EDUC 638-D01 DB2 Fullan's Six Secrets of Change

Learning to do class work by mobile device during spring break has been challenging but quite rewarding!

Transcript:

Sheninger’s (2014) discussion of Fallan’s Six Secrets of Change and Potential Roadblocks is a wonderful roadmap to leading organizational change within our schools.  At the heart of this process is modeling the change personally and leading by example.  The six secrets are to love your employees, connect peers with purpose, ensure that capacity building prevails, make learning the work, be transparent, and build learning systems (Sheninger, 2014). 

            The idea of loving your employees is not just caring for them affectionately, but trusting them and supporting them unconditionally (Sheninger, 2014).  By doing this, they will to grow personally and best work to achieve the organizational goals.  This is also in alignment with Christ’s direction to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31, NIV).  In applying this in leading change, one should trust the employees to take on challenges and empower them with the ability to make decisions as one would personally.

            Connecting peers with purpose is also about empowering the staff, which “is a key aspect for any organization that wants to achieve higher levels of employee involvement, flexibility, and market responsiveness (Mathieu et al., 2006)” (Voegtlin, Boehm, & Bruch, 2015).  When this is done, the staff will have more complete ownership in the change process because they have been an active part of making decisions and developing policies.

            Building capacity as a leader is focused on sharing leadership and trusting others with the responsibility to take charge and work together.  The power and synergy that is available in allowing others to lead in their areas of interest and expertise will provide sustainable support in the implementation of change.  When this is well managed, it will also bring stronger group solidarity and trust in the process of change.   A leader may aspire to lead change, but they must enable their staff to bring this change about.  “Aspiration and enablement are two things that only a real leader can do" (O’Neill, 2012).

            Sheninger (2014) discusses how making learning the work requires that leaders model lifelong learning in their own work.  It is important that they work to create a culture where it is natural for teachers to work together and learn from each other.  This is different from providing professional development time and presenting information, it involves building a working environment where working together and sharing knowledge is a natural part of the staff’s interactions.

            When the working environment and culture works in this way, transparency comes much more naturally.  Teachers need to observe effective new practices and technologies in use while mentoring and coaching each other.  Sheninger (2014) mentions that there will be greater engagement in the process of change when information is shared.  If this is done by building trust within the faculty so that they can learn from each other and see their successes shared, it will also create its own momentum in ongoing learning.

            Sheninger (2014) describes how building a strong group of leaders will also enhance continuity and learning systems.  They can share ideas and support each other in real time through the use of technology.  As part of this system, all shareholders can bring information they encounter to the attention of others and work together to implement proven ideas in a way that fits their needs.

            Of course, this process is filled with roadblocks that must continuously be overcome.  From the reactions that it’s too hard, there is no time, or a reluctance to collaborate to the fear of change, and reactions of naysayers and antagonists (Sheninger, 2014).  This has certainly been seen in the experience of this writer.  In the current move to bring technology and learning management systems into the classroom curriculum, many teachers immediately responded with these very reactions.  Those who were against the idea were quite vocal, saying that it would be too hard and that there is not time to learn and redesign curriculum.  The principal supported and empowered a small group of interested teachers to begin the process and share their work and results with others, even providing substitutes for those who wanted to visit and see how things were being done in the classrooms.  The result is that within three years, over two thirds of the faculty has begun learning and implementing the technology on some level.  There is now a strong learning community that is sharing and supporting each other in the continued implementation and, with the continued support of the principal, all grade levels have new technology available in their classrooms.

References:

O'Neill, P. H. (2012). Truth, Transparency, and Leadership. Public Administration Review, 72(1), 11-12. Retrived fom: http://rx9vh3hy4r.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Truth%2C+Transparency%2C+and+Leadership&rft.jtitle=Public+Administration+Review&rft.au=Paul+H+O%27Neill&rft.date=2012-01-01&rft.pub=American+Society+for+Public+Administration&rft.issn=0033-3352&rft.eissn=1540-6210&rft.volume=72&rft.issue=1&rft.spage=11&rft_id=info:doi/10.1111%2Fj.1540-6210.2011.02487.x&rft.externalDocID=4090498821

Sheninger, E. (2014). Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin

Voegtlin C., Boehm S.A., Bruch H. (2015) How to empower employees: Using training to enhance work units’ collective empowerment, International Journal of Manpower, 36(3), 354-373, doi: 10.1108/IJM-10-2012-0158