Organizational Change Strategy
Organizational change is not something that happens overnight. It is also not something that can just be decided and then never talked about again. Long-standing organizations, such as education, have deep roots and it can be hard to change the way things have been because they are just that, the way things have always been. It takes a few innovators to come in and shake things up. In the beginning, there will be pushback and resisters. There will be strong opinions and rejection and if you are not careful, you may get burnt out before you ever have a chance to get your idea off of the ground, which is what happens to even some of the best ideas. Now that I have created and backed my innovation plan with research, my biggest hurdle will now be getting my staff on board with me to use blended learning in their classrooms. I understand the things that I will face and in response, I have developed a strategy to help me stand up against these challenges.
The first step in this process was identifying my why. Why do I do what I do? By taking a step back and reflecting on this, I was able to make a connection with my passion and my goals. Finding my why gave me a clear vision of my goals and I believe will help me connect with others. When talking about my innovation plan with others, it will be important to share my motivations and hopefully pull on some heartstrings to get them on board as well. Check out the blog post that I wrote about my why.
Next, I spent some time learning about the 6 sources of influential change. These sources can be found in the book Influencer: The New Science of Leading Change. This takes a look at the motivation and ability of the personal, social, and structural levels. I began by identifying the desired result that I was looking for with my innovation plan. Next, I identified vital behaviors that are essential to reaching the desired result. I also pinpoint the measures that will be used to track vital behaviors. I also pointed out the most influential individuals so I can know who can be my biggest asset when proceeding with my plan. I then applied the 6 sources of influence to my organization and identified what behaviors would apply to each source. View my full influencer strategy here.
Another tool that will make a huge difference when implementing change is the Four Disciplines of Execution. The 4DX model helped me identify one goal to work toward. When creating change, there can be dozens of goals that you have, but if you are trying to reach them all at the same time, you cannot give the appropriate amount of energy to each one and they begin to become something of the past. In this post, I talk about the whirlwind of the day-to-day tasks that take up the majority of our time. I identify a Wildly Important Goal that would need special attention to be reached. I developed LEAD and LAG measures to track the goal. I discussed the importance of creating a scoreboard with the team to keep everyone motivated and identified how to keep everyone accountable by holding weekly meetings. View the entire 4DX strategy here.
The final step of my Organizational Change Strategy was to become familiar with becoming a self-differentiated leader and developing the skills to be able to have crucial conversations. In this blog post, I explored the different steps of entering into a crucial conversation and how to identify when you have entered into one. A crucial conversation is one that has high stakes (future generation's education), opinions vary (different teaching styles), and emotions run high (teaching is a career of passion). Conversations that involve these three things can go south quickly, but by being a self-differentiated leader and being familiar with the steps of crucial conversations, I have a better chance of reaching a conclusion and maintaining work relationships, even if the conversations are tough. These steps can be applied to any aspect of life and be beneficial.
Looking through each of these pieces of my organizational change strategy, you can see how they are all woven together. The theme of identifying goals and motivations is something that is present in all sections which reinforces the importance of having a clear picture of what you are wanting before moving getting others to join you. By using this strategy I believe I will be better prepared for what lies ahead as I try and make meaningful change.