Adrianna KezarUniversity of Southern California

OverviewI. Institutionalizing change – 20 minutes

II. Deep or cultural change – 20 minutes

III. Shared leadership for change– 30 minutes

IV. Multi-frame Leadership– 30 minutes

V. Readiness for change and inventory

– 1 hour

VI. Lingering questions

My Background Several major studies of change last two decades –

Kellogg Institutional Leadership and Transformation;

DEEP; Equity Scorecard; ADVANCE; PKAL; National

study of STEM networks; CSU system change; and

AAU initiative.

Also, studies of leadership – college presidents, board

members, and faculty and staff leaders in academic

and student affairs

Part I: Institutionalizing change

Traditional change

approaches But when we think of process – typically strategic planning –

no research to support it works alone

Linear, lockstep

Overly rational and attentive only to structural aspects of organization

Key similar processes no matter the type of change or context – yet type and context matter significantly

Research suggests change is much more complex – instead of a single model or approach like planning – offer general capacities and multi-faceted approaches

Traditional change

approaches Lots of change processes start as strategic planning

but few are sustained or becoming meaningfully part of

campus

What is needed? Multifaceted change strategies and

capacities which you can assess and ready for to

ensure sustained and smoother change processes.

Phased change model Mobilize - developing initial awareness of the need for

change (data), creating shared vision, galvanizing support

for change through discussion, and mobilizing shared

leadership and collective action

Readiness precedes implementation

Implement – activate shared leadership, pilot, change

polices, process and structures, professional development

and learning

Institutionalize – review/assess, scale, commit,

accountability, celebrating successes

Non-linear Change

Framework

Core Strategies or Capacities

for Institutionalizing Change

Shared leadership – “buy in” and “facilitation”*

Creating urgency – data/external pressures

Shared, motivating and flexible vision

Professional development, learning,

sensemaking*

Senior administrative support -empower action

-- change key policies and process

Part III: Culture change

Culture change

Deep changes (most changes today) require culture

change – change in values and underlying beliefs

among most faculty

Culture change requires sensemaking and/or

organizational learning (change capacity)

Sensemaking/learning creates motivation/new mindset

Culture change requires

leadership at multiple levels

Sensemaking Sensemaking – understanding how change reshapes

work/identity

Many different vehicles to create - Learning

communities/CoP often a strategy or vehicle

Examples: Creating a campus reading group around

new STEM reform report like Vision and Change

Invite an outside speaker in to discuss STEM reform –

Carl Weiman

Sensemaking Hold public forms to discuss faculty role in Gateway

courses

Add Gateway reform to public speeches by department chairs and deans

Hold professional development workshops on factors we know improve gateway courses

Create a concept paper for ways to think about an improved gateway course

Examples you know of?

Organizational Learning

Use data to prompt learning

Improve campus data infrastructure related to gateway courses and consider new data needed

Collect data related to Gateway courses and provide to a cross campus team and in open forums

Team reviews data and determines problems and interventions aimed at improving gateway courses

Organizational Learning

Team shares data and findings

with faculty to develop awareness

and get others on board

Campus sets up process to

monitor results of interventions

Team review on a periodic basis

related to interventions and adjust

strategies

Organizational learning What is your current capacity for organizational

learning?

Questions to consider: Data availability? Who gets

data? Teams who can use and interpret data?

Openness to data or seen as a threat – is it political?

Training around using data – and using for decisions?

Chat with person next to you for 5 minutes.

Part IV: shared leadership

Role of shared leadership: Top

and middle

Leaders at the top provide support to hire, change

policies, adjust priorities, provide incentives, alter

rewards, create urgency, reinforce goals thru plans and

communication

Leaders in the middle – e.g., directors of centers for

teaching and learning – identify needs on the ground

and translate to the top, connect faculty and staff

tonetworks and community, describe needs for

institutional changes to administrators, help with

sensemaking

Role of shared leadership:

Bottom up

Bottom up leaders – motivate their colleagues, identify

problems on the ground, hold intellectual forums to

engage colleagues, help inform and create professional

development, harness existing networks, implement in

day to day practice, identify and communicate

problems

Successful change processes

generally involve all 3

Role of shared leadership

Connect and align existing pockets– using technology

– instructional designers, faculty, centers for teaching

and learning; academic leaders, and systems

technology efforts

Developing shared leadership for

change

A planning team with representatives from all groups

Create a compelling vision with all stakeholders –flexible vision

Create communities of practice and networks to partner people to learn from eachother and save time related to reforms

Sending administrators, faculty or staff to leadership development programs or hosting GYO programs

Developing shared leadership for

change

Communicate with and involve senior administration so

they will be informed when asked for support

Manage up – informing key administrators and system

leaders influencing them

Create regular avenues for middle levels to

communicate – example, department chairs can

discuss reforms in annual meetings with faculty and

encourage involvement

Developing shared leadership for

change Communicate and set up forum for discussion across leadership

levels and brainstorm obstacles and help overcome challenges faced

In general, hold forums, listenings and open meetings so groups can talk

Create or encourage translators across levels – often middle level leaders

Change policies that might exclude groups - NTTF

Make it fun – people join change efforts and partnerships that are enjoyable – intellectually stimulating

Other ideas you have used?

Shared leadership

Shared Leadership Concept

Wendy Bruso

Leadership and Change

Strategies: Four Frames To understand campuses from a variety of perspectives

– summary of major organizational theories

To consider different change strategies

To analyze leadership styles and strategies of yourself and others

To enhance one’s own set of leadership tools

Change if best facilitated my a multi-frame strategy

Four Frames

Structural

Political or

AdvocacyH

um

an

Re

latio

ns

Sy

mb

oli

c

Organization

as factory

Organization as

extended family

Organization as

arena or contest

Organization as

tribes, theaters,

or carnivals

Structural Frame

Rationality, formal roles and rules

Key concepts – roles, rules, goals, policies,

technology, rationality, differentiation,

integration, coordination, control

Key processes – division of labor and

coordination of individual activities

Structural Frame

Organizations exist primarily to accomplish established goals

A structural form can be designed and implemented to fit any particular set of circumstances

Problems originate from inappropriate structures or inadequate systems and can be resolved through restructuring or developing new systems

Structural Strategies

Examine policies related grading

Establish formal plan and goals for better

completion rates

Set up a task for to examine completion data

disaggregated by race, gender and first

generation status

For student success

Human Relations Frame

Fit between people and the

organization

Key concepts – needs, skills,

relationships, interpersonal

interactions, fit, satisfaction

Key processes – tailoring the

organization to meet individual needs

Human Relations Frame

Organizations exist to serve human needs

Organizations and people need each other

When the fit is poor, both will suffer, individuals will be exploited, or seek to exploit organizations, or both

Human beings find meaningful and satisfying work, and organizations get human talents and energy – a good fit between both!

Human Relations Strategies

Provide professional development on

social media and learning

Ensure staff have skills in

assessment when hiring

Provide avenues for staff to have

feedback on plans to improve

completion rates

for student success

Political or Advocacy Frame

Organizations are coalitions of various individuals and interest groups

There are enduring differences among coalition members in values, beliefs, information, interests, and perceptions of reality

Most important decisions involve the allocation of resources

Political or Advocacy Frame

Key concepts – power, conflict, competition, positive politics, power base

Key processes – bargaining, negotiation, collation building, agenda setting

Political Strategies

Form a network with other offices that support

students of color so budgets are not cut

Use assessment results to leverage support for

the new leadership program

Create an agenda on campus around college

completion

Recognize many faculty and staff do not have a

broader international awareness and see

reallocation of funds as endangering the mission

for Student Success

Symbolic Frame

Organizations as tribe, theater and carnival

Key concepts – culture, symbols, ritual, ceremony, stories, heroes/heroines, myths, charisma

Key processes – common vision, attending to meaning, devising rituals, ceremonies and symbols

Symbolic Frame

Symbols form a cultural tapestry or secular myths, rituals, ceremonies, and stories that help people find meaning, purpose and passion

Symbols embody and express the organization's culture – the interwoven pattern of beliefs, values, practices and artifacts that define for members who they are and how they are to do things

Symbolic Strategies

Appeal to social justice values on a Jesuit campus to encourage support for a diversity initiative

Have key leaders describe the importance of assessment for integrity of campus work

Tell stories from your own background of how students of color did not succeed to impress how you do not want this to happen under your watch

for Student Success

Goal: Multi-frame Thinking Create vision or direction for change by analyzing

problem and solution through four frames

Create strategy for change acknowledging all

dimensions of organization that may need to be

affected

Part V: Readiness for change Change requires attention to core strategies/capacities

Change is a multi-faceted process involving politics, relationships, human development, data, planning, buy in, sensemaking and learning, and culture

Leaders at all levels need to be part of assessing readiness and can tap into different knowledge related to change

Stop to survey readiness for change -- usually during or after mobilizing and prior to implementation --pivotal to a smoother change process

Using key elements of change – designed a survey to assess readiness for change

Examine your readiness for

change Work in groups for 30 minutes answering questions –

provide specific responses

Report back to group – 3-5 minutes each group around

some questions below or shared insights.

As you think about a change process you are part of or

planning which areas do your score high in and low in?

Which are you having difficulty answering at all? What

data/information does the readiness survey suggest

you need to garner to move forward?

Summary There is no recipe for change but models that help you anticipate

certain key levers and barriers – be prepared and ready

Five key strategies for institutionalizing changes

Deep change requires sensemaking and/or organizational learning – changing individual mindsets

Change requires a multi-faceted, multi-frame strategy using politics, culture, human resources and campus structures

Change benefits from multi-level leadership informed by change research

Assessing readiness helps avoid problems and makes process smoother

Questions?

Resources

Some ending inspiration Are you a change agent? (You Tube)

Questions?

Thank you!