Switch How to Change Things When Change is Hard

Leadership is the practice of guiding and inspiring others to journey willingly toward an identified target; done well, it nurtures a culture of risk-taking and learning, thereby creating the opportunity for meaningful changes in the direction, beliefs, values, practices, and skills of the individual, group, and organization. Cassandra Erkins, Leadership at Every Level. Charlotte, North Carolina, 2008

Leadership  "Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen.” Alan Keith

Thinking About Change  Rider = rational side, intellect  Has the reins  Tends to analyze (or over-analyze)  Elephant= emotional side  Really big! Goes where it wants  Has the passion (but is into instant gratification!)  Smoothing the Path = making it easier

Switch (p. 8)  Team members will have understanding without motivation.  Team members will have passion without direction. Reach Riders but not the Elephants Reach Elephants but not their Riders In both cases, the flaws can be paralyzing.

The Rider  Evidence  But insufficient for difficult change (diet, exercise, smoking)  True but useless  Behavior change  easy & clear vs. complex  Move from in-actionable to-dos to well defined, do-able next actions  What does “good” look like?  Concrete  Use rider’s power of analysis to figure our how to get to motivating destination, rather than on how to resist the change

Direct the Rider  Drink 1% milk  Specifics!  strategies  scheduling  grouping  Resources  Time for collaboration Eat HealthyTeach literacy What looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity. When the rider is not clear, he may lead the elephant in circles.

Direct the Rider  Find the bright spots  Concrete, clear  Script the critical moves  Eat healthier vs. drink 1% milk  Point to the destination  Big Hairy Audacious Goals (Built to Last, Collins & Porras, 1994) – clear, compelling, unifying focal point  Destination postcard – vivid picture from near-term future that shows what is possible (p. 76)

What looks like laziness… is often EXHAUSTION! Heath & Heath, 2010, p 12

Motivate the Elephant  Find the Feeling!  See-feel-change (rather than analyze-think-change)  Shrink the Change!  Quick easy wins to establish momentum  Grow Your People!  We’re the kind of people who _______  Fixed vs. growth mindsets (‘Any new path, even one that’s ultimately successful, is going to involve failure’. p. 162)

Changes often fail Because the Rider simply can’t keep the Elephant on the road long enough to reach the destination. (p. 7)

Fixed or Growth Mindset? (p. 163) Agree or disagree  You are a certain kind of person, and there is not much that can be done to really change that.  No matter what kind of person you are, you can always change substantially.  You can do things differently, but the important parts of who you are can’t really be changed.  You can always change basic things about the kind of person you are.

Risk of Failure If you are a fixed mindset, you avoid challenges  Agree with 1 & 3, you are a fixed mindset  Agree with 2 & 4, you tend to have a growth mindset  Agree with 1 & 2, you are confused. Your answers will determine how easy it is for you to handle failure, and how dogged you will be in pursuing change.

Shape the Path  Tweak the Environment  Reduce friction for desired behavior  Make the right behaviors a little easier and the wrong behaviors a little bit harder  Build Habits  Action Triggers (ex: plan a time to do a task)  Checklists WORK!!  Rally the Herd  Find ‘fast horses’ and work to create a language  Public display of performance  Support momentum

What looks like a person problem is often a situation problem (p. 180)  Fundamental Attribution Error: Assuming people are “unwilling to change” rather than looking at factors which lock them from changing (Lee Ross, Standford Psychologist) Successful change efforts focus on changing the situation to bring about the behavior change.

Solution Focused Imagine overnight that your XYZ literacy project’s obstacles were resolved. Specifically:  What would the LDE’s role look like?  What would the principal’s role entail?  What would the teacher’s day look like?  Roles and schedules in planning, implementation & evaluation  What would the student’s day look like?  Engagement, opportunities, supports, accessible materials  What would the parent’s role entail?  What would supports look like?

 To move systems towards successful literacy programs, what can we do to direct the rider, motivate the elephant, and smooth the path: At the state level? At the district level? At the school building level? At the classroom level?

Your Riders Successful literacy programs  What evidence do they need?  How do you shift their focus to solution implementation rather than problem rumination?  Are there bright spots in the school, district, or region?  What critical moves are needed to get changes underway?  What destination postcards can been sent?

Your Elephants Successful literacy programs  Is there a see-feel-change emphasis?  What can we do to provide some quick wins in terms of collaborative practices?  How can we minimize fear of change?

The Path (make the journey easy) Successful literacy programs  Do state, district and school structures (e.g., schedules, staffing, resource access, guidance, technology) support implementation of evidence based literacy practices?  Are there stumbling blocks which could be removed to make implementation easier? What looks like a people problem is often a situation problem. (p. 192)