CHANGE MANAGEMENT

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CHANGE MANAGEMENT

• The School Leader as Change Agent

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Why Change?
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MOST SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN DESIGNED TO SOLVE
YESTERDAYS PROBLEMS, RATHER THAN CAPITALIZING ON
TODAYS OPPORTUNITIES TO EFFECTIVELY CONFRONT THE
ISSUES OF TOMORROW
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THAT WHICH GOT US WHERE WE ARE IS NOT VERY LIKELY
TO GET US WHERE WE WANT TO GO!
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PEOPLE USUALLY SUPPORT IMPROVEMENT --ITS CHANGE
THEY DONT LIKE!
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THERE IS NOTHING PERMANENT EXCEPT CHANGE
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Barriers to Change

• Why do people resist change?
• The status quo provides a certain comfort zone
• Need for stability
• Need for predictability
• Fear of the unknown
• Others???

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Model of Employee Decision to Actively Resist an
Organizational Change Effort
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Tools to Facilitate Change

• Managing Complex Change
• Force Field Analysis
• Consensus Building

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Management of Complex Change Critical Components

• Vision
• Strategic Planning
• Skills
• Incentives
• Resources
• Action Plan

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Management of COMPLEX CHANGE
ACTION




CHANGE
VISION
SKILLS
RESOURCES
INCENTIVES
PLAN
ACTION
CONFUSION
SKILLS
INCENTIVES
RESOURCES




PLAN
ACTION




ANXIETY
INCENTIVES
RESOURCES
VISION
PLAN
ACTION
VISION
SKILLS
RESOURCES




GRADUAL
PLAN
CHANGE
ACTION
VISION
SKILLS
INCENTIVES




FRUSTRA-
PLAN
TION
FALSE
VISION
SKILLS
INCENTIVES
RESOURCES



STARTS
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Management of Complex ChangeActivity

• With a person sitting next to you, go through the
  complex change matrix with this situation
• You are asking every staff member to incorporate
  cooperative learning strategies into their
  lessons.
• Decide what must be done to make sure each
• component of the matrix has been addressed.

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Force Field AnalysisCritical Components

• Desired Change
• Driving Forces Favoring Change
• Restraining Forces Resisting Change
• Equilibrium or Current Status

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FORCE FIELD ANALYSIS
State Desired Change Here
DRIVING FORCES
RESTRAINING FORCES
Forces resisting the change
Forces favoring the change
(EQUILIBRIUM OR CURRENT STATUS)
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Force Field AnalysisActivity

• With a person sitting next to you, work with the
  force field analysis using this situation
• You have decided to ask staff to help you
  increase parent involvement at your school.
• What are the driving and restraining forces
  involved? How can you increase the driving
  forces and decrease the restraining forces?

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How Can Leaders Best Support the Improvement
Effort?

• (From McREL, 2000)

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I. Recognize the Differences Between Leadership
Management
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II. Give Up the Notion of the Hero-Leader
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III. Develop Broad-Based Leadership
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IV. Encourage Individual Initiative
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V. Develop a Learning Organization
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VI. Take a Balcony View
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Effective School Leaders Must

• Increase their own knowledge base
• Take risks, break new ground, and cultivate a
  climate of experimentation
• Share leadership with competent staff --put less
  competent staff on a short leash
• Help others to acquire reform-related knowledge
  and skills
• Be persistent
• Appreciate incremental change (baby steps)

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Overlapping Arenas of Management Expertise Needed
for Change to Take Root Thrive

• Management of day to day school issues
• Management of long term school issues
• Maintenance of relationships with the governing
  body
• Maintenance of relationships with the community

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Conclusions from a Body of Recent Research

• Effective school leaders are those who are
  visionary and skillful learners, as well as
  strong and competent partners in facilitating and
  sustaining reform

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• Conclusion One can become a notably successful
  school leader given any of a considerable array
  of gifts and tendencies.
• Its what you do with what you have that really
  counts!

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How Do These Puzzle Pieces Fit Together to Make a
Coherent Whole?
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Effective School-wide Leadership Requires
Understanding of

• The System- context in which you operate,
  including school/agency/district norms, local,
  state, and federal policies, and standards of
  accrediting bodies for public private programs
• Yourself- leadership style, preferences for
  change, facilitation skills, philosophy of
  teaching and learning
• Others- those who serve as levers and those who
  must make changes

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Relational Leadership Model
SYSTEM
OTHERS
SELF
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You as a Leader

• Your own orientation to change, leadership and
  management styles, and philosophy of teaching and
  learning provide the pathways for determining how
  you, as a unique individual, can be successful

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Relationship to Others

• Nearly all studies show that without buy-in from
  teachers, change is doomed.
• At the very least, you need a critical mass of
  support.

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Building ConsensusWhat Is Consensus?

• Group decision-making process
• Everyone's opinion is encouraged and valued
• Differences are viewed as helpful rather than
  hindering
• All voices are heard and understood before an
  effort to finalize a decision is made
• After full discussion, those who continue to
  disagree indicate willingness to experiment for a
  prescribed period of time
• All members share in final decision-making 

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Advantages of Decision-Making by Consensus

• Can be informal or use formal procedures
• Members are more likely to support the decision
• Provides for a win-win solution
• Facilitates open communication
• Requires members to listen and understand all
  sides of the issue
• Sets the stage for action - who, what, where,
  when, how why

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Disadvantages of Decision-Making by Consensus

• Trust is needed among members of group to
  encourage sharing
• Group leaders must use facilitation rather than
  control
• Takes more time to reach consensus, especially in
  larger groups
• 7 magic number for reaching group consensus
• One or two people tend to dominate larger groups

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Steps in Facilitating Consensus

• 1.   Identify and define problem, situation, or
  issue
• 2.   Brainstorm list of alternatives suspend
  judgment do not discuss or reject any ideas
• 3.   Review, change, consolidate, rewrite and set
  priorities as a group through discussion
• 4.   Make a decision and put in writing
• 5.   Later, review and evaluate results revise
  as needed

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Consensus BuildingActivity

• As a group, come to consensus in regard to the
  following scenario
• Everyone in the group is a teacher at the same
  school and each staff member must have 15 clock
  hours of professional development per year. All
  have personal preferences for the topics of
  upcoming professional development workshops.
• You must decide as a group what areas you want
  further training in and reach consensus on three
  topics.

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Summary

• To be effective as a change agent, consider and
  understand
• The system or context in which you work
• Yourself as a leader
• What it takes to motivate and involve others