Team CHANGE MAKERS Rebuttal to:  

The Opposition=Team of Extraordinary Educators (Addicts Teach Us How to Persevere in Organizational Change)

The process of change comes in many forms, to state that it requires recognition of an existing problem is oversimplifying how we as humans behave. There are many examples of people being spontaneous in initiating change. When God called Abraham to “go from his country to the land God would show him” (Genesis 12:1) Abraham went. There was no previous problem to reflect upon. Abraham stepped out in faith, to enact a massive change on his life, and that of his family, without seeing an existing problem. Another example to further the point, often, we as teachers and administrators create clubs and programs out of passionate desire, rather than a desire to overcome a problem. We enjoy a hobby and use our time to teach others about that as well. These types of actions are common in the way we as humans behave. There does not have to be a problem, or an addiction to build a vision or implement change in direction.

Argument 1

When change occurs it is often done through good leadership, and direction, but it can also be successful without strategizing and planning. There are many examples of charismatic leaders guiding their followers through transformational leadership without over analyzing the followers psychological demands and opinions. Max Weber stated “he [the leader] does not derive his claims from the will of his followers, in the manner of an election; rather, it is their duty to recognize his charisma” (Weber, 1922[1978], p.1113). It is the duty of the follower to acknowledge the leader’s charismatic authority, and it is the duty of the leader to guide the followers to success.

Argument 2

To suggest followers must go through five stages of acceptance fails to take into account followers to blindly follow charismatic authority. There are many historical examples of followers implementing negative change because of an immoral charismatic leader. An example of a good charismatic leader might be that of Christ. His followers were commanded to give all they had to the poor and follow him (Matthew 19:21). A discussion of how he would be implementing change, and a follower buy-in dialogue was never offered. Many times Christ referred to his followers as sheep, he was the good shepherd whose sheep knew his voice and followed him (John 10:27-28). A trusted leader does not always need to council his followers through the change, sometimes they just need to call and expect the sheep to follow. As a teacher do you expect to work through students “capacity for change before taking action” (Warkentin, Oberle, Hinksman, and Barker, 2018, p. 3)? Teachers implement curriculum whether the student is a level 1 with zero intent to change, or a level 5 already working through the curriculum. Obviously, teachers hope to get student interest and buy-in to new changes in curriculum, but there are times when curriculum is required, whether or not the student is ready or interested. In many fields of business, if a follower refuses to “get with the program” they are offered the door. Insubordination is cause for dismissal as seen in the case of Amos v. Alberta, (1995) where a computer systems analyst felt “lost trust in [Varma’s] ethical standing as my Supervisor” and refused to comply with expectations. He was dismissed from the employment of the Alberta government and the dismissal was determined to be with just cause by the courts. It is not the requirement of the employer to coddle the subordinates in the vision and change process. The reason employees have contracts is to provide a legal framework for job expectation on the part of both the company and the employee. Should the employee feel disgruntled or unwilling to participate in the change of the organization, it is well with in the rights of the leader to replace an employee with someone more in line with the company’s vision.

Argument 3

The opposition purports how important it is to establish effective communication during any change process and by doing so “uncertainty and frustration will diminish” (Warkentin et al.,  2018, p.3). While clear communication is important during any change process it is not necessarily the perfect salve which will automatically eliminate uncertainty and frustration.  A case in point, School District #35 (SD35) just received brand new laptops/I Pads for all teaching staff throughout the entire district. The lease expired on the old laptops and they had been returned. While there had been much communication about how to operate the new laptops (emails and workshops) a definite sense of uncertainty and frustration still lingered among teachers as they transitioned from the old to the new technology.

Furthermore, the opposition argues how “leaders must define what will not change such as values and relationships” when going through a change process (p.3). It is an understandable concern, however it is also wrong to promise something which is not palpable nor achievable. Take relationships, for example. It is very difficult to make predictions about relationships not changing. One example, is of a teacher who taught for many years and then moved up into the ranks of administration. This teacher’s new job description warranted a significant change in his old behavior of drinking with the guys and hanging out like old times with his circle of teacher friends. No longer could he act the same way in the past with his circle of teacher buddies now that he moved into a senior administrator role.

The opposition takes a favorable position with Lepsinger’s (2010) Change-Ready Model (p.143) which contends that in level 2 “people are aware of the need for change and are seriously considering it but have not made a commitment to action” and also suggest “people can get stuck in this stage for long periods of time” (p.144). Although, this might be the case for some it is noteworthy to mention this does not hold true for everyone. Nevertheless, this argument is weak because often decisions to change have urgency and demand change be made instantly. In the corporate world if change does not concur within the next quarter underachieving employees will be automatically fired.

Moreover, there are numerous stories of people being diagnosed with grave illnesses and a decision to stop smoking or completely stop eating high cholesterol food can mean life or death. Both my grandmother and aunt were chain smokers; both quit smoking cold turkey and never went back. Likewise, a colleague of mine once smoked and he attests to having quit spontaneously when he found out his wife was pregnant. These personal testimonies prove the faulty logic of Lepsinger’s Level 2 Change-Ready Model (p.143). In a trusting organization with charismatic leaders people won’t need to be hand held into buying into the change, they will just follow.

Argument 4

The opposition believe motivation coupled with planning and preparation will help people warm up to the idea of implementing change (Warkentin et al., 2018).  While being an encourager is noteworthy and warming people up to the idea to embrace change is laudable, Hord and Roussin (2013) argue in order for change to make a significant impact it must be in a forward moving motion where “multiple and continuous feedback loops inform everyone on a daily basis” (p.1).  Clearly, it is not enough to just talk about change and accept pitiful small efforts over an extended window of time.

Furthermore, sometimes change happens quickly without the little micro-attempts, as suggested by Lepsinger (2010) of smokers going from a pack of cigarettes a day to maybe only half a pack and then fewer and fewer. There is no need to waste precious time and energy focusing on the little itsy bitsy steps when sometimes change necessitates an immediate action take place. For example, a school stabbing which killed a student and injured another at Abbotsford Secondary in 2016 called for decisive action to be taken immediately on school lock-down procedures throughout surrounding school districts in BC. In fact, the day after this incident occurred, my own high school began keeping all doors to the school locked after 8:30 am and creating a new policy for visitors. This is just one example of how change can be implemented instantaneously without a lot of pre-planning.

Argument 5

Some might be persuaded to believe “changes fail because people consider visible progress the victory” (Warkentin, et al., 2018, p.4). However, that point is not salient because if change is visible it is working. According to Hughes, Beatty and Dinwoodie (2014) “Organizations change only in response to changing conditions if someone first notices the changing conditions” (p.127). Therefore visible change should be applauded as a precursor to the larger victory.

The opposition says “abundant time is needed to guarantee getting people to maintain the change towards a new beginning” (Warkentin et al., 2018, p.4). However, as pointed out previously, an exorbitant amount of time is not always necessary. One student of mine just shared a true story in our Toastmasters Club this past week. Una shared how after her first year in Canada she gained a lot of weight and was super determined to shed those extra pounds when she went home to China for one month in the summer. Before she departed she called her trainer made a plan to work-out every day with her trainer and after one month she said “I made it. I survived and I even improved. It’s something I can see. And you can see too” U. Qian (personal communication, November 9, 2018).

While it is true that transformational servant leaders (TSL) are “concerned with the performance and development of followers to their maximum potential” nevertheless, they do not need to be a doormat. Change leaders need to be able to delegate tasks accordingly and have full confidence that their subordinates will get the job done. One transformational servant leader I know achieved great results with his students but he did not compromise or tip toe around the truth of the matter, that students at the end of the day still needed to do their part, roll up their sleeves and do the hard work of school. Sergiovanni (2016) states “the good leader is one who can get his subordinates to do something” (p.59).

Argument 6

Lepsinger’s (2010) understanding of the internalization of changed behavior to create habit is very limiting to the further creativity of a project (p.145). His explanation of change being fully embraced and becoming second nature replacing the old behavior suggests there is no longer reflection on previous practices and exploration of future ideas. The fact there is an intentional recognition of success for accomplishing an expected process of change comes across in the same way as giving all participants in a sports tournament trophies for participating. When leaders praise the normal expectations of employees, they create an attitude of apathy in the workplace. Competition breeds innovation. In Ungerer et al., (2016) we see an example from Taylor stating “productivity and efficiency are directly correlated to competitiveness” (p.367). We can look at the internet search industry as an example of how competition drives companies to constant fluid change. There is no time to think about the micro-changes the employees might have embraced when the company is constantly moving in new directions (Farber, 2015). When we look at habits being formed we should praise heroic behavior, strive for excellence, rather than mediocrity. To say the “critical thing for an organization is to help staff realize change could happen, and that they can get through it” is short sighted. By focusing on the staff’s concerns about change, a company creates “safe spaces” instead of “blue water spaces” (p. 300). There is a time and place to hear the concerns of staff, but when implementing vision for change in an organization, the leadership needs to be in command. Leaders need to be guiding the staff with clear and strategic plans, rather than being caught up in the grumbles around the water cooler. How many times have you sat through a staff meeting which was sidelined by complaining staff. These kinds of meetings cause absolutely no positive change in the school environment and waste the time of both the staff members and the administration.

References

Amos Vs Alberta, Https://www.canlii.org/en/ab/abqb/doc/1995/1995canlii9287/1995canlii9287.html# (Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench February 17, 1995), 1995 Canada CanLII 8903-09591.

Farber, D. (2015, December 04). Evidence that competition breeds innovation. Retrieved from https://www.zdnet.com/article/evidence-that-competition-breeds-innovation/

Hughes, R., Beatty, K. & Dinwoodie, D. (2014). Becoming a strategic leader: Your role in your organization’s enduring success. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Lepsinger, R. (2010). Closing the execution gap: How great leaders and their companies get results. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.

Sergiovanni, T. (2007). Rethinking leadership (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: CA: Corwin Press.

Ungerer, M., Ungerer, G., & Herholdt, J. (2016). Navigating Strategic Possibilities : Strategy Formulation and Execution Practices to Flourish. Randburg: KR Publishing.

Warkentin, M., Oberle, S., Hinksman, S., Barker, L., (2018, November 6). Addicts teach us how to persevere in organizational change favorable (6.1) [Web log post]. Retrieved November 8, 2018, from https://create.twu.ca/ldrs501/2018/11/06/addicts-teach-us-how-to-persevere-in-organizational-change-favorable-6-1/

Weber M (1922 [1978]) Economy and Society, 2 vols (ed G Roth and C Wittich). Berkeley, CA; London; Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.