Leading Change, Leading Others, Leading the Way as Educators

Kotter's penguins on the move.

John P. Kotter in his seminal work, Leading Change, postulates that change management is a key to organizational success in the 21^st century.  Recognizing the implications of globalization in the new century, he sees change as a tool that can be harnessed and used to any organization’s advantage, including that of educational institutions.  Kotter describes this management of change as consisting of eight steps:

·        Establishing a Sense of Urgency

·        Creating the Guiding Coalition

·        Developing a Vision and Strategy

·        Communicating the Change Vision

·        Empowering Broad-Based Action

·        Generating Short-term Wins

·        Consolidating Gains and Producing More Change

·        Anchoring New Approaches in the Culture

Kotter argues that the lynchpin for successful change management is leadership.  He goes so far as to say that 70-90 percent of any true transformation is dependent on leadership as compared to management.  So what are the keys to leadership?  According to Kotter, they are establishing direction, aligning people, and motivating and inspiring. 

So you may ask, how does Kotter’s work relate to the role of a teacher in an academic setting?  I would start by considering the definition of a leader.  Aren’t all teachers involved in establishing direction for their students, aligning student work to the curriculum’s learning goals and objectives, and motivating and inspiring students to be the best that they can be?  Yes, teachers are leaders.  And also, aren’t teachers involved in change management on a daily basis?  They work with students to create an environment to instill a desire to learn new concepts, new perspectives and ultimately new knowledge.  Yes, teachers are also change managers.

In recognition of the valuable role teachers perform for all of us, enjoy this short video clip on change management and allow it to instill in you a greater appreciation for all teachers.