Educational Leadership

4 Be prepared to shift from discussion to commitment to implementation.

As the discussion of the change initiative reaches the point of saturation and all points seem to have been considered, take a barometer of the group, summarize the discussion so far, and move forward. We want to give the faculty plenty of time to consider an initiative and ensure that we have everyone’s feedback, but we don’t want the discussion phase to carry on for months, or worse, years. Leaders must be prepared to close the discussion, make a decision with the input they’ve received, and call for commitment on whether to move forward with the initiative. Without a doubt, there will still be those who disagree, but this is the time to remind the group why implementing the change wholeheartedly and with fidelity is necessary.

There will, of course, be times when a small group pilots an initiative. The size of the group implementing the change is unimportant; what’s important is that everyone in that group does so to the best of their ability.

It’s also important for school leaders to remain
open to changing direction as a result of the
discussion of a change initiative—for example,
because an overwhelming majority of teachers find
the direction to be ill-advised and are unwilling to
commit. Certainly, if a group finds the direction
conflicts with a legal provision or a fundamental
value held by the school or individuals within
it, teachers can’t be expected to commit. If the
leadership team receives this kind of information
from the discussion, they should reconsider the
initiative.

5 Take data and make adjustments as you go.

Just as we do in the classroom, we should gather formative data on the effect an initiative is having, share that data, and make adjustments along the way. For more contentious initiatives, we may need to revisit our culture of disagree and commit regularly throughout the implementation period— and openly applaud the efforts of those who’ve made the decision to disagree and commit for the betterment of the school. Certainly, it’s difficult to find yourself in a position of implementing an initiative the group has decided to take on that you don’t fully support.

School Leader Be Nimble

Educational leaders are in the challenging position of shepherding forward school change, often in the face of heated opposition from faculty members or families. But shying away from school change is not the answer if we want to have progressive schools that respond quickly to the research and recommended practices from the field. We must remain actively engaged with the research and nimble enough to respond to it in our own schools. School leaders must also have the skills to guide difficult and productive conversations about implementation with faculty members. The disagree-and-commit approach, situated within the;context of data-based decision making, offers leaders one more tool for successfully implementing difficult school change. ;L

References

Bezos. J. (2016). 2016 letter to shareholders, Amazon.

Heath, C., & Heath, D. (2010). Made to stick: Why some ideas take hold and others come unstuck. New York: Random House.

Tracy, B. (2010). How the best leaders lead: Proven secrets to getting the most out of yourself and others. New York: AMACOM.

Lee Ann Jung is an education consultant and chief academic officer of the ASCD Student Growth Center. Follow her on Twitter.

Building a Team of Leaders

I’ve learned that I don’t have to do it all. I’m surrounded by smart, capable people. To be a good leader, I need to recognize and draw on their strengths. No one person has every trait that makes for an exceptional leader, but together, a team of leaders can do the seemingly impossible. When everyone takes ownership of the mission at hand, change is easier to tackle.

Next year, I’ll intentionally seek out other leaders who can own aspects of the work in more meaningful ways, and stop feeling pressure to know all the answers. After all, leadership shouldn’t feel isolating. Instead, it should build a community that works together for the greatest good.