Staff and leaders in schools are currently experiencing a massive amount of change and it shows no sign of slowing. It’s like a tsunami of change!
I believe we have three options –
Ignore the change and hope it goes away – it won’t!
Fight against the change and hope we will maintain the status quo – we won’t! OR
Steer the change to ensure that we gain the benefits espoused – we might!
However some change processes are more effective than others and often it comes down to the leadership or steering of the change process. By avoiding the 7 sins of change leadership we can help ensure that we more effectively steer the implementation of the change and attain the benefits that were intended.
Which of the following 7 sins have you seen committed? Which ones are you guilty of?
- Announcing the change is NOT the same as implementing the change
- People’s concerns are NOT surfaced and addressed
- The people implementing the change are NOT involved in planning the implementation
- The change leadership team are disconnected and are not aware of the practicalities of the change
- There is NO compelling reason to change or the reason isn’t made clear
- Leaders fail to prioritise and try to do too many things at once
- Staff are NOT held accountable for actually making the change
7 Steps to Successfully Implementing Change
Keep the BIG Picture in mind – What is the intent of the initiative? What will be the benefit?
Choose wisely – Identify a small number of priorities. Don’t jump on every bandwagon!
Get involved in steering – Be actively involved in the planning AND implementation of key initiatives. Be on the working party making the decisions.
Start small – but start – elephant eating 101
Build on your strengths – Identify, value and retain what you already do well. Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.
Expect the DIP and persist – when implementing a change, things appear to get worse before they get better. This is predictable and is to be expected. It is important to persist through the dip and be patient as the situation improves.
Celebrate progress towards the goal – it is vital that we acknowledge and celebrate progress made towards the goal.
Happy School Professional Development Webinars
Last week’s Happy School Webinar on the 7 Sins of Leading Change unpacked these points.
Happy School Webinars are provided twice each term. They are provided FREE for schools that subscribe to receive Happy School articles.
Attitude is Everything – Middle Years Program
The response to our middle years program, “Attitude is Everything” has been great. The stand-alone program of lessons is presented in a ready-to-use workbook. The program was co-written by Bruce Sullivan and Steve Francis to help staff in schools foster a more positive attitude in middle years students.
To find out more, visit the website, watch this short video or email for a free copy of the workbook to be mailed to you.
Happy School Staff articles this month include…
- Ten Tips for Beating Fatigue by Elena Aguilar
- Time Management Secrets
- Meditation by Amanda Neubauer
- Parent Conferences – The Basics by Michael Grinder
- Are you Suffering Decision Fatigue?
Please visit www.happyschool.com.au for subscription details and to sign up.
I’d welcome your thoughts or comments via our Facebook page or email to steve@happyschool.com.au
Professional Development
Professional development sessions for your staff are available on a range of topics ideal for student free day’s or after school sessions. Email to check availability of your preferred date.
Which topic does your team need most?
7 Secrets of Motivating and Engaging Students
(PS…they work for the teachers too!!)
Motivating and engaging students can be challenging. Many students have short concentration spans, are disinterested and disengaged from learning. Teaching is more demanding than ever before! Traditional carrot and stick approaches have limited effect. Ultimately we can’t MAKE anybody DO something. In this session I’ll share the 7 secrets that teachers must implement to motivate and engage their students. All teachers can implement these practical, well-grounded strategies to improve their students’ attitude.
Building Trust – Essential Skills
Trust is at the heart of all relationships. Trust impacts on us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It impacts on the quality of every relationship, every communication, every workplace and every organisation. Building Trust is vital! Stephen Covey’s 13 behaviours that build trust are simple, straight forward and immediately transferable to schools. They apply at all levels. Having good intentions is not enough. It is behaviour that counts!
Steering Change
The one constant in the world today is change! Ultimately our response to change is dependent on our attitude AND we CHOOSE our attitude.Our people need to be positive, optimistic and energetic. In this session I’ll help staff in schools to develop the right attitude. I identify the three biggest obstacles to successful change and the specific strategies needed to overcome these challenges. A positive attitude is essential to success.
Increasing WORK-LIFE Satisfaction
Working in schools can be challenging. A happy staff achieves better results. It is vital that staff in schools get satisfaction from the important work we do. Thinking of our happiness in terms of ‘balance’ leads us to think that we have to ‘balance out’ the time or energy that we spend at work with the time and energy we put into the rest of our lives. This adds to our stress! We need to get satisfaction from both our work and the rest of our lives. It is essential that we focus on what is REALLY important in our lives. This IS your REAL life – it isn’t a dress rehearsal.
Gr8 People are Part of Gr8 Teams
There are 10 vital attributes that are necessary in all teams within schools. For a team to reach their potential each individual needs to make their contribution and that contribution needs to be aligned with the school’s direction and priorities. The better that people work together and are aligned, the better outcomes the school will achieve.
Which of the attributes do your teams do well and which ones need to be improved? Establishing clear and agreed priorities, in simple language is essential.
Feedback – Helping Teachers Be the Best They Can Be
School audits highlighted the need for many schools to establish processes for providing feedback to teachers as a vital aspect of improved performance in schools. However giving teacher’s feedback is not part of the culture in most schools. In this session we look at why feedback is so important, consider a range of options and develop an action plan for establishing a feedback culture.
Conferences and Work With Schools
In coming monthis I’m looking forward to working with…
- School leadership teams in a number of schools including Wynnum Manly cluster
- Year 8 and 9 students at Sacred Heart College, Geelong
- School staff at Grovely, Windsor and Runcorn Schools and Sacred Heart College
- QASSP members for full day programs on Establishing A Feedback Culture
- Qld. Assn. of State School Principals’ State Conference
- School Principals in Darwin
If you’d like me to present at your conference or work with your staff, email me steve@stevefrancis.net.au