A Differentiated Approach

There are a lot of people in my organization that are extremely resistant to any sort of change and I am afraid that they are all too excited to move back to their “old ways” once they are given the opportunity. However, I feel that I have a good and open relationship with many of the staff members, because I have always tried to make myself open to helping and working with everyone. I am hoping that these relationships that I have already built will help me with the crucial conversations that I will need to have as a differentiated leader.

I think that I will first have to work on leading in a differentiated manner to be sure that my colleagues feel comfortable and as though their opinions really matter before I truly start having crucial conversations. I really want to have a chance to feel out everyone’s thoughts and get their suggestions, so that I can incorporate their ideas into my plans.

After getting to know my colleagues over the past 13 years, I know that when we come together we are capable of getting things done. I also know that in order for that to happen, everyone needs to feel as though they have a voice and that their opinion matters. Discussing my plan with others and getting their feedback and concerns is going to be my first move. I believe that I will greatly benefit from what the rest of my team has to offer.

Communication is Key

It is imperative that, as a differentiated leader, I openly communicate with everyone involved in order to gain insight on where my colleagues stand with my initiative. Some questions I would like to ask them include:

• What do they think will help make it easier for them to make more time for writing in their own classrooms?

• What problems do they foresee and any ideas on how to get around them?

• What will keep you from being able to implement my plan into your classroom and how can I help you resolve these issues?

• What are some authentic writing opportunities that you believe students would benefit from? (Should be course content based if possible.)

I believe that hearing my colleagues thoughts about my plan as well as incorporating their ideas and suggestions will only help make my plan come to life. They will be more on board with the changes and ideas about how to create more writing opportunities for our students if they know that they are being heard and taken seriously.

Taking a Stand

Doing what needs to be done for the right reasons doesn’t seem like a difficult thing to do, until we get stuck in our “whirlwind”. Unfortunately, part of that “whirlwind” is normally a lot of meetings where we are afraid to say what is really on our minds because we are afraid of the repercussions for speaking up. If I want to get things done, we as a staff, are going to have to have a crucial conversation about keeping the lines of communication open, no matter what. No one should have to be afraid to speak their mind and give their ideas. Everyone will need to be heard.

If we want to work like a team, we need to communicate like one and not be afraid to stand up for what is right and best for our students and their learning.

Crucial Conversations

Having crucial conversations with team members in order to meet a goal goes hand in hand with being a differentiated leader. I believe that using the crucial conversations method while planning the crucial conversations that I need to have with my colleagues will greatly aid in the success of my innovation plan.

Open Book

I want to introduce my plan to my colleagues and get their honest feedback. As stated before, communication is going to be key in order for my plan to be successful. People need to be heard and taken seriously if a leader expects them to actively participate in the initiative. I will make the reasons as to why I want to implement more authentic writing and learning opportunities to all students known from the start. Hopefully this strategy will create a more active “buy in” from my colleagues. Everyone should always feel safe to have a critical conversation with another team member if it is for the benefit of our students and our team. This should also help with any negative feelings that anyone should have about writing workshop practices in their classroom. An open and trusting relationship based on open communication will help everyone in our school in achieving their writing goals.

Keeping Everything in Focus

Direct communication with the staff about what my writing workshop implementation goal and what our plan of action is will help to keep everyone on the team focused on the same goal. My 4DX plan clearly outlines my goals, measures, and how we are going to implement writing workshop across the curriculum as a team. Once I am able to ease fears about creating more writing opportunities among the staff by listening to their concerns and incorporating their ideas, I believe that everyone will be able to effectively take action to help our students become better writers and learners.

References:

Cross, J. (2013, March 20). Three myths of behavior change-What you think you know that you don’t: Jeni Cross at TEDxCSU. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5d8GW6GdR0

Grenny, J., Patterson, K., Maxfield, D., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2013). Influencer: The new science of leading change. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

Kotter, J. Leading change: Establish a sense of urgency. (n.d.). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Yfrj2Y9IlI&feature=youtu.be

McChesney, C., Covey, S., & Huling, J. (2012). The 4 disciplines of execution: Achieving your wildly important goals. New York, NY: Free Press.

Patterson, K. (2002). Crucial conversations: Tools for talking when stakes are high. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Sinek, S. Start with why — How great leaders inspire action. TEDxPugetSound. (n.d.). https://youtu.be/u4ZoJKF_VuA