If you are interested in telling your story within a coaching partnership I will be pleased to hear from you too.