Dr. Michael Lehman was the newly appointed external chairman of the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology (the department) at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry. He had been brought in specifically to address the consistent underperformance of the department. Department members had divided into two camps – clinical teaching and research – and open conflict existed between members with the result that the clinical anatomy division was considering leaving the faculty. Another area of concern involved the declining research output by the cell biology division; many research programs had stalled, resulting in the loss of external funding. Lehman wondered how to balance competing interests and incentives with his five-year plan. His overall strategy was three-fold: keep the department together; enable faculty to generate scholarly research; and rejuvenate research activities. From a change-management perspective, Lehman wanted to identify his key challenges and develop a plan of action for each issue. He thought about how to implement change in his new department.
