Change

Second order change is looked at as being dramatic departures from the past or the expected. It’s been referred to as “deep change.” It requires the rethinking of the way things are done and rearranging of mental models. Much as when a child is learning something new that doesn’t fit into the existing schema they must go through the accommodation process, second order change requires the same accommodations to be made to existing schema.

Second order change can be difficult in an organization because people handle change so differently. Few people embrace it; many people fear it and the discomfort it brings. Often times people would like to move towards change, however, habits, fear, time constraints and other factors keep them from doing so.

I have a sign hanging in my office, which states, “There is no such thing as small change.” It’s a reminder to me that as much as I might like to completely integrate technology into all subjects and all classrooms, the teachers I work with are not comfortable with that and together we need to take it as small change. Utilizing incremental, first order change doesn’t show the benefit of the technology in my opinion, because we are only adding on and tweaking at the edges. However, I continue to implement as much as I can and slowly I do see things changing.

Marzano highlights 7 of his 21 responsibilities of leadership as being necessary for change. I can see a few of them being of more importance and reflecting on my experience in trying to change the use of technology at my school, I see how they are helpful to leaders in dealing with second order change.

The first responsibility is the Change Agent. Perhaps this seems obvious as we are talking about change, but the leader who is looked at as willing to challenge and change the status quo gets peoples attention. I have acted as the change agent for many years at my school, and having that reputation, I think, made teachers understand that what I hoped to do with technology was change the delivery of instruction.

The leader who can act as change agent effectively needs to be able to question in a dynamic way that gets people questioning as well. I always propose my projects with a “what if we tried this” approach, which wins people over to ideas more easily than an “I think we should do this” approach. This leader also needs to be prepared to be challenged as well. I am often approached by teachers who want to try a project, and I have to be willing and able to accommodate them to keep the flow going.

This brings up another important responsibility, which is flexibility. As Fullen points out in Understanding Change, a leader needs to be able to utilize different leadership styles when approaching change. Assertive leadership may be needed to initiate a change but democratic, affiliative leadership may be needed to support people through a change.

I believe the optimizer responsibility is also very important to leading through second order change. I find myself trying hard to set a positive tone with teachers who are obviously struggling with utilizing technology. It helps to set them at ease, which is often the biggest obstacle to learning something new. A leader who can inspire people to keep moving through fears and discouragement when trying something new will help build the school culture and move the school through the changes necessary.

Marzano lists Knowledge of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluating, Intellectual Stimulation and Ideals and beliefs as other responsibilities necessary for second order change and I can see their importance as well. My curriculum knowledge earns me respect when I propose some new use of technology. Having strong ideals and beliefs also helps when inspiring people to move in a new direction. People are more willing to follow someone leading with conviction.

Second order change requires a balance between pushing people to move forward in a new and different direction and urging them to follow along at their own will but collectively in the same direction. It requires an administrator with the people skills that make people want to follow, the organizational skills to keep everyone moving, the authoritative nature that forces people to move, and the sensitivity to monitor everyone’s feelings about the ride. Quite a combination!

Culture

• Culture: What impact does the creation of a positive school culture have on school reform?

A positive school culture has an impact on every aspect of the school. Working in a welcoming, supportive environment immediately relaxes teachers and allows them to focus on the task at hand: the children in front of them. Knowing that they are accepted and cared for in their school environment allows students to develop personal relations with their teachers that add meaning to their work at school. Understanding the staff is trusting, supportive, and respectful helps the leadership in the school to manage successfully as well as implement change of any kind.

The principal has a definite responsibility for setting the tone and creating the culture of the school. Unfortunately too often this is done in a superficial manner. The beginning of year open house, Christmas party event, and lame teacher appreciation gift do not a positive culture make. The culture and tone of the school have to be set with every action of the principal. It is through these actions that a respectful relationship between principal and teacher can be established.

In order to build mutual respect and a trusting relationship, teachers need to know the principal will be on their side doing whatever is necessary to keep a sense of discipline, as Marzano defines it, in the school. This means the principal understands the sacredness of the teachers’ instructional time and will do whatever is necessary to maintain it, from handling discipline problems appropriately to lessening interruptions of the schedule.

Advocating for the school and teachers with central office and parents also helps to build the trusting relationship as does monitoring and evaluating school practices. Teachers know what and who is working well in their schools, and there is little respect for a principal who does not seem to make the connection or does not act on the knowledge. Teachers also need to feel there is some level of protection between them and the other influences on what they are asked to do in the classroom. Sometimes the principal cannot do anything regarding a district policy or difficult parent, but knowing they have an advocate helps teachers in dealing with such complications. These responsibilities, of the 21 identified by Marzano’s meta-analysis of research, were among the most effective in correlation with student academic achievement, and I believe it is because of the effect these responsibilities have on the school culture.

The responsibility that held the highest correlation with student achievement was the situational awareness of the principal. I take this as further proof that it is the principal’s affect on the school culture that truly has the impact. Through an understanding of the school’s undercurrents, the principal can help to thwart any dissent or discontent. But more importantly, simply having an awareness of the undercurrents means the principal has an understanding of the school’s culture.

With a trusting and supportive relationship between principal and teachers, comes a positive school climate. That primary relationship sets the tone for all others. With the principal as the example, teachers have an understanding of the expectations for relationships within the school. This is how a positive school culture is built.

In my own school, unfortunately this level of trust and respect has never been established between teachers and principal and it is reflected in the culture. Relationships between staff members are positive for the most part, but there is room for improvement in regard to the relationships between students, teachers and parents. There seems to be a constant quiet battle between teachers who wish to move on initiatives in the hopes of positive school changes and those who don’t wish to extend the effort necessary to do so.

I place the blame for this on a leadership team that either through lack of organization or skills consistently act in ways that undermine what teachers are trying to accomplish in their classrooms. There is a lack of communication and inconsistent responses to discipline that interfere with the teachers’ ability to function optimally in the classrooms. This lack of leadership ability makes it difficult for teachers to respect the leadership team. It seems, too, that the leadership’s lack of consistency also gives teachers permission for a lack of consistency in their own responses and level of commitment to school policies. Consequently, it is difficult for any initiative to become fully implemented in my school. There have also been actions taken by the leadership team that show a lack of respect to teachers. This may not be done intentionally, but the lack of human relationship knowledge and skill cause it to happen on a regular basis. The lack of respect for people's feelings even unintentionally sets a negative tone.

I don’t mean to imply that school reform will go easily in a school with a positive school culture. I have known schools with a positive culture that never acted on an initiative because the teachers did not support it. Research has proven that initiatives that do not have both the support of the principal and the staff will not be fully implemented or maintained. Within a positive school climate, there still needs to be some sense of shared decision making and shared power in implementing any school reform.

According to Boyd in Bridge or Barrier to Change, power is based on information, resources and support. The prinicipal can only control the resources. An active role in controlling and improving the flow of information will help to build the support necessary for a successful implementation of any school reform. Shared decision making and power is best accomplished in an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust. That atmosphere occurs most often as part of positive school culture.

Week 3: Effective Leadership -? so far

When I started this course, I didn't have a good idea of what made an effective leader. I just knew I had been working under an ineffective leadership team for years. And although I could tell you specific behaviors that I found damaging to our school that would be all I could tell you, I was unable to articulate well why it was damaging.
It's taken until the end of week 3, but I think I am finally over connecting everything to what it is not and am now more focused on what effective leadership is.

Effective leadership is leadership that can motivate individuals to work as hard as they can not for their own success but for the common good. It begins with a leader who is willing to share their vision and share in the best sense of the word, meaning, "Here is my vision - what do you think of it? what can you add to it? what parts are we ready to bring to fruition now and what are we maybe not ready for?" Sharing in this way helps to ensure that the vision truly becomes a shared vision.

Being a truly shared vision is most important because I've learned an effective leader doesn't lead in a vacuum. She can only lead with followers who are willing to move forward, and that willingness comes easiest when all are moving in a direction they believe in. There are methods of leading that don't require this "buy in" but I don't believe those methods are the most effective for bringing about the change or transformation so necessary in schools right now.

Communication is key for a leader to be effective. There is the communication of the vision but then also communication of procedures, expectations, recognitions, and reflections. The manner in which all of this is communicated greatly affects the perception of the leader and the understanding and commitment of those being led. This perception and understanding is necessary because trust in a leader is an important aspect of his/her success.

I've learned that an effective leader is part manager: making sure all of the details are in place and taken care of so they don't interfere with the movement forward. So much of being an effective leader comes down to allowing the shared vision to permeate every decision made even down to the smallest detail.

I've also learned that an effective leader has to be willing to share power and create a leadership team, as there is no way one person could possible take care of all the details, know all the answers,and have a complete understanding of all the problems. Knowing your weaknesses and creating a complimentary team that will compensate for them is a good part of being an effective leader.(Murphy, 1988)

Most importantly, I think being an effective leader involves staying true to yourself. It is important to have a bank of strategies to pull from when dealing with school leadership. However, a leader must have integrity. Her beliefs, values, and actions must align.(Evans, 1996) This authentic leadership is to me the most effective.

I believe there are several characteristics a successful principal must possess, and it is hard to come up with what you might call the short list. To narrow it to the top five, I would list:
1. focus-I think focus is important as there are so many needs in a school. Focus helps a principal to stay in tune to the school's goals and vision and lets those be the driving force behind every decision. There are so many details big and small that make up a principal's day, the ability to stay focused and not drop any of these details or how they should be handled is key.

2. communication skills-Communication skills are so important in dealing with staff, students, and parents. What to say, how to say it, when to say it, and when not to say anything all work to building relationships and establishing the school climate.

3. organization-Organization is necessary to keep all the details together and not waste any time or the time of others.

4. open mindedness-Open mindedness is the trait that will keep the principal listening. The willingness to see other points of view, try new methods, and reflect on actions begins with open mindedness.

5. empathy-The ability to identify and understand another person's feelings is important in any job that involves managing people. The need to understand where staff and students are and what they are feeling is very important in resolving issues of conflict or concern.

21 Responsibilities of School Leader

I had interesting results of the Balanced Leadership profile compared to my self assessment. The balanced leadership profile provided more detailed results so it was easier to determine the strengths and areas of improvement. My self-assessment was all done in whole numbers so needed a little further thought to determine what areas were stronger or weaker than others to determine the seven strengths and areas of improvement. They are listed below.
I find it most interesting that three responsibilities considered strengths on the Balanced Leadership Profile, I considered weaknesses. They are:
-Protects teachers from issues and influences that would detract from their teaching time and focus;
-Monitors the effectiveness of school practices and their impact on student learning;
-Establishes a set of standard operating procedures and routines.

I do believe strongly in all of these responsibilities particularly in the need to keep instruction time sacred and not distract teachers from it and the need for operating procedures and routines. I also believe that we need to gather data and use it to make informed decisions. I believe that's why these areas showed up as strengths in my profile. However, I don't believe that I am good at doing any of these things(obviously, from my self assessment placing them as weaknesses).
I believe I have difficulty establishing routines and sticking to them and this causes or would cause a disruption in teaching time and focus. I also believe I work on projects or complete activities in certain ways without the follow up of carefully looking at assessment data and determining if the activity was a success in regards to student learning.

For the self assessment, I tried to think about what I do now as a technology teacher to help me determine the rating for each responsibility. For the Balanced Leadership Profile, I really did more projecting of myself as a principal to answer questions. Maybe this seems as if I was measuring two different skill sets, but I felt it was a good way of determining where I am in my practice versus where I want to be.

Reading about authentic leadership made me realize we all have the opportunity to put our beliefs systems to work every day. There are times when we fall into the routine of the atmosphere or culture of our school, and this may keep us from acting on our own beliefs.
It is true leaders are responsible for setting the the school culture and tone, however, each person contributes to it and in successful schools many potential sources of leadership exist(What we know about successful school leadership, page 3). By paying more attention to my actions in regards to my beliefs, I can practice authentic leadership and contribute in a more positive way to my school.

I was happy to see that my strengths covered 4 of the 5 most effective responsibilities according to Marzano's correlation to student academic achievement. However, the most effective, situational awareness, is actually an area of weakness according to both my self-assessment and the leadership profile. I have always tried to keep myself removed from the undercurrents at school as I think it's a big energy drain. However, knowing the value of this information, I can try to be more in the loop, without succumbing to the negative aspects of it.
Overall, I found the process of self assessment and the leadership inventory helpful and enlightening. Reflection and self-evaluation are useful tools. This is an activity I will recommend to our administrative staff.
Strengths: On both bold/italic; Self-assessment in italic; Balanced Leadership inventory in bold
1. Has quality contact and interaction with teachers and students(.20)
2. Is willing to and actively challenges the status quo(.25)
2. Establishes a set of standard operating procedures and routines(.25)
3. Is an advocate and spokesperson for the school to all stakeholders(.27)
4. Is directly involved in the design and implementation of curriculum, instruction and assessment processes(.20)
5. Provides teachers with materials and professional development necessary for the successful execution of their jobs(.25)
5. Monitors the effectiveness of school practices and their impact on student learning(.27)
6. Communicates and operates from strong ideals and beliefs about schooling(.22)
7. Protects teachers from issues and influences that would detract from their teaching time and focus(.27)
7. Establishes strong lines of communication with teachers and among students.(.23)

Areas needing improvement:
On both bold/italic; Self-assessment in italic; Balanced Leadership inventory in bold
1. Demonstrates an awareness of the personal aspects of teachers and staff(.18)
2. Involves teachers in teh design and implementation of important decisions and policies(.25)
2.Establishes a set of standard operating procedures and routines(.25)
3. Ensures that faculty and staff are aware of the most current theories and practices, and makes the discussion of these a regular aspet of the school's culture(.24)
4. Establishes clear goals and keeps those goals in the forefront of the school's attention(.24)
4. Monitors the effectiveness of school practices and their impact on studetn learning(.27)
5. Is knowledgeable about current curriculum, instruction and assessment processes(.25)
5. Protects teachers from issues and influences that would detract from their teaching time and focus
6. Recognizes and celebrates school accomplishments and acknowledges failures(.19)
7. Is aware of the details and undercurrents in the running of the school and uses this information to address current and potential problems(.33)