Coaching a Path Through Change
March 2020
Change. Is. Hard.
No doubt about it! But is it? Really?
The past few months I have attended conferences which had sessions on change.
My biggest takeaway from all the information I absorbed is that people are not resistant to change, they just don’t know the path.
What?
Yes, it is that simple.
Charting a Path
When people seem excited about change but do not take action, or even if they are not excited and you can see them wrestling with some cognitive dissonance...it’s actually due to a lack of clarity on how to move forward. In addition, people work through change much the same way they work through the stages of grief.
Think about it - letting go of the comfortable and familiar is hard.
So how do coaches help?
- Provide structures and templates. This creates a clear path.
- Provide an “instructional playbook” with steps for implementing instructional strategies and tools.
- Don’t forget the “WHY.” The “why” is often the catalyst to action. Even if teachers are not sure of the end goal, a “why” motivates the first step.
- Be aware that teachers are all moving through the process at different rates and are all in different stages of grief. This awareness helps you, as the coach, know how to help them navigate.
Innovation Theory
My other recent “ah-ha” has been Innovation Theory. Even if all the pieces are there (a template, process steps, the “why”), there is still a population of people who do not act towards change.
Why?
This has to do with Innovation Theory and the Adoption Curve. Innovation Theory’s Adoption Curve describes the process a population of people go through in adopting new ideas - change.
- Innovators - Risk-taking adventurers; the first to adopt anything; willing to share their experiences and introduce innovations to others.
- Early Adopters - Forward thinkers; respected as leaders; play a key role in influencing the majority.
- Early Majority - Observers; take their time to think; need convincing of benefits.
- Late Majority - Responsive to peer pressure; want innovations to be well-tested before taking a risk.
- Laggards - The last group to adopt innovations; minimal exposure to media; difficult to reach through marketing; wait until innovations are completely mainstreamed before adopting (sometimes they never do).
This year, I have definitely had the opportunity to see Innovation Theory in action.
Really looking to drive change in your school? Market your message and target your communication channels to each adopter group.
And see positive change happen.
- Ginny
Resources:
More on charting a path for change - Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath & Dan Heath
More on Innovation Theory - https://youtu.be/9QnfWhtujPA
More on creating an Instructional Playbook - https://www.instructionalcoaching.com/the-instructional-playbook-the-missing-link-for-translating-research-into-practice/