Leaders do not fail because they lack knowledge, skill or technique. Rather they fail because there is a lack of nerve and the presence to stand firm in the midst of other people’s emotional anxiety. A great leader has the ability to discern and safely navigate the emotional climate of the organization. One key variable, defined by Friedman, is a leaders presence. A leader who is well differentiated has a strong sense of self and can separate emotions while remaining connected. One aspect of a differentiated leader that resonated most with me is that the leader recognizes that true long-term change requires discomfort and you have to lead others through this discomfort toward change. As leaders we will either take on the chronic anxiety of the organization, or they will transform that anxiety by their calm well-defined presence.
Over the last few weeks I have learned that leading organization change starts with me. Before I can have crucial conversations I must become a well-differentiated leader. I chose to focus on becoming a well-differentiated leader before having crucial conversations because this will be most helpful in implementing my innovation plan. My plan requires teachers to implement blended learning into their classroom. Implementing blended learning will allow students to have choice, voice, ownership, and authenticity in their learning.
This task will not be simple, it will take time to garner support and to fully implement blended learning in all classrooms. The book Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High dives into the importance aspects of crucial conversations. Conversations are considered crucial if the stakes are high, opinions differ and emotions are strong. Goals will not be achieved unless these conversations are had. You must start with the heart and make sure everyone knows why the conversation is taking place. The purpose of both the innovation plan and the crucial conversation is to improve the learning environments of our students. In order to be successful implementing any change you must win over the hearts and minds of the people involved.
The Influencer Model allows us to focus on and measure our goal and then find vital behaviors which will help us achieve said goal. Naturally there will be push back. When teachers start to feel threatened there has to be a redirection back to the importance of why the change initiative is being introduced in the first place. For me the 4DX plan goes hand-in-hand with the Influencer Model. The latter deals with the emotional aspect of initiating change wheres 4DX deals with the actual implementation strategy/process. Both systems are needed to effectively create change. Over the last five weeks we have learned vital steps that are needed in order to successfully implement our innovation plan. I will be the first to admit that I did not think it would take this much intentional planning to lead organization change. I am confident that this could actually work and I definitely feel prepared.
References
McChesney, C., Covey, S., & Huling, J. (2016). The 4 disciplines of execution: Achieving your wildly important goals. New York: Free Press.
Grenny, J., Patterson, K., Maxfield, D., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2015). Influencer: The new science of leading change. North Ryde, NSW: McGraw-Hill.
Friedman, Edwin H., et al. A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix. Church Publishing, 2017.
Patterson, Kerry, et al. Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High. McGraw-Hill Education, 2012.
Educational Leadership 