Change Model 1

There is a host of different material describing processes or models to facilitate change. I have chosen three to share that I have found particularly thought-provoking during my time as a leader.

Fullan’s Model:

In Fullan’s book, The Six Secrets of Change – What the Best Leaders Do to Help Their Organisations Survive and Thrive, he identifies what he believes are the necessary elements for growth and improvement to occur and be sustained within an organisation. The six secrets are: love your employees, connect peers with purpose, capacity building prevails, learning is the work, transparency rules and systems learn. Although each secret is explained separately, there is a clear association between the secrets, demonstrating that collectively they are much more effective. (Fullan, 2008.)

Love your employees

Fullan begins with secret one, love your employees. He suggests that if you invest in your employees in the right way, it can be of an enormous benefit to your organisation. Employees who are able to continuously learn and find purpose in their work and their relationships to colleagues is key. He names three factors for motivating employees within secret one: fair treatment, enabling achievement and camaraderie. Fullan also relates secret one to an educational context by saying that leaders must value the teachers as much as the children and the parents. He claims that if you do not show the same commitment to your employees as to your customers, you will not be able to sustain success. (Fullan, 2008.)

Connect peers with purpose

Secret two, connect peers with purpose, is about getting the balance right between policies, procedures and less structured interactions, which can nurture creativity. Fullan describes this as loose-tight leadership. Creating an environment that is simultaneously tight and loose is key to enhancing an organisation. He argues that leaders who embed strategies, while at the same time nurture conditions for purposeful peer interactions, will create an environment where employees feel a stronger sense of purpose. When people collaborate within a meaningful context, their commitment to work increases. (Fullan, 2008.)

Capacity building prevails

Fullan’s third secret, capacity building prevails, involves leaders investing in the development of individuals, groups and the whole organisation to achieve improvements. Fullan uses the phrase judgmentalism to describe what leaders should avoid in order to build this capacity. This refers to criticism which is derogatory, which could lead to fear and distrust and the likelihood of a less effective organisation. Alternatively, if there is transparency and a climate of trust, the ability to accomplish goals and embrace change increases. The idea is to develop a culture where risk taking becomes essential and safe, and anxiety and insecurity about trying something new or different is eradicated.  (Fullan, 2008.)

Learning is the work

Next is secret four, learning is the work. This refers to both consistency and innovation. An organisation which is able to identify practices that are effective in producing consistent results, while at the same time, creating  opportunities for working on innovation practices, will get even better results, according to Fullan. In order to achieve this, he explains that you need to establish, ‘deep learning that is embedded in the culture of the workplace’. (Fullan, 2008: p. 89.) In an educational context, teachers learn to improve their performance by connecting with their colleagues in the environment in which they work, their school. 

Transparency rules

Secret five is: transparency rules. Fullan explains that transparency involves being open about measuring, communicating, and acting on data. He believes that this is essential to an organisation’s success. However, these measurements should only act as guides to help direct behaviour. Fullan explains that data can be misused and lead to unfair or destructive actions.  This is why it needs to be made clear how the data is being collected and used. Leaders also need to be mindful of how they respond and feedback the information. It is neither acceptable nor useful to keep the data private or refuse to collect it at all, he adds. (Fullan, 2008.) 

Systems learn

The final secret of change is: systems learn. This refers to the ability to sustain learning within an organisation. Fullan explains that leaders can come and go, often undoing or repeating the actions of their predecessors.  Therefore an organisation’s performance is unlikely to be consistent over time. He argues that systems need to learn by developing many leaders at the same time, instead of depending on individuals. He continues to say that leaders need to be able to cope with difficulties, take action, and learn from these, while at the same time, engaging other leaders in the organisation. This will help the organisation as a whole to learn and continue to develop when faced with complexities. (Fullan, 2008.) 

CHANGE MODEL 2