Tag: change

External Scan – Assignment 2 LRNT525

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Figure.  Three Perspectives on Leading Change in a Digital Learning Environment.  Images retrieved and adapted from: “Wikimedia Commons” by Ebaychatter0, 2012 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boeing_777.svg); “Icons website” by Icons 8, n.d. (https://icons8.com/icon/23318/graduate); and “Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus” by Powerpoint, 2016.  In the public domain. 

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“The legacy of the leader’s influence is perpetuated through the followers’ incorporation of legacy principles into their lives as they become leaders” (Castelli, 2016, p. 220).  By understanding how leaders addressed situations involving change in digital learning environments, it is possible to learn from their approach to successfully address leadership challenges.  Through the study of three perspectives on leading change in digital learning environments discovered through interview, it was apparent that there were commonalities that lead to successful change. 

Despite the different roles of interviewees, all three clearly and correctly annunciated the vision or goal of the change.  Based on this, it was obvious that leadership had developed and communicated a clear vision.  Unsurprisingly, this strongly aligns with literature which identifies a clear vision as a requirement for successful change (Al-Haddad & Kotnour, 2015; Kotter, 2012). 

The three interviewees identified different change initiators.  The replacement of a college’s Learning Management System (LMS) was advocated for by the student body after consistent failures in the legacy system.  A group of advisors and a Commander were identified as the initiators in the creation of learning support centers.  The third interview identified changes initiated by various groups: stakeholders, the Air Force technical training team and Commanders.  Literature describes the benefits of change initiation from multiple levels (Moran & Brightman, 2000; Morrison & Phelps, 1999; Podsakoff, Whiting, Podsakoff, & Blume, 2009; Uhl-Bien, Riggio, Lowe, & Carsten, 2014), indicating there is support for change initiation from a variety of groups depending on the situation.  This is especially true in the digital learning environment where leaders may not have daily contact with users of a system, so may not realize if a change is required.    

Regardless of the initiator, influence tactics can be used at all levels to alter ­­the details of the change implementation or modify the change itself (Uhl-Bien et al., 2014).   When first discussing change, Uhl-Bien et al. (2014) suggests that “follower inspirational appeals and consultation were most effective” (p. 94).  Both these approaches were highlighted in the examples where stakeholders either lead the projects or were consulted during the change process and where the leaders of the project emphasized presenting conditions as compared to predicted conditions following the change.  Followership theories of leadership specifically focus on “how engaged followers can act as agents of change” (Uhl-Bien et al., 2014, p. 91) and how participation in the change process can enhance change development and implementation (Al-Haddad & Kotnour, 2015).  When describing the consultation that occurred, two of the interviewees specifically identified modifications to the change or change implementation following the consultation, demonstrating the value of consultation as it relates to the digital learning environment as a motivational factor (Fullan, 2007), as well as a significant contribution to a successful implementation plan and change (Al-Haddad & Kotnour, 2015). 

Although it was only explicitly stated in one interview, setting the conditions to ensure future success would have been a major consideration for all the leaders involved in overall project management as all of the changes were meant to be long-term (Moran & Brightman, 2000) and interoperability is important in the digital environment. 

Leveraging success was specifically highlighted in two of the interviews.  When learning support centers were created, the financial savings from early collaboration was publicized.  Some specific projects such as the aircraft marshalling simulator were promoted as examples of successfully leveraging technology in military training to decrease costs and increase capability.  Leveraging success is present in many change models such as Hamel’s insurrection model (win small, win early, win often), Kotter’s Leading Change Method (plan for and create short term wins) and Davenport’s process reengineering (communicate ongoing results of the effort) (Al-Haddad & Kotnour, 2015).  These models use early wins to increase the credibility of the change and motivate people to commit to it (Kotter, 2012) as well as allowing stakeholders to compare the predicted conditions to the presenting conditions. 

Despite the similarities in these three approaches, it is crucial that leaders study and react to each situation individually as what worked in one situation may not be applicable in another (Fullan, 2013).  However, the examples studied have shown that in general leading change in digital learning works well when leaders develop and communicate a clear vision which informs change.  Change can be successfully initiated from any level with stakeholder input.  Key challenges such as convincing stakeholders of the return on investment and setting conditions for future success can be overcome by leveraging successes and emphasizing presenting issues. 

References:

Al-Haddad, S., & Kotnour, T. (2015). Integrating the organizational change literature: a model for successful change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 28(2), 234–262. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-11-2013-0215

Castelli, P. A. (2016). Reflective leadership review: a framework for improving organisational performance. Journal of Management Development, 35(2), 217–236. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMD-08-2015-0112

Fullan, M. (2007). Understanding Change. In John Wiley & Sons Inc (Ed.), The jossey-bass reader on educational leadership (2nd ed., pp. 169–181). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, Wiley.

Fullan, M. (2013). Neither Theory nor Action. In M. Grogan (Ed.), The jossey-bass reader on educational leadership (3rd ed., pp. 207–219). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, Wiley.

Kotter, J. P. et. al. (2012). Leading Change : Why Transformation Efforts Fail. Harvard Business Review, (June).

Moran, J. W., & Brightman, B. K. (2000). Leading organizational change. Journal of Workplace Learning, 12(2), 66–74. https://doi.org/10.1108/13665620010316226

Morrison, E. W., & Phelps, C. C. (1999). Taking charge at work: Extrarole efforts to initiate workplace change. Academy of Management Journal, 42(4), 403–419. https://doi.org/10.2307/257011

Podsakoff, N. P., Whiting, S. W., Podsakoff, P. M., & Blume, B. D. (2009). Individual- and Organizational-Level Consequences of Organizational Citizenship Behaviors: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(1), 122–141. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013079

Uhl-Bien, M., Riggio, R. E., Lowe, K. B., & Carsten, M. K. (2014). Followership theory: A review and research agenda. Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), 83–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2013.11.007

Image attribution for graphics used in infographic:

Ebaychatter0. (Artist).  (2012).  Boeing 777.svg [Digital image].  Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons website: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boeing_777.svg

Icons 8.  (n.d.).  Graduate icon in flat style [Digital image].  Retrieved from icons website:  https://icons8.com/icon/23318/graduate

PowerPoint 2016. (Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus).  Computer [Digital image]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft.

PowerPoint 2016. (Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus).  Three people [Digital image]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft.

PowerPoint 2016. (Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus).  Person with screen [Digital image]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft.

Leading Change – Unit 2 Activity 1

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How have the theories/models for change adapted to take into consideration our current technological, economic and societal contexts?

Based on Al-Haddad and Kotnour’s (2015) descriptions of change methods and Biech’s (2007) History of Change Design, theories and models have generally adapted to include more emphasis on involvement of all stakeholders early in the change process.  More specifically, using facilitation strategies has become more common.  An example of this is shown in Hamel’s Insurrection method in the “create a coalition” stage (Al-Haddad & Kotnour, 2015). 

Which theories/models do you think best align with your own approach to leadership? Do these approaches align with your organizational context?

The change model that really resonates with me at the present time is Kotter’s Leading Change method (Kotter, 2012).  The method is straight forward and logical, but highlights things that I think are important functions of leadership: creating a team to develop and lead the change, facilitating the development and communication of a vision and enabling people by removing obstacles (Kotter, 2012).  I also do focus on creating small or quick wins early in the change process as my experience has shown this is inspirational and creates motivation to fully implement or continue the change.  This method is actually one that I currently employ in change management.  Recently we introduced our new Instructor Professional Development Program.  I created a sense of urgency by expressing using literature and quotes from instructors why implementing the program was so necessary.  I hired two Masters of Education students to form part of the program development team (along with my existing staff).  Together the team refined the vision of how the program would work and specifically developed the introductory session.  I focused on removing barriers for the Instructors within the program and ensuring it would be a positive, beneficial experience which we started by focusing energy on developing an engaging introductory session that involved learning and self reflection.  Feedback from this session was excellent, so it was a short term win.  We ensured that we followed this session up with an e-mail summarizing their learning and providing them guidance on their next step.  It works well within my current organizational context because I work with a lot of specialists with knowledge, skills and experience to contribute to the vision and leading change itself. 

What role does leadership play in managing change?

Weiner (2009) states that the consistent messaging and actions of a leader makes team members more confident that they can succeed in change as well as more committed to the change itself.  Kouzes and Posner (1999) actually outline five practices essential to exemplary leadership and these items coincide with many of the change models (Al-Haddad & Kotnour, 2015).  So with respect to change, leaders do in fact “challenge the process, inspire a shared vision, enable others to act, model the way and encourage” (Kouzes & Posner, 1999, p. xiii). 

What are the unique challenges in managing change for learning in digital environments? Weller & Anderson (2013) offer a model based on resilience. What attributes do you think would work well within your own context?

I believe communication and collaboration are two of the biggest challenges in managing change for learning in the digital environment as often face-to-face communication with all stakeholders is not possible.  The organization that I currently work in supports airworthiness.  The Air Force has several different systems in place to manage change related to airworthiness (Sharpe & Leversedge, 2014).  There is the flight safety system which responds to accidents or incidents by ensuring the route cause is discovered, tracked and actioned.  Additionally AF9000, the Air Force quality management system promotes continuous improvement related to technical procedures.  The DND Airworthiness program as well as procurement processes supports change management related to air assets.  These systems are all designed to enable change within the system itself as well as change within knowledge, procedure or physical assets, that is they have a high degree of latitude (Weller & Anderson, 2013).  They are also designed to make change as straightforward and simple as possible while maintaining safety of flight, so they are reasonably resistant (Weller & Anderson, 2013).  To maximize operational capability, systems are designed to operate close to the threshold of the acceptable level of safety, so they are precarious (Weller & Anderson, 2013); however, they are also very resistant to any external factors (Weller & Anderson, 2013) as the programs are very strong.  In addition to these systems, the Air Force has recently Operation Innovation focused on enabling innovation and change (Thatcher, 2017).  Among other things, the program enables pitches and suggestions from all levels to be heard by the decision makers (Thatcher, 2017).  Some of these pitches have already been successfully embodied.  

References:

Al-Haddad, S., & Kotnour, T. (2015). Integrating the organizational change literature: a model for successful change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 28(2), 234–262. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-11-2013-0215

Biech, E. (2007). Thriving Through Change: A Leader’s Practical Guide to Change Mastery. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=cFJ3iwaE7MwC&pgis=1

Kotter, J. P. et. al. (2012). Leading Change : Why Transformation Efforts Fail. Harvard Business Review, (June).

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (1999). Encouraging the heart: a leader’s guide to rewarding and recognizing others. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Sharpe, E., & Leversedge, T. F. J. (2014). A Knowledge-Management Proposal for the RCAF. The Royal Canadian Air Force Journal, 3(2), 39–50.

Thatcher, C. (2017). Operation Innovation. Skies, January/February, 24–35. Retrieved from https://assets.skiesmag.com/digital/2017/CSV7I1/html5/index.html?page=1&noflash

Weiner, B. J. (2009). A theory of organizational readiness for change. Implementation Science, 4(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/1748-5908-4-67

Deciding What Change to Choose – Unit 2, Activity 1

Lorri 3 Comments

I am constantly looking for ways to improve the training we provide within my organization.  I have worked with my small section to look at instructor and student feedback to generate quite a lot of ideas for change.  However, I have limited resources and my time is constrained by other duties as well, so sometimes determining what to focus on is difficult. 

When we talk about change in distance education, I think of essentially every conversation that I have had with someone who has taken a distance education course in the early 2000s and because of their poor experience is convinced that distance learning can not be as good as face-to-face learning.  Dron (2014) highlights how pedagogy and instructional media have evolved together, detailing reasons why some evolutions are successful and others are not. 

Most of our learning takes place face-to-face, so in that way, our instructional system appears relatively soft as modifying a face-to-face lesson plan is far less time consuming than redesigning online learning (Chapman, 2010).  However, the lack of instructor training, their reliance on PowerPoint and lack of subject matter expert time makes even modifications to our face-to-face learning challenging.  Dron’s (2014) article is encouraging as it advocates breaking learning into small isolated chunks which we already do as modules.  Focusing on changing one module is more manageable than making changes to an entire course.  Some of the changes we are currently trialling within my directorate are new to the whole organization.  “Allowing flowers to bloom requires new varieties to be at least partially sheltered from each other at first” (Dron, 2014, p. 247).  We have implemented the changes in only a few courses, collecting student feedback and modifying the initiatives accordingly.  For further changes, Dron (2014) advocates Bate’s ACTIONS model to help select technology.  I will incorporate this into future options analysis to help determine what changes to tackle next! 

What parts of Dron’s (2014) article did you feel are applicable to your work? 

References:

Chapman, B. (2010). How long does it take to create learning? [Research Study]. Published by Chapman Alliance LLC. Retrieved from http://www.chapmanalliance.com/howlong/

Dron, J. (2014). Innovation and Change: Changing how we Change. In Zawacki-Richter, O. & T. Anderson (Eds.), Online distance education: Towards a research agenda. Athabasca (pp. 237-265). AB: AU Press.