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Rapid Response


Rapid Response

We find ourselves in an unprecedented place in our educational systems. The road has taken a sharp left and we are trying to figure out how to smooth out the ride. How can we lead our organizations when we don't know where we are headed? How do we help the staff navigate this change?

When we got the call to close schools down we were not completely unprepared. Teachers had prepped enough educational material for 2-3 weeks. By the next day, Saturday, We realized that it would be more like 4-6 weeks or more. What do leaders do when they don't know where they're headed? They research, go to webinars, and ask the experts. That is what our administrative team did the weekend after the school closed. We found that quality online instruction incorporated an online platform, with a playlist of educational tasks, and virtual interactions between teachers and students (Modern Teacher, 2020). Armed with this information we set up meetings with our staff for the following week. 

In order to navigate the incredible change before us, we knew it would be a team effort. Fullan (2007), states that in situations of radical change "The organization needs leadership that welcomes differences, communicates the urgency of the challenge...and...motivates people to reach beyond themselves."  Heifitz and Linsky(2002) add that you need to start where people are at. Keeping this in mind the way to navigate this change successfully is to create opportunities for people to problem-solve and listen to each other. 

At the beginning of the first week of school closure we schedule many meetings to discuss the plan moving forward. We suggested some of the best practices we found from our research but the team embraced the challenge of change and by the end of the week every grade level had a solid plan for instruction moving digital.

How do we navigate changes when we don't know where we are headed? Allow people to start from where they are and find the path that leads them to where they need to be. New doors are opened with this type of collaboration.

References:

Fullan, M. (2007). Leading in a culture of change. San Francisco, CA: Wiley.

Heifetz, R. A., & Linsky, M. (2002). Leadership on the line. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press.

Modern Teacher. (2020, April 9). Leading the change to virtual learning [Slides]. Retrieved from https://www.modernteacher.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Leading-the-Change-to-Virtual-Learning-Part-2.pdf?utm_source=Modern+Teacher&utm_campaign=a3ee8c3f48-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_03_30_07_25_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cc7caac398-a3ee8c3f48-199526205

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