We can’t ignore the Crucial Conversations along the way.
On my campus, we’ve already started with our Innovation Plan. Our next steps will include adding strategies for the Sources of Influence (Grenny 2013), layered with the 4 Disciplines of Execution (McChesney 2012) across all five stages, which in a perfect setting, would yield the results of our goal for our initiative.
However, we all know that in the real world, we are working amidst the Whirlwind, not to mention constant resistance to change. For any real change to be accepted, we must “start with heart” (Patterson, 2012). This appeal will serve to focus our mission and remind us as teachers why we all got into this business in the first place.
However, we all know that in the real world, we are working amidst the Whirlwind, not to mention constant resistance to change. For any real change to be accepted, we must “start with heart” (Patterson, 2012). This appeal will serve to focus our mission and remind us as teachers why we all got into this business in the first place.
As a refresher, here are the
Key steps outlined in crucial conversations
(Patterson, 2012)
- Get unstuck.
- Start with heart.
- Learn to look.
- Make it safe.
- Master my stories.
- STATE my path.
- Explore others’ paths.
- Move to action.
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Key steps with teachers and other adults on our campus will be Start with heart (as previously mentioned), Make it safe, Explore others’ paths, and Move to action. All of these steps will be critical in building trust amongst the group.
One point that may be rife with misunderstanding is when we get to step 6, State my path. During this stage, it will be critical that we intentionally follow each recommended step, as defined by the authors of Crucial Conversations (Patterson, 2012). To be precise, Share your facts. Tell your story (the facts, plus the conclusion of the story that calls for in person discussion.) Ask for others’ paths. Talk tentatively. Encourage testing. (Invite others to talk in a way that communicates we’re open to different ideas, even if they diverge from ours.)
Furthermore, Friedman’s theory of differentiated leadership relies on the concept that effective leadership isn’t based on traits or skills, as much as it an emotional process of regulating one’s own inner anxiety (Friedman, 2007).
One point that may be rife with misunderstanding is when we get to step 6, State my path. During this stage, it will be critical that we intentionally follow each recommended step, as defined by the authors of Crucial Conversations (Patterson, 2012). To be precise, Share your facts. Tell your story (the facts, plus the conclusion of the story that calls for in person discussion.) Ask for others’ paths. Talk tentatively. Encourage testing. (Invite others to talk in a way that communicates we’re open to different ideas, even if they diverge from ours.)
Furthermore, Friedman’s theory of differentiated leadership relies on the concept that effective leadership isn’t based on traits or skills, as much as it an emotional process of regulating one’s own inner anxiety (Friedman, 2007).
Photo by Capturing the human heart. on Unsplash
Preparing for the worst case scenario will equip us to encounter any negative reactions or responses. Friedman suggests that a dysfunctional group may not respond to the leader if they want to keep things the way they’ve always been, which is known as “homeostasis.” In extreme situations, the leaders of these new initiative may fail due to sabotage within their own organization. Does this happen in public school settings? Yes, unfortunately. We do not expect a situation like this to arise, but will be prepared with an action plan nonetheless.
Using and implementing the tools of crucial conversations is just one aspect of being a self-differentiated leader.
Using and implementing the tools of crucial conversations is just one aspect of being a self-differentiated leader.
Putting it all together.
Here’s an illustration....
Think of our initiative as a road trip.
Think of our initiative as a road trip.
Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash
We started with our Why.
This is the purpose, and our destination.
The vehicle by which we get to where we’re going is the Influencer Strategy.
The map is the 4DX Plan.
Tools and Troubleshooting is the self-differentiated leadership & crucial conversations.
Just one of these pieces alone will not achieve our goals, but using them all in tandem will set us up to effectively create change in our department, campus, and perhaps even our district and beyond.
This is the purpose, and our destination.
The vehicle by which we get to where we’re going is the Influencer Strategy.
The map is the 4DX Plan.
Tools and Troubleshooting is the self-differentiated leadership & crucial conversations.
Just one of these pieces alone will not achieve our goals, but using them all in tandem will set us up to effectively create change in our department, campus, and perhaps even our district and beyond.
The journey is the reward.
--Steve Jobs
Photo by Geran de Klerk on Unsplash
ReferencesFriedman, E. (2007) A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix. New York: Seabury.
Patterson, K. (2012) Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High. New York: McGraw-Hill. Grenny, J. (2013) Influencer: The New Science of Leading Change. Second Ed. McGraw Hill. McChesney, C. (2012) The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals. Free Press. |
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