5304| 95/100
As I close the door on yet another course, this course made me think about how we can make change happen! For starters, laying out my desired results for what I wanted to happen and then researching the different strategies and sources of influence made me aware of how change can be initiated and managed. The videos and reading material within this course gave me a firm foundation to devise a strategy to ensure that change can be effective and helpful. The practical examples and explanation of the fundamental nature of people and their motivations concerning change helped me pinpoint how to make effective and long-lasting change in my school.
Similar to previous courses in the ADL program, I collaborated often with the group members I have worked with since starting the program last Spring. With fellow classmates Joseph Perrone, Faith Lopez, Khelia Olison Williams, and Melissa Richards, as well as others in the Organizational Change course, have created a GroupMe thread where we can share insights, express frustrations, and even send links to get feedback before we submit for a grade. In addition to the GroupMe, everyone in this course submitted their initial thoughts on the weekly topic, and then I made sure to reply to at least three initial posts from other classmates. Overall, the continued GroupMe and initial response and subsequent replies have helped reinforce the knowledge and direction I took on each of the weekly assignments.
For my ED5304 course, Organizational Change, the course was a rigorous combination of project based learning, riddle with meaningful application. Beginning first with developing our Why-how-what framework, which identifies the “why” of our organization, and explores the concept of appealing to values, attitudes, and feelings, that can motivate people toward making changes. From there, we built upon that concept of motivation and behavioral change and developed an Influencer Strategy that leveraged different degrees of influence as a key component to initiating change but also highlighted the vital behaviors that are needed to ensure immediate action if lasting change were to be achieved. Once those vital behaviors were identified and the six sources of influence were broken down, that strategy was used in conjunction with the four disciplines of execution, which serves as a strategy and a road map to executing change on an organizational level. With the tools gained from 4DX, I have devised a thorough plan of action and accountability to use within my organization to help further the implementation of my innovation plan. Once execution became a reality in my own classroom, it became clear which aspects (device implementation, platform training, and department concerns need to be addressed to initiate change and then move my school towards continuing those practices to become habits. Overall, it made me aware of the steps needed to start and then continue the change required to make “a portfolio revolution” happen. I discuss this more in a recent blog post titled Talking Change | Crucial Conversations.
As I look back on these past 8 weeks, I can say that I gave each assignment and discussion my best effort, being open and receptive to feedback and was comfortable with making mistakes and improving my innovation plan and execution of that plan based on the feedback received.
Throughout the Organization Change courses, the assigned weekly readings and the suggested articles and videos were a key component in understanding and engaging with the material. To ensure that my engagement to be material was authentic, I completed all assignments before the due dates, and participated in every discussion board post for both classes. I also attended the live Zooms and watched recordings for the assignments I needed clarity on. Participating actively was essential to understanding and engaging with the material.
References
Grenny, J., Patterson, K., Maxfield, D., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2013). Influencer: The
new science of leading change: 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
McChesney, C., Covey, S., & Huling, J. (2012). The 4 disciplines of execution: Achieving your
wildly important goals. New York, NY: Free Press.
Patterson, K., Grenny, J., McMillan, R. & Switzler, A. (2012). Crucial conversations: Tools for
talking when stakes are high, second edition. McGraw-Hill.
References
Grenny, J., Patterson, K., Maxfield, D., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2013). Influencer: The
new science of leading change: 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
McChesney, C., Covey, S., & Huling, J. (2012). The 4 disciplines of execution: Achieving your
wildly important goals. New York, NY: Free Press.
Patterson, K., Grenny, J., McMillan, R. & Switzler, A. (2012). Crucial conversations: Tools for
talking when stakes are high, second edition. McGraw-Hill.
Comments