Leading Change

• Be clear on what the change is and why it is needed

Before you implement anything new it is important to really reflect on why a change is needed and connect to the bigger picture. Be super clear from the onset what the problem is that the change addresses and how it helps the organization’s mission. Don’t just think about this one – talk about it with your team and write it down. This will keep you focused as you develop a plan and address challenges.

• Make a Plan

This one may seem like an obvious one but is an important component of any change. Making a plan means taking the time to think through the things that will come up and how you will address them. The first step in making the plan is one of the most important – Find your team! We may be leading the change but we don’t have to do it alone. Think about what your strengths are and be honest with yourself about what is not your strength. Try to build balance in your team. Don’t just fill your team with people who agree with you. Having input from a wide variety of people helps prevent blind spots in your plan.

Once you’ve assembled your team, it’s time to take a look at what you are de-implementing to make room for this new thing. This is an important step in planning that many people over look but can have a huge impact on the success of something new. Anytime we want to add something new we have to look closely at how we are going to make room for that by deciding what to take away. Maybe this is an easy one because what you are implementing is replacing something old or outdated so you’re taking away the old stuff and putting in something new. I would caution you that replacing the old with the new may not be enough de-implementing to make way for a successful change. When we look at cognitive load theory, we see that the brain can only process a finite amount of information at a time, typically five to seven chunks of information. Anything more than that leads to cognitive overload. An old program or process is familiar to people and is likely being accessed from long-term memory. What this means is that we are not using a lot of working memory to complete these task which lessens the cognitive load. Replacing that old program or process introduces new components, frameworks, and/or lesson structures that use working memory to process and learn in addition to the content itself. This is more taxing on available cognitive function that the old material was. It is important we take that into account when deciding what to take away to make room for something new. Replace something old doesn’t mean that the impact is an even swap. Consider what else you can take off someone’s plate to make more room for the processing and learning required of something new.

Now that we’ve put together our team and made room for something new, we can be begin to plan specifically for the new changes. Here are a few questions to consider with your team:

• What is the goal or target for [insert time frame]?
• What do people need to meet that goal?
  • Specific materials? Time? Coaching?
• How will we get people what they need?
  • plan for release time or sub coverage? budgeting for materials?
• What will we use to monitor progress? How often? By who?
• How will we gather feedback?

Answering these questions will get you started but know that the plan you create with your team is a living document – it will need to be flexible and adaptable as you work through successes and challenges of the change.

• Give positive feedback and encouragement often!

Change is uncomfortable and trying something new can be vulnerable. People may feel judged when you check in and see how things are going even if you have the best of intentions. Giving a lot of encouragement and positive feedback, especially at the beginning, helps build a safe space to take risks and try out something different. This doesn’t have to be a grand gesture. It can be small things done frequently to let people know you’ve got their backs. Leaving a sticky note on their desk before you leave the room acknowledging one thing you saw they were trying out. Nothing fancy or overly complicated. “I noticed you using [insert initiative here] with your students today. Keep it up!” “Thank you for trying out _____ today. It looks like your students were really engaged in it.” Especially at the beginning, this is not the space for constructive feedback. This is all positive – you are building the safe space where people will be willing to take risks and try new things.

• Be a good listener

You identified a problem and came up with a plan to address it with your team. You’ve talked through and made arrangements for all sorts of challenges, removed potential barriers, and planned for support. You’ve put a lot of effort into setting your team up for success with this change. Here’s the thing – you’re not done. You don’t just hit play on these plans and watch the successful implementation of the change play out in front of you. Inevitably there is a glitch, something you didn’t plan for or anticipate. This is expected. How we take in the information and use it can make or break our change plans which is why it is so important to be a good listener when leading something new.

People are always giving us feedback even if they aren’t filling out our fancy survey or completing the exit ticket. Sometimes it shows up in anticipated ways – people ask questions or offer suggestions, they fill out the comment section on the feedback survey. Sometimes it shows up in way we didn’t plan for – complaints at the copy machine, a group email or text thread, comments during a meeting. When we are leading a change, we have be willing to accept feedback even if doesn’t show up in the ways we planned for. Being a good listener also means we have to work to not take things personally. Complaints at the copy machine are information we can use. It doesn’t mean they hate you. They are sharing that they don’t feel comfortable with something – remember change is uncomfortable. This is an opportunity for reflection – have I address this area of discomfort and this person is just working through it or is this something we didn’t plan for and an opportunity for us to address a need?

Hearing people isn’t where this ends. Yes, sometimes when people complain they just need to feel heard when something is hard. Sometimes when people complain it is an indication that something needs to be adjusted or modified. We can be good listeners but we also have to act on the feedback we receive. If you’re going to send out a feedback survey, make sure you share the results of the survey AND what you’re doing as a result of that information. Let’s be clear, that doesn’t mean that every complaint means we changing the plans. That means we are taking in that information, comparing it against our goals/targets and deciding how to support people in that area. This could be making an adjustment to something – adding a planning meeting or identifying a coaching need. This could mean staying the course – that is a problem or need that is going to be resolved or addressed at this future point in the implementation plan. Most importantly – don’t send a survey out if you don’t have a plan to look at and use the results.

Change is hard – how we lead change can make it feel less hard for us and those we lead. Be curious and keep moving forward!

“Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious … and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

Walt Disney’s Meet the Robinsons (2007)