Module 10: Change Manager or Change Leader?

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you start out with only a partial view of the problem (in this instance, tackling the

second-column behaviors) then the progress of your goal will be hindered.

. . . If you can see how and why you are preventing yourself from changing, you will have a better

chance to change.

TAKING THE NEXT STEP For now, let’s revisit Arthur. As you may remember, Arthur was committed to

moving his district from “good” to “great” by creating a common vision of rigorous

instruction. Although he successfully collaborated with others to craft this com-

mon vision, he was less successful in his individual efforts to carry out the next

step in the process: holding others accountable for the actions their particular roles

suggested. He examined his own behaviors and saw how he was impeding his own

good intentions by putting off critical meetings with those responsible for moving

the work forward, and by overscrutinizing the description of instruction for any

possible ambiguities before taking it to the field.

As a reflective person, Arthur agreed to consider any discomforts or fears that

might emerge if he were to stop waylaying the change process and start holding

others accountable for this vision that was shared in his district. In turning toward

these discomforts, Arthur recognized the uncharted nature of this journey and,

potentially, the personal and political risk in moving ahead. Did he really want to

lead the school district in this direction when he was unsure of the results? What

if all the people with whom he worked found out that there were times when he

felt very uncertain about what he was doing? What if there were negative conse-

quences? The school district had never taken on such a unified effort. Not only

would it be an enormous amount of work but there was the possibility it would

not go as planned. He would be leading the organization into an expensive, time-

consuming, and uncomfortable change process that might not amount to any

significant improvement. Recognition of these fears told Arthur that he was, in

fact, also committed to not risk being seen as a failure. His map, with the third

column completed, is shown in Exhibit 5.1.

Change Leadership: A Practical Guide to Transforming Our Schools90

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Wagner, Tony, et al. <i>Change Leadership : A Practical Guide to Transforming Our Schools</i>, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2005. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nlu/detail.action?docID=533929. Created from nlu on 2019-09-02 15:29:15.

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Exploring Individual Immunities to Change 91

Exhibit 5.1: Arthur’s Four-Column Immunity Map

1 2 3 4

Doing/Not Hidden/Competing Commitment Doing Commitment Big Assumption

I am committed to

moving my district

from “good” to “great”

by creating a common

vision of rigorous

instruction .

I am not holding oth-

ers accountable.

I am procrastinating

critical meetings.

I am scrutinizing the

description of instruc-

tion rather than

helping others to

shape it.

(I fear that others

would find out that I

do not know what I

am doing. I fear that I

would lead the organi-

zation down the

wrong path . I fear that

this effort would not go

as planned .)

I am committed to not

having others discover

I am uncertain about

how we will accom-

plish our goals.

I am committed to

keeping others from

finding out that I’m

not always sure of the

next step.

I am committed to

not moving the

district one step

further until I can be

absolutely sure I know

how to successfully

complete the journey.

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Arthur could easily see how his third-column commitment competed with his

first-column commitment. If he was committed to not taking one step further until

he was absolutely sure of how to complete the journey successfully, then there was

no way he would be able to take the risks necessary to move his district from good

to great. And Arthur could see how his second-column behaviors made all the

sense in the world given his third-column commitment. If he was committed to

not taking one step further until he was absolutely sure, then of course he would not

hold others accountable for implementing changes, would not schedule meetings

to discuss next steps, and would continue to delay implementing the new de-

scription of good instruction! In the traditional style of school leadership, Arthur’s

need to be the sole leader of the organization and to not include others in the adap-

tive change process would have been a noble attribute. However, these same actions

countered a new style of leadership—one that furthered collaborative efforts

toward purpose and focus and engagement. Although Arthur had every intention

of moving his district closer to collaboration, purpose and focus, and engagement,

he recognized that his third-column entries demanded deeper reflection before he

could tackle the countering behaviors. That reflection made all the difference.

Endnotes 1. R. Kegan and L. Lahey, How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work (San Francisco:

Jossey-Bass, 2001). 2. As quoted in The Evolution of Physics (New York: Free Press, 1967), 92.

Change Leadership: A Practical Guide to Transforming Our Schools92

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Reflections

Our goal in the preceding two chapters has been to help you understand andovercome common organizational and individual tendencies that inhibit adaptive change. We explored ways that organizations can help create and release

momentum for change, ways in which they can move from reaction to purpose

and focus, from compliance to engagement, and from isolation to collaboration.

Communities of practice—networks through which people can develop their ca-

pacities, build and exchange knowledge, transfer best practices, and solve prob-

lems of practice—offer practical knowledge and support where it is most needed.

Because there is also internal work that must be done, we described how you can

identify and name the tensions that hold you immune to change and growth.

In the next two chapters, we turn to examine organizations and individuals as

systems, and the multiple dimensions that must be understood and addressed to

be successful in this work.

Reflections 93

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Thinking Systemically

� P A R T T H R E E

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