Reflective Notes 1 Managing Change in Schools The 5 questions you don’t want colleagues to ask The 8 key components of successful change Recognise the biggest mistake poor leaders make [ Key words: leadership, management, change, schools]
Bill Lowe
Lowe, B (2013) Managing Change in School. Reflective Notes: 1
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Introduction __________________________________________________
‘Reflective Notes’ : a collection of resources and presentations prepared for students on Initial Teacher Education programmes at Newman University, Birmingham, UK.
I have compiled these so they can be accessed by students when they have left the University. This will help former students find references and resources they might otherwise find difficult to source.
The sole reason for this is allow new and experienced teachers to continue to develop their learning. Too often the pressures of school life leave little time for the luxury of internet browsing and library visits. I hope that ‘Reflective Notes’ will help a little. Comments in the brace brackets are mine or from comments in seminars/ lectures
Bill Lowe Newman University Birmingham UK
Lowe, B (2013) Managing Change in School. Reflective Notes: 1
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Managing Change 1.1 __________________________________________________
There are hundreds of books on managing change. As is often the case with a popular topic, sometimes things can be overcomplicated. Perhaps this is a way of justifying yet another re-working.
One of the best books I have come across is : Hannagan, T (2004) Management: concepts and practices. Pearson.
The following pages are notes taken from this book.
I highly recommend you get a copy.
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Managing Change 1.1 __________________________________________________
An organisation’s culture can be defined as ‘the way we do things around here’. Can you think of times when you have suggested a new strategy, only to be told “we don’t do ‘that sort of thing’”?
Leadership is an important element in managing culture. Leaders can ‘set a good example’ in terms of their working habits.
Effective head teachers are open to internal not just external influences. The ones who only do things because of OfSTED or current fads will move so quickly from one initiative to another that nothing will embed properly. Those who react to what their colleagues suggest have the children at heart, not just their careers.
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Managing Change 1.1 __________________________________________________
These ‘changing circumstances’ need to be understood by everyone. John Harvey-Jones (1993) has stated that change is easier to manage when there is an element of danger present in an organisation and there is an obvious need for change:
‘It is impossible to change organisations which do not accept the dangers of their present way of doing things.’
What are these dangers in school? Lack of pupil progress, OfSTED, SATs, league tables, parent views, reports in local press…?
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Managing Change 1.1 __________________________________ The 5 questions you don’t want your colleagues to ask: 1. Where do we stand? 2. What do we have to do? 3. Who is taking charge of this? 4. Am I capable enough to do it? 5. Why are we doing this?
People move from the familiar to the unknown and often experience a feeling of loss when they struggle to accept a new direction. This experience of loss can take a variety of forms: ■ Security – people feel unsure of their position in the organisation and how it will change; ‘we don’t know where we stand’. ■ Competence – they become worried about their ability to carry out new tasks; ‘we don’t know what to do’.
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Managing Change 1.1 _____________________________________________
■ Relationships – they may feel that familiar contacts will be lost with other employees, with managers and teams and groups; ‘we don’t know to whom we report’. ■ Territory – they may feel uncertain about their work space or job responsibility; ‘we don’t know whether we can do this or not’. ■ Direction – they lose a clear view of where they are going; ‘why are we doing this?’
The impact change can have on individuals should not be underestimated. Being unsure of ‘where I stand’ is quite common amongst established staff who have become used to doing things in a particular way. The worry is that their previous work is, in some way, being undermined and their status threatened. Colleagues need to be convinced that some level of training will be given. There is nothing worse than not knowing if you will be able to carry out the new project properly. Losing sight of the chain of command can be daunting. New leadership colleagues won’t always have the trust of older ones. This is where the ‘new Lowe, B (2013) Managing Change in School. Reflective Notes: 1 7 broom’ can hit resistance.
Managing Change 1.1 __________________________________________________
The 8 key components of successful change
The purpose of change is to move an organisation from its present point to a different one which is more desirable in meeting its objectives. In managing this process the gap between the starting point and the desirable conclusion needs to be identified. ■ Vision – a process of reminding everybody and clarifying to everybody the direction of the organisation; ‘where we are going’. ■ Strategy – outlining how this is to be achieved through the development of objectives and goals; ‘how we are going to get there’. ■ Monitoring change – progress is measured in order to observe and encourage change; ‘this is how far we are now’.
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Managing Change 1.1 _________________________________________
■ leadership – a person who provides a clear statement of the vision and objectives;
■ coherence – agreement on the operational tasks and goals consistent with the strategic view;
■ communication – the provision of clear and appropriate information to the relevant people about what is happening and why it is happening;
■ timing – decisions on when to take action;
■ structure – a structured approach which moves logically through an understanding of the forces for change to the agreement on the management of the change process.
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Managing Change 1.1 ________________________________________________
The biggest mistake a leader can make
Ignoring resistance to change or attempting to block it will tend to encourage resistance being felt more deeply and lasting longer. This process is helped by involving people in planning for change and monitoring its progress. Active participation will help people to understand how the change will affect them and to come to terms with it.
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Taken from: Hannagan, T (2004) Management: concepts and practices. Pearson. Available as eBook
Notes:
Lowe, B (2013) Managing Change in School. Reflective Notes: 1
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