Leading Through Crucial Conversations
The Messy Reality of Change in Education
Like most efforts, change in education rarely goes smoothly. You might have a brilliant idea backed by research and planning, but implementing it can be a struggle. Learning from experience, resistance is inevitable. Roadblocks consist of being scared of the unknown, lack of understanding, or differing opinions. It's easy to get caught in a battle to prove yourself, leaving everyone frustrated and the change you want to see halted.
The Power of Crucial Conversations
This is where crucial conversations come in. These are high-stakes conversations where opinions clash and emotions run strong. In education, these happen often. We’re passionate about our students, and naturally, teaching styles and approaches to learning and growth may vary. So, how can we welcome a conversation about something as potentially transformative as change?
The Importance of In-person Conversations
The key is to listen. In our digital world, emails and texts might seem like efficient ways to communicate, especially when documentation is needed. However, they lack the personal emotion of an in-person interaction. A genuine conversation, which is crucial for getting people to support a change, requires sitting down together and actively listening to each other. This face-to-face communication promotes understanding and sets the stage for successful change implementation.
Taking on the challenge of leading change, my mission is to improve our learning environment. In this case, I believe blended learning holds the key to creating a more engaging and effective experience for our new teachers and, in turn, our students. But let's be honest, difficult conversations are not really my forte. However, to achieve success, I can't shy away from them. It's time for me to step up and lead my teaching and learning team through a crucial conversation about what truly matters for our district's education.
Confrontation can be scary and is my least favorite thing to happen. We feel exposed and vulnerable. However, this vulnerability is the foundation of effective communication. To move forward, we need to discuss my plan for blended learning, the implementation strategy leveraging the 6 Sources of Influence and 4DX framework, and most importantly, my main motivation - why I believe this change is so important.
While my research backs the innovation of blended learning, that alone won't drive the change I want to implement. I anticipate facing resistance, which will create obstacles as I work to implement this. As a leader, it's crucial to develop a strategy that inspires and motivates others to support your goals. The real challenge, as pointed out by McChesney, Covey, and Huling (2012), is to change people's behavior in a way that helps us successfully carry out the initiative for change.
Like most efforts, change in education rarely goes smoothly. You might have a brilliant idea backed by research and planning, but implementing it can be a struggle. Learning from experience, resistance is inevitable. Roadblocks consist of being scared of the unknown, lack of understanding, or differing opinions. It's easy to get caught in a battle to prove yourself, leaving everyone frustrated and the change you want to see halted.
The Power of Crucial Conversations
This is where crucial conversations come in. These are high-stakes conversations where opinions clash and emotions run strong. In education, these happen often. We’re passionate about our students, and naturally, teaching styles and approaches to learning and growth may vary. So, how can we welcome a conversation about something as potentially transformative as change?
The Importance of In-person Conversations
The key is to listen. In our digital world, emails and texts might seem like efficient ways to communicate, especially when documentation is needed. However, they lack the personal emotion of an in-person interaction. A genuine conversation, which is crucial for getting people to support a change, requires sitting down together and actively listening to each other. This face-to-face communication promotes understanding and sets the stage for successful change implementation.
Taking on the challenge of leading change, my mission is to improve our learning environment. In this case, I believe blended learning holds the key to creating a more engaging and effective experience for our new teachers and, in turn, our students. But let's be honest, difficult conversations are not really my forte. However, to achieve success, I can't shy away from them. It's time for me to step up and lead my teaching and learning team through a crucial conversation about what truly matters for our district's education.
Confrontation can be scary and is my least favorite thing to happen. We feel exposed and vulnerable. However, this vulnerability is the foundation of effective communication. To move forward, we need to discuss my plan for blended learning, the implementation strategy leveraging the 6 Sources of Influence and 4DX framework, and most importantly, my main motivation - why I believe this change is so important.
While my research backs the innovation of blended learning, that alone won't drive the change I want to implement. I anticipate facing resistance, which will create obstacles as I work to implement this. As a leader, it's crucial to develop a strategy that inspires and motivates others to support your goals. The real challenge, as pointed out by McChesney, Covey, and Huling (2012), is to change people's behavior in a way that helps us successfully carry out the initiative for change.
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From Vague Ideas to Effective Change: A Lesson Learned
It's important to have clarity. We need to clearly define our goals and then use our team's behaviors to successfully execute our plans (Grenny et al., 2013). Changing behavior leads to a change in attitude. By focusing on actions, we can inspire a shift in perspective, paving the way for lasting change.
Leading with innovation isn't just about ideas; it's about having the confidence to advocate for them. In the past, anxiety held me back from sharing my voice, causing me to follow the status quo. But through crucial conversations, I've learned to connect with others while holding on to what I believe.
It's important to have clarity. We need to clearly define our goals and then use our team's behaviors to successfully execute our plans (Grenny et al., 2013). Changing behavior leads to a change in attitude. By focusing on actions, we can inspire a shift in perspective, paving the way for lasting change.
Leading with innovation isn't just about ideas; it's about having the confidence to advocate for them. In the past, anxiety held me back from sharing my voice, causing me to follow the status quo. But through crucial conversations, I've learned to connect with others while holding on to what I believe.
Crucial conversations are not just tied to your professional life; they are equally as important in your personal life as well. Mastering these conversations take practice.
The first step is to "start with your heart" (Patterson et al., 2013). This means staying focused on your goal, especially when your emotions run high. When you're feeling attacked, it's easy to lose sight of what you want to accomplish. However, when you refocus on what is really important, you can align your behavior with your objective.
To improve productive dialogue, it is important to practice "looking" and "making it safe" (Patterson et al., 2013). It's crucial to be mindful of when the conversation starts to go off course to avoid misunderstandings. Feeling secure is essential for fostering open conversations. When we feel safe, we are more likely to discuss any topic. Mutual respect and a shared purpose are vital in steering conversations back on track and re-establishing a sense of safety (Patterson et al., 2013).
True leadership requires leveraging not only others' behavior but also your own to achieve positive change.
The first step is to "start with your heart" (Patterson et al., 2013). This means staying focused on your goal, especially when your emotions run high. When you're feeling attacked, it's easy to lose sight of what you want to accomplish. However, when you refocus on what is really important, you can align your behavior with your objective.
To improve productive dialogue, it is important to practice "looking" and "making it safe" (Patterson et al., 2013). It's crucial to be mindful of when the conversation starts to go off course to avoid misunderstandings. Feeling secure is essential for fostering open conversations. When we feel safe, we are more likely to discuss any topic. Mutual respect and a shared purpose are vital in steering conversations back on track and re-establishing a sense of safety (Patterson et al., 2013).
True leadership requires leveraging not only others' behavior but also your own to achieve positive change.
References
Grenny, J., Patterson, K., Maxfield, D., McMillan, R., Switzler, A. (2013). Influencer: The new science of leading change. (2nd edition). New York: McGraw Hill Education.
McChesney, C., Covey, S., Huling, J. (2012). The 4 disciplines of execution. New York: Free Press.
McChesney, C., Covey, S., Huling, J. (2012). The 4 disciplines of execution. New York: Free Press.