Reflective Notes 1 Managing Change in Schools
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Transcript of Reflective Notes 1 Managing Change in Schools
Lowe, B (2013) Managing Change in School. Reflective Notes: 1 1
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
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Introduction
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‘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.
Bill Lowe Newman University Birmingham UK
Comments in the brace brackets are mine or from
comments in seminars/ lectures
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Managing Change 1.1
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There are hundreds of books on managing change. As is often
the case with a popular topic, sometimes things can be over-
complicated. 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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An organisation’s culture can be defined as ‘the way we
do things around here’.
Leadership is an important element in managing culture.
Leaders can ‘set a good example’ in terms of their working
habits.
Can you think of times when you have suggested a new
strategy, only to be told “we don’t do ‘that sort of thing’”?
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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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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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’.
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?
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■ 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
broom’ can hit resistance.
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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’.
The 8 key components of successful
change
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■ 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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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.
The biggest mistake a leader can make
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Taken from: Hannagan, T (2004) Management: concepts and
practices. Pearson.
Available as eBook
Notes: