Research

Research for a world that won't stop changing.

Organizations are operating in conditions that didn't exist five years ago. Every research cycle helps us understand what's changing, what assumptions no longer hold, and what leaders need to do differently.

Those insights don't become prescriptions. They help us ask better questions, diagnose more accurately, and continually strengthen the work we do alongside clients.

Most organizational research tells you what people say. Ethnographic research helps you understand what people actually do.

That difference matters. Surveys capture opinions. Our research reveals patterns of behavior, how people make decisions, collaborate across boundaries, navigate competing priorities, and adapt when the pressure is real. Both industry best practices and the reality in your organization.

Before co-founding Catalyst Constellations, Tracey Lovejoy spent more than two decades studying how people work, collaborate, innovate, and adapt inside complex organizations. She led ethnographic research and innovation teams at Microsoft, directed research at Edelman, co-founded the EPIC (Ethnographic Praxis in Industry) Conference, and continues to build on that work through Catalyst Constellations today.

Today, that work continues through Catalyst Constellations. Every engagement informs new research. Every research cycle sharpens our methodology. Together, they ensure our methodology continues to evolve alongside the organizations we serve.

Who shapes our research

Our research includes conversations with executives leading change across industries, including:

Chief Executive Officer Chief Operating Officer Chief Information Officer Chief People Officer Chief Digital Officer Chief Transformation Officer Innovation Leaders Board Directors

Healthcare  •  Technology  •  Manufacturing  •  Financial Services  •  Consumer Products  •  Telecommunications  •  Public Sector

Current Research

Transformation at Speed

What's Shifting, What's Breaking, and What Executive Teams Must Relearn

AI is forcing organizations to rethink structures, leadership models, and talent strategies that were built for a world where change was episodic. To understand what leaders are experiencing, we spoke with senior executives responsible for transformation across enterprise and mid-market organizations.

Download the Report
Big 3 Takeaways

Transformation must be anchored to business value.

Executive teams increasingly expect transformation to begin with a specific business problem, not change for its own sake.

Workforce readiness has become an execution constraint.

Leaders are being asked to operate in conditions they were never developed for, widening the gap between strategic ambition and execution capacity.

Ownership is evolving.

As adaptation becomes continuous, organizations are rethinking who owns transformation and how accountability should be structured.

"You need to work with your business partners to quantify the value, or we're not going to do it."

Andrea Le Chief Digital Officer, FMC Corporation
Put the research to work

Executive Transformation Pressure Test

Built directly from our research, this practical diagnostic helps executive teams identify where execution risk is emerging, align around the issues that matter most, and focus attention before momentum is lost.

Download the Pressure Test
Coming Fall 2026

Transformation, as a word, as a project, as a moment, is becoming obsolete.

That's the signal uncovered in our most recent research. As transformation becomes continuous, the questions shift: How are organizations restructuring ownership and accountability to keep up? What models are actually working?

How do organizations build, measure, and sustain the capacity to adapt?

That's the question we're exploring in our next research wave, in conversation with COOs, CDOs, and executives who own transformation outcomes. If you're navigating this question inside your organization, we'd like to hear from you. Participants get more than early access. They get a private readout of the findings, contextualized to their organization.

Request to Participate