Leading Organizational Change
Self-differentiated leadership and bringing the organization change process together
Reflection:
Being a self-Differentiated Leader is essential for organizational health and efficiency. Part of that role is holding Crucial Conversations in order to move the organization forward and avoid the possible toxicity of others.
EDLD 5317 Final Post Parts A and B
Installing 4DX
December 1, 2024
In Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994) the cyborg race the Borg begins most encounters with the phrase, “Resistance is futile…” Sometimes in education, the teachers and staff often feel they have encountered the Borg and heard that ominous opening whenever a new initiative is introduced at any given time. Faculty and staff feel, “Their technological and cultural distinctiveness will be assimilated into ‘the collective,’” will be lost in the initiative. Educators often see the changes and initiatives doled out by administrative teams as a threat to what they are trying to do daily in the classroom. The occasional “drive-by” without any feedback tends to put educators on edge and waiting with bated breath for when they get the feed-forward or feedback from the administrator who walked through silently as a ghost. Resistance to any change is difficult to deal with, whether it be in politics, education, business, or personal life. In addition to the changes we must deal with from our central admission teams and the daily whirlwind that leaves all of the goals that we have set for ourselves, our students, and our organization in a pile of rubble in the back of our minds, we need to learn how to escape the whirlwind. We are so consumed with everything else that we have to do every single day, that we lose sight of the really important goals and changes that we were hoping to make to move everyone forward in a better direction. Creating change in our school faces a plethora of challenges. The daily whirlwind that consumes the lives of students and faculty alike forms a tornado that threatens any organizational change perspective. It is hard to focus when that whirlwind seems all-consuming, taking any chance that we can focus on the here and now away. We must come together to focus on our Wildly Important Goals (WIGS) and bring about the change we are desperately trying to achieve.
Installing 4DX
What's My Why?
Why: We are trying to prepare our students, by name, for success at every level.
How: We engage students in authentic learning processes and opportunities through the structure of the Blended Classroom which allow them to take ownership of their learning experiences.
What: We prepare students to become responsible learners and citizens by using 21st century and peer relation skills that they will be able to use successfully in their lives after high school, no matter what opportunities they choose to pursue.
"The Way to the Why"
Our why should be the reasons why we come to work every morning, spend so many hours preparing lessons for our students, and take the time to get to know how to best help each one of them to achieve at their highest potential. However, as educators, we are constantly challenged by countless district, state, and government level initiatives that seem to stand in the way of the real reason why we chose to become educators to begin with.
John Kotter makes it clear that in order to create change, we have to establish a sense of urgency within the nature of our message in order to get others to “buy in” to what we are trying to accomplish. We see this used every day in advertising. Advertisers know that if they can appeal to your heart and create that sense of urgency and need, that you will undoubtedly be tempted to “buy in.” I know that I have also seen my own administration and guest speakers try to create this “buy in” effect during countless professional development days, but for most of us that have been in this position, their message is always lacking one key component. They never really explain their “why.” So, there is really no surprise, that by the end of the school year all of the new initiatives that were thrown onto our list of “must dos” have been completely forgotten about. I often wonder if, as Sinek remarked, that they don't know why they want us to do what they are asking us to do.
Improving higher order thinking skills and having students be better more independent learners have always been two of the top initiatives that is placed upon the teachers in my district at the beginning of every school year. We are always given a pep talk, but then there is never any sort of action to make this improvement a reality. As an English teacher, I have decided that it is time for me to step up and help make it happen.
I believe that taking on this challenge by allowing our students to take ownership of their learning and giving them a chance to learn in authentic ways will actually help both the students and the staff. Students will buy in because they will be allowed to learn in new ways and with their own voice, ownership, and choice in the Blended Learning Classroom. My colleagues will buy in, because they will realize that students will be able to build the skills they will need for the future. We all know that we need to change the way we lead our students in the classroom. We talk, students listen, then they show us that they heard and understood what we said. We need to let them discover, learn, and then we need to listen to them tell us how they learn(ed) a concept.
I am really hoping that by appealing to the hearts of my colleagues that I am able to create a sense of urgency in them that will allow all of us, as a team, to start challenging ourselves to let our students own their learning. The students are capable of rising to the challenge, we just have to get out of their way.
References:
Kotter, J. Leading change: Establish a sense of urgency. (2013 August 15). https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=2Yfrj2Y9IlI&feature=youtu.be
Sinek, S. Start with why — How great leaders inspire action. TEDxPugetSound. (2009 September 28). https://youtu.be/
Influencer Strategy
After viewing Dr. Cross’s TedX Talk entitled “Three Myths of Behavior Change-What You Think You Know But Don’t,” I have become enlightened to an entirely new set of tools that I can use to my advantage in order to get my colleagues on board with my innovation plan to make authentic and significant blended learning environments seamlessly included an everyday part of learning in the lives of our students. As Dr. Cross suggests, “We do not necessarily pay attention to our common sense when we are trying to influence an important group of people in our lives or organizations to make positive changes.” After focusing on her main points I have reflected and devised a plan of action to make the changes necessary to make our students better learners, not only in English classes but in every area of their study and their lives.