Leading Change in Schools

Chris DaicosDip Tch ( Prim) BA BSW

Ph 94824418

www.chrisdaicos.com.au

The Call to Change

Implementing change in ways that benefit student learning requires leadership skills.

All educators are being challenged to become leaders who can make a

difference by helping implement changes necessary to improve learning.

Leaders must teach others what they know and how to do it in order to develop others as leaders to share in the responsibility of

implementing the necessary changes.

M. Fullan Leading in a Culture of Change

"In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find

themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer

exists."

- Eric Hoffer 1902-1983 , American social writer

Why teachers must become change agents…..

Fullan agues that for teachers to retain the sense of moral purpose and commitment that lead them into teaching they need to `combine the mantle of moral purpose with the skills of change agentry.'

Moral purpose and change agentry ...are natural allies...moral purpose or making a difference, concerns bringing about improvements. Moral purpose keeps teachers close to the needs of children and youth, change agentry causes them to develop better.. strategies for accomplishing their moral goals.

The qualities of change leaders

• A commitment to personal change

• Comfort with complexity and ambiguity

• High moral confidence• A compelling vision• Interpersonal engagement• A willingness to challenge

authority• Personal resilience and

sustainability

Stakeholder Analysis

FenceSitters

AGREEMENT

High

Low TRUST High

BEDFELLOWS ALLIES

ADVERSARIESOPPONENETS

StakeholdersAllies – High Trust/High Agreement

share our vision are people in whom we have a high level of trust

Bedfellows – High Agreement/Low TrustAre aligned to our vision, goals and objectives but there are issues of trust. They don’t always give us the full story

Opponents – High trust/Low AgreementAre those peole that we trust a great deal, but who disagree with our purpose, direction or goals.

Fence Sitters - Low Trust/Unknown AgreementIs someone who simply wont take a stand for or against us. At the heart of the fence sitter is doubt. The risks and uncertainty dominate the discussion. Commitments are essentially soft and filled with contingency

Adversaries – Low Agreement/Low TrustPeople become adversaries only when our attempts at negotiating agreement and trust have failed.

Engaging stakeholders

A stakeholder is anyone that will be affected by the change

Stakeholder segmentation should be detailed enough to allow you to shape a focused communication campaign to move other stakeholders to a positive position on the change; you may need different messages for different groups (Parents., students, teacher, admin etc.)

2 questions on stakeholdersminds

1. How will this affect me? Stakeholders will evaluate a change in terms of how it will affect them in terms of potential benefits and real and feared losses.2. What do I think of the person (s) proposing and leading this change? Relationships play a critical role in the success or failure of change projects. The change team needs to b, credible, credentialed (in terms of the area of change) and respected in order to have access to and influence others

Stakeholders can become adversaries or allies on the basis of 2 dimensions:

1. Agreement ( about whether or not, about where we are headed]

2. Trust (about the way we behave to achieve that)

The Change Model

The Change Model describes the reactions to change in three terms: endings, transitions and beginnings.

Endings- some things cease to be.

Transitions- becoming conscious of what is ending and what is beginning

Beginnings- aligning yourself to a common purpose and vision

Endings

The sense of loss-job loss, loss of work colleagues, loss of familiar work methods and procedures, loss of a significant part of what is comfortable.

Excess baggage is not stopping that familiar job, tasks, personal relationship, method but continuing to do it or keep it in the new situation

Endings cont’d

Intellectual versus emotional endingsjust because you can understand something doesn't mean you accept it.

Emotional reservations result in a constant energy drain

People can express emotional concerns in more acceptable intellectual or technical statements

Transitions

The process of letting go and moving on. - The transition to what?It can be taking what is good from the past into the future.- namely your skills, strengths and aspirations, thedepartment's achievements, strengths. Making connections between the old and the new.

Beginnings

There needs to be a certain level of ownership of the changePeople are continually changing, are continually changing places and not everyone is at the same place.The building blocks of beginnings don't only rely on-goals, plans and motivation but also on vision, commitment, alignment and trust

Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM)

Managing Change through

“Stages of Concern”

CHANGE: Is a PROCESS, not an event

Is made by INDIVIDUALS first, then institutions

Is a highly PERSONAL experience

Entails DEVELOPMENTAL growth in feelings and skills

The Phases of transition

through change

Denial

Numbness

Work as usual focus on the ‘way we were’

It will be over real soon

Apathy

There is activity but not much gets done

Resistance

Self doubt, anger, blame, anxiety depression ,fear or uncertainty

People are upset and negative

Productivity dips dramatically

‘retirement on the job’ – “whats the point this place doesn’t care anymore.”

Exploration

Energy released, people focus on the future & external environment‘chaos’ ( figuring out new responsibilities, searching for new ways to relate, how will things work out?”“Lets try this and this and what about this?’Lots of energy and new ideas but a lack of focusUncertainty and excitementInternal energy drawn on to figure out ways to capitalise on the future

Commitment

Teamwork

Ready to focus on a plan

Willingness to re- create mission & build action plans

Prepared to learn

Re-negotiated roles and expectations

Those who are committed are looking for the next challenge

Stages of Concern About Innovation

0 Awareness1 Information2 Personal

3 Management

ConsequencesCollaborationRefocusing

Little concern or involvementDesire to know moreAnalysis of how the innovation will affect meHow to work effectively with the innovation

Effects of using the innovationWays of co-operating with other peopleRefining the ideas of the innovation

self

task

Impact

Stage of Concern Types of expressions you would expect to hear:

6. REFOCUSING “I have some ideas about something that would work even better.”

5. COLLABORATION “How can I relate what I am doing to what others are doing?”

4. CONSEQUENCE “What impact am I having? How can I refine it to have more impact?”

3. MANAGEMENT “I seem to be spending all my time getting materials ready.”

2. PERSONAL “How will using it affect me?”

1. INFORMATIONAL “I would like to know more about it.”

0. AWARENESS “I am not concerned about it.”

Stages of Concern

Self Concerns: Stages 0, 1, & 2Most frequently expressed prior to beginning a new innovation. Concerns reflect a need for more information and answers.

“What is this all about?”

“How does this affect me?”

Stages of Concern Task Concerns: Stage 3

Most frequently expressed just prior to and during the initial stage of implementation of a new innovation. Concerns reflect a need to know how to manage the innovation.

“How do I find the time to do all of this?” “How do I manage these new

materials?” “How do I group students?”

Stages of Concern Impact Concerns: Stages 4, 5, & 6

Most frequently expressed once the person feels comfortable managing and implementing the new innovation. Concerns reflect questions about the impact on student learning, how to improve the innovation, how effective it is, or how to collaborate with others to improve it.

“Are my students learning anything?” “I have ideas about how to make it

better.”

Conditions for Implementing Change

Intelligible

Plausible

Feasible

Fruitful/ Beneficial

Time, personal understanding, support reflection on practiceExistence of a problem does not mean it can be solved at this time and in this place.

Policies represent intentions to solve problems. What can be achieved depends on resources and priorities in the schoolTime personal understanding, experience

To successfully implement change you need to address the following

human needs

For meaning

For some control

For some positive reinforcement

For experimentation to try out new skills and not be ridiculed.

Interventions to Address Concerns

Stage 0: Awareness Concerns

Involve them in discussions and decisions.

Arouse interest.

Give permission not to know.

Provide information and encourage sharing.

Stage 1: Informational Concerns

Provide clear and accurate information.

Share information often and in a variety of ways.

Show how changes relate to current practices (similarities and differences.)

Interventions to Address Concerns

Stage 2: Personal Concerns

Draw out and address personal concerns directly.Use personal notes and conversation.Connect people to others who are influential and supportive.

Interventions to Address Concerns

Stage 3: Management Concerns

Focus on specific areas for change.

Answer specific “how to” questions.

Identify sequences of activities and set timelines for implementation.

Interventions to Address Concerns

Stage 4: Consequence Concerns

Gather data and provide feedback.

Provide opportunities for users to share knowledge and skills.

Provide evaluation strategies.

Interventions to Address Concerns

Stage 5: Collaboration Concerns

Train people to collaborate.

Arrange for people to help each other.

Rearrange schedules so people have time to work together.

Interventions to Address Concerns

Stage 6: Refocusing Concerns

Train people to experiment and collect data on results.

Document changes being made and monitor impact.

Interventions to Address Concerns

Peoples responses to change

Victim/owner

Loss/gain

Rigidity/resilience

Disengagement( withdrawal)

Disidentification ( sadness/worry)

Disorientation ( confusion)

Disenchantment ( anger)

Fullan ( 1997) …”With greater emotional intelligence and empathy, initiators of change learn form resistors. They know that emotion is energy.

The three negative strategies that are usually used to deal with resistance:-

Break it down ( threats, coercion)

Avoid it

Minimize it ( discount, trivialise)

A Positive Approach to Minimise Resistance to Change

Step 1. Surface the Resistance

Step 2. Honour the Resistance

Step 3. Explore the Resistance.

Step 4. Re-check

Step 5. Follow-Up

HOW DO I MOVE MYSELF AND OTHER PEOPLE

TOWARD BEGINNINGS The CSE Support System

Clarify concerns and issues throughlistening, focusing, restating Sharing- signal the shift, explain the purpose of the information, overview the change in general, link the change to their concerns, summarise the concernsEngage- ask for understanding and agreement, ask for ideas, suggest ideas, agree to finite steps

Change process and conflict

Change means movement. Movement means friction. Only in the frictionless

vacuum of a nonexistent abstract world can movement or change occur without

that abrasive friction or conflict

Alinsky (1971)

The process of change is, at its core a process of conflict resolution E. Marcus

Three critical psychological components involved in any change process:

1.Motivation

2.Resistance

3.Commitment to change

Unfreezing

Developing openness toward something different

Melting of the solidity of the current state

Driving and Restraining Forces

relevant to understanding the process of unfreezing

Useful method for portraying the array of forces acting on a system at any given moment

Serves to illustrate the current state of the system

Forces that promote the change (driving forces) and those working in opposition (restraining forces)

Driving forces are those motivations, attitudes , behaviours, or other characteristics of a situation that help move toward the goal or unfreeze from the present situation.

Restraining forces are the opposite, they are the constellation of forces working against the change

The Process of Change- cont’d

MovementOnce openness has been achieved this is the next step

Taking some action that changes or moves the social system to a new level

Restraining forces which are also a form of resistance make movement difficult.

Resistance:-…….

Is a key psychological component playing a strong role in the transition process

Is mobilization of energy to protect the status quo in the face of real or perceived threat to it.

May be thought of as bhr intended to protect from the effect of real or imagined change

Refreezing

Involves establishing actions or processes that support the new level of bhr and lead to resilience against those resistant forces encouraging old patterns and bhrs.

Deliberate steps must be taken to ensure new bhrs ‘stick’ or remain permanently unchanged in the system.

Restabilising the system to its new or changed level of bhr.

Motivation and UnfreezingA common method used to generate motivation to change centers on providing feedback to the system

The intent is to identify and make salient discrepancies between the current state and the desired state or ideal state

Feedback or information obtained about a system from outside the system

Information constituting feedback is intended to stimulate the kind of conflict that motivates change

Social support is a critical resource in managing significant personal change.

Movement and Resistance“Resistance is a naturally emerging part of of the change process or any movement away form the status quo”( Connor 1992)

“A necessary prerequisite of successful change is the mobilization of forces against it” (Klein 1966)

Conflict that emerges as expression of resistance can be viewed as an expression of the central conflict in any change – between what we want to be ( a desired future) and what we are ( the current state)

We uncover the central conflict early on when we highlight the gaps between where we are and where we want to be

Resistance and Conflict

A system cannot change without conflict. How it is handled determines the success of the effort to change

There is a strong similarity between the process involved in in successful change effort and that involved in constructive conflict resolution

Things to consider re- resistance

Increase the groups understanding for the need for change and participation in its planning.

The strongest forces of resistance are expressed by those with the greatest interest in preserving the status quo

Resistance is aggravated and hence strengthened as more energy is directed to eradicating it.

Constructively Handling Resistance-

A smaller change ( or amount of deviation from the status quo)

Keep parts of the system stable

Give parties the chance to mourn the loss that any change entails

Abundant availability of resources ( time money people) to support the change

Involve those most affected by the change in its planning and implementation- serves to increase their commitment to any change

Gaining Commitment

Commitment by a critical mass of people is the sufficient condition needed to sustain any change. It is the force that refreezes a system to its new changed state.

How?Involve them in planning and implementation

During early stages of conflict we can commit to constructive conflict resolution

People Support Change When They…

Relate to the vision.

Expect personal gain.

Give input.

Respect the leader.

Believe the time is right.

Source: 1996, Leading Change, John Kotter

Eight Common Errors

No sense of urgency No guiding coalition Lacking vision Under communicating Permitting obstacles No short-term wins Declaring victory too soon Not anchoring changes

Source: 1996, Leading Change, John Kotter