Steve,
If you don't like change you are not in today's world. Change is a constant with our technology world today. Net generation people are thriving on it.
Dr. Gary Carlson
Good question! I had never really considered it before, but maybe a little bit of both, depending on the circumstances.
I do consider myself a change agent. I always approach change optimistically and look at the positives that can come out of it. I try to share my excitement with my team while also taking into account their concerns. While changing processes that have been in place for a long time can be challenging, once buy in is established along with curiosity, change can be fun and productive. You do need to "check in" with yourself though to not let pride take over, if some piece of the process is not working, you have to be honest with yourself and make approrpiate corrections along the way. Change is the only constant and necessary to survive. As a leader, if you approach it with curiosity, usually so will your team (as long as you have established respect and credibility)
Ellen,
You are on target with your omments. The secret is consistency.
Dr. Gary Carlson
I am definitly a change agent. I am always recognizing ways things can be done better and this typically involves change. I am learning how to effect change better. I will certainly use the skills and strategies discussed in this course. However, the information in this course is so valuable. Having strong leadership is a must just as involving everyone at all levels. is also imperative. It is amazing how some cannot see the need for change in some areas where as for me it it is so obvious.I'll admit I could slow down. I appreciated the information on realizing that it will not happen overnight.I am in the process of applying more of these skills.
Laurel,
Change is a constant for improvement. It is important to make sure change is accomplished by cautious planning and listening to your team. It may come to you to move change forward.
Dr. Gary Carlson
Before taking this course I definitely was a change blocker. I was very resistant to change, figuring do not fix what is not broken. After reading all of the data and personal views, I realized that change is good and can greatly influence the status of my school. Coworkers ideas both blockers and resistors can be utilized to create the energy needed to make a valuable change for the betterment of all concerned.
Dale,
Implementation and practice by you can be a personal achievement of a contribution to the purpose of your job. I never needed to consider if the management would see what I learned but if it was for the betterment of the company achievement to a higher goals I would put it into practice.
Dr. Gary Carlson
Dale,
Implementation and practice by you can be a personal achievement of a contribution to the purpose of your job. I never needed to consider if the management would see what I learned but if it was for the betterment of the company achievement to a higher goals I would put it into practice.
Dr. Gary Carlson
Robert,
Change with explainable purpose is a very convincing for your people to grasp the ownership of the change.
Dr. Gary Carlson
Well, its a tough economy so one needs to be careful about just packing up and moving on. A lot of our change is not generated from a internal review of what we can do better as a business, but from external reporting demands. As such even the upper management is not particularly inspired by the idea of change, but recognize it as necessary. Since they are not inspired, much of what we do degenerates down to just processes to complete paperwork in a timely fashion without much care to what is documented. These continuing education courses, for example, are required to be in my file, but there is no follow through to see if we are implementing what we learn. It is very frustrating, and I have tried to make the work as relevant as possible.
Dale,
Your frustration is quite evident. When working with leadership that doesn't match your philosophy or style increases the stress you may feel. If you have attempted to professionally express yourself with no avail it is time to do some reassessment of your situation, It there is no light at the end of the tunnel it may best to move on to a better match in leadership styles more conducive to your thinking. I wish you luck with finding the Leadership you aspire to serve.
Dr. Gary Carlson
A change agent. I will work toward change when it is needed. This is ,of course if I have a clear understanding of the change.
At my institution I am a change blocker because the implementation is scattered and communication is poor and so the changes that are implemented usually don't go well, and if you suggest that it be done differently, you are informed that you have no input into the process. It isn't the change I block so much as the implementation, and I effectively try to adjust the implementation to meet the operating needs within my job description. A good example of the sort of poor organization that accompanies change at my institution is that will have two manadated goals and then one will change such that it contradicts parts of the first one. Managers respond to the contradiction very poorly and have attempted to insist that both can be accomplished, not thinking out the problem in any depth. I don't disgree with the goals of change at my institution, its just that mediocre management has made the processes very time consuming and the corporation suffers long change periods due to bad implementation. They never attempt to achieve any sort of by-in and are dismissive of concerns.
I consider myself to be a change agent. I find that I have been able to motivate others to change by having open and honest communication when it comes to change, especially when the change is on a big scale. People will resist the change the most when there is fear of the unknown,therefore; the more information you share, the more they will change and help support the change.
My favorite saying is that "change is inevitable, growth is optional".
Transfer of ownership is important in any change. If you the only one owning the change it will be difficult to implement. Your idea of team ownership will be key to the success of any transition from old to new.
I consider myself a change agent. A change should have a policies or processes that will improve the overall outcome and enhance the program. Having effective communication between your team is important to get their constructive feedback and make a decision based on their feedback. Once the change has been decided by the whole team, they will have ownership and will support it.
I would probably classify myself as a change agent, provided there has been enough information presented that justifies the change. I think that is the key to successful change; providing adequate explanations for the need and meaningful reasons for the method chosen. I am not a proponent of "change for change sake" nor do I embrace change when no real explanation is given.
The best practice to prevent blockers is to create ownership by your employees of all goals and projects. If they can be more involved in the process and the outcomes they will become agents rather than blockers. Transfer of ownership is a leadership talent that can be accomplished by excellent coaching.
Agent. I set all goals for our school. Implement and deal with blockers.
