I’ve Attended a Conference…I’m Convinced But My Staff is NOT!

Margie McGinchey; PhD

Kim St. Martin; MA

June 15, 2010

We principals do ANYTHING to promote buy-in!

Agenda

• Preparing to Lead in the Face of Resistance and Change

• Strategic Leadership

• Cascading Model of Support– “Whose got my back?”

• Tools and Resources for Managing Resistance and Promoting Consensus

Activity• Think back to the evidence based practice

you identified for possible adoption in the “Selection, Training, Coaching…” session

• If you did not attend that session, identify an evidence based practice you are considering for adoption next year for RtI implementation

*For the rest of this presentation you will frame your thinking around the adoption of the practice

Might This Be You Tomorrow?

Pre-Planning

• Ask yourself these questions:– Can I implement this alone (without a district-

wide effort)?– How does this integrate with the

vision/mission of the district? Other building and/or district initiatives?

– Will my staff be receptive to this? Which staff might perceive this as second-order change?

Pre-Planning

– Will majority of the staff view this as a second-order change?

– What elements of this might present philosophical challenges?

– Am I well-versed in this and understand the research base that this is based on?

• If no, do I have access to resources (knowledgeable people, books, information to increase my depth of knowledge)?

Pre-Planning

– What do the 7 leadership responsibilities necessary for leading second order change look like through the lens of this practice/program/intervention?

– What are any and all possible questions, comments, challenges that I might receive from staff, other principals, and central office administrators?

Activity

• Based on what you identified as wanting to implement, discuss with your group your answers to any of the questions given the information you currently have at your disposal.

The decisions the principal must make about how to lead the

adoption of the practice/program hinges on the order of change….

Considering “Change”

Change is Hard

“Faced with the choice between changing one’s mind and proving there is no need to do so, almost everybody gets busy on the proof.” (John Kenneth Gaibraith)

Order of Change

• First order change are changes that are perceived to be a continuation and refinement of existing beliefs and practices. They can be implemented with current knowledge

• Second order change are changes that are perceived to be a significant break from current practices and will require new knowledge, beliefs, and/or resources

McREL, 2006

Characteristics of Second Order Change

• Departure from the normal way of doing business

• Challenges existing paradigms• Conflicts with prevailing values and norms• New knowledge and skills are needed• Resources that do not currently exist will be

necessary• Resistance by others who do not have a

broad perspective of the district/school

Leading Second Order Change

• Second order change is positively related to only 7 of the 21 leadership responsibilities (listed in rank order)

– Knowledge of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment

– Optimizer– Intellectual Stimulation– Change Agent– Monitoring/Evaluating– Flexibility– Ideals/Beliefs

Pitfalls of Second Order Change

Sound Familiar?

• “I have staff who are saying I am not communicating effectively. They always told me that was a strength of mine until recently. I wish I knew what I am doing wrong.”

• “There is suddenly a great deal of in-house arguing between my staff who are supportive and unsupportive of the use of AIMSweb.”

• “I feel like I am loosing control with my staff. I am constantly trying to put out fires because any little comment that I make about what we are doing is being twisted and used against me.”

Negative Affects of Leadership Responsibilities

• Four of the Leadership Responsibilities are negatively affected by second order change:– Culture– Communication– Order– Input

Activity

• Identify possible steps you can take to compensate for the possible perception that you are not fulfilling the four leadership responsibilities negatively associated with second-order change– Example: Arrange for fun, staff activities to

occur more frequently during-TGIF, Road Rally to compensate for Culture

Leadership and Chess?

Leadership and Chess?

• Skillful leaders are very strategic about the decisions they make and the steps in which they take to move forward

• Being strategic requires leaders to pre-plan and anticipate any and all reactions, questions, problems, solutions to problems, level of support, etc.

What does it take to be a chess genius?

Characteristics of a Chess Genius

• Intelligence• Hard work• Motivation and values• Good teaching• Concentration• Character and background• Confidence• Coping with failure• Ability to overcome unconscious blocks

Parallels of a Chess Genius & Leadership

• Intelligence Intellectual Stimulation

Knowledge of Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment

• Motivation and Values Ideals/Beliefs• Good Teaching Intellectual Stimulation• Concentration Focus, Monitoring &

Evaluating

Parallels of a Chess Genius & Leadership

• Character and Background Change Agent• Confidence Optimizer• Coping with Failure Affirmation,

Change Agent,

Monitoring/Evaluating

• Unconscious Blocks Situational Awareness

Regardless of how well the leader anticipates and prepares

for challenges at the building level the necessity for central

office support is critical for successful implementation

Provides guidance, visibility, funding, political support for MiBLSi

StudentsStudentsStudentsStudents

Building StaffBuilding StaffBuilding StaffBuilding Staff

School Leadership School Leadership TeamTeam

School Leadership School Leadership TeamTeam

LEA District LEA District Leadership TeamLeadership Team

LEA District LEA District Leadership TeamLeadership Team

Across State

Multiple District/Building Teams

All staff

All students

Multiple schools w/in local district

Who is supported?Who is supported?

How is support How is support provided?provided?

Provides guidance, visibility, funding, political support

Provides coaching for District Teams and technical assistance for Building Teams

Provides guidance and manages implementation

Provides effective practices to support students

Improved behavior and reading

ISD Leadership ISD Leadership TeamTeam

ISD Leadership ISD Leadership TeamTeam

Regional Technical Regional Technical AssistanceAssistance

Regional Technical Regional Technical AssistanceAssistance

MichiganMichiganDepartment of Department of

Education/MiBLSi Education/MiBLSi LeadershipLeadership

MichiganMichiganDepartment of Department of

Education/MiBLSi Education/MiBLSi LeadershipLeadership

Multiple schools w/in intermediate district

Provides guidance, visibility, funding, political support

MiBLSi Statewide Structure of Support

Whose Got Your Back?

Levels of Protection and Support

• Central office support is critical• The role of the school district is to

standardize the process and the role of the building is to customize the implementation

• Principals must not be “hung out to dry.” Important decisions that need to be made should carry with them a guarantee that if the going gets tough then the support will be there

Defining “Protection” & “Support”

• Protection: – Resources of time, money, people are

allocated to do the work that is required to implement the evidence based practice

– Obstacles and barriers for implementation are removed

– High level of protection from outside influences and from people attempting to sabotage efforts. This requires a great deal of Situational Awareness on the part of the leader

Defining “Protection” & “Support”

• Support:– When staff who are resistant to changing

practices and beliefs begin to cause harm by being negative and/or taking their complaints to the board, parents, and community it is important for the superintendent and assistant superintendent to step in to stop the damage

– If the damage has already been done then central office administrators are on “clean-up” duty

Layering Support

• The necessary layers of support for successful RtI implementation requires support up and down all levels– Teachers need support from their principal– Principals need support from their assistant

superintendents– Superintendents need support from their

ISD/RESA superintendents

Cautionary Tale

• Everyone needs support and protection at some level

• Often times larger school districts view their needs, situation, and challenges as being unique from other surrounding districts

• Never assume that is the case. In our experience the challenges, situation, and needs facing districts within a region are similar

Cautionary Tale

• Uniqueness can equate to loneliness and loneliness can equate to maintaining the status quo and a lack of improvement

Activity• Thinking back to the evidence based

practice you identified, identify the people “who have your back.”

• Identify the individuals that you are unsure of as having your back but that you see as influential and necessary to support your adoption efforts– Why do you feel they are essential in

supporting you? What status or position do they hold that will help your efforts?

Tools and Resources for Managing Resistance and

Promoting Consensus

Influencer

• Focuses on finding the “real reasons” behind the problems many organizations face. Uses eight principles to help influence change: increasing motivation & ability through personal, social and structural sources.

Essential Points

• Identify schools who have successfully adopted the evidence based practice you are considering for adoption (“Positive Deviants”)

• “Model the Masters” and ask the principal/staff/central office administrators to try to identify the “vital behaviors” that staff (and leaders) engaged in that made the adoption successful

Essential Points

• Ask whether or not personal stories & field trips (“vicarious experiences”) were used to influence staff to support the adoption and implementation

• When the going got tough and challenges occurred, ask how they were overcome (“Recovery Behaviors”)

Crucial Conversations

• Focuses on helping people speak with complete candor and complete respect, no matter the issues or individuals involved. Helps guide people to align purposes, resolve disagreements, surface the best ideas and make decisions.

Crucial Confrontations

• Focuses on refining processes for improving accountability and addressing staff performance gaps by learning to motivate others without using “power” and without taking over.

Activity

• Review the “Influencer” guiding questions and example of discussion questions.

• How might you use this book and/or the principles described in this book with central office, fellow principals, and leadership team members?

• Discuss whether or not the guiding principles of the “Influencer” can help you prepare for leading in the face of change, resistance, and fear.

Thank You!

Margie McGlinchey, Co-director Michigan Integrated Behavior Learning Support Initiative (MiBLSi)

margiemcglinchey@mac.com

Kim St. Martin, MiBLSi Lead Technical Assistance Provider

kimstmartin@me.com

MiBLSi Website:

http://www.cenmi.org/miblsi/Home.aspx