singapore - leading change from the middle workshop april 15-16 2013

Leading change from the middle

ASCD Singapore April 15th – 16th 2013

Chris Jansen

University of Canterbury New Zealand

1

Overview

• exploring your change inquiry

• influence and position

• systems thinking

• complicated or complex?

• system mapping

• creating self organisation

• tools for adaptive leadership

• Appreciative inquiry

• mapping your change journey

2

3

Speed Complexity

Uncertainty Ambiguity

Opportunities

Paradox

Unintended consequences

Lack of Control

Exponential rate of change

Information overload

Interconnectedness of systems

Dissolving of traditional organisational boundaries

Disruptive technologies

Generational values and expectations

Increased globalization www.ideacreation.org

change is changing…..

The greatest challenge for future leaders is the pace of change and the complexity of the challenges faced….

….”perpetual white-water”…

4 www.ideacreation.org

“Our organisations are not equipped to cope with this complexity…” (IBM study – 1500 CEO‟s)


Technical challenges

“can be solved with knowledge and procedures already at hand”

Adaptive challenges

“embedded in social complexity, require behaviour change and are rife with unintended consequences‟


Positive Psychology

„what we focus on becomes our reality‟

Heliotropic Hypothesis “social systems evolve towards the most positive images they hold of themselves, toward what gives them life and energy, in much the same way that plants grow in the direction of the sun”


What do we tend to focus on?

• vision

• planning

• detail

• problem

• drama


Applications of Positive Psychology

• Solution focused therapy / narrative therapy

• Positive expectations on educational achievement

• Placebo effect / positive thinking

• Positive deviancy

• Positive leadership – leveraging strengths

• Appreciative Inquiry


– What factors effect powerful professional learning in schools?

– What processes build effective collaborations with communities and whanau?

– What factors promote positive student behaviour?

– How do we improve achievement?

– How can we improve our staff culture?

What's your change leadership inquiry?


www.ideacreation.org 11

Planning my change inquiry


Change agenda - organisational change processes

1. establish urgency based on provable need/gap

2. form a powerful coalition or core team

3. develop a vision and operation plan

4. launch numerous small ‟safe to fail‟ pilots

5. communicate the vision and develop whole school approach

6. consolidate improvements by building capacity

7. widen awareness and support

8. celebrate and embed

Based on Kotter


Hierarchies

18

Networks

19

Communities

Schools

Classrooms

Departments

Scales of Influence

Individuals

www.ideacreation.org 20

What strategies could you consider to increase your positive influence within your organisation and community?

Leading from the middle


www.educationalleaders.govt.nz

Kiwi Leadership for Principals

22

Middle leadership case studies

www.educationalleaders.govt.nz


Analysing change


Systems Thinking…

….is a way of making

sense of a complex system

…is the ability to see the world as relationships and connections

...allows us to influence a complex system


“Where the world is dynamic, evolving and interconnected, we

tend to make decisions using mental models that are

static, narrow, and reductionist.”


Seeing connections instead of parts…

“You can never understand anything

by analysing it.”

“We have to understand the whole before

we can understand the parts - what

matters is their interaction.”

Russell Ackoff


29

Simple, predictable cause and

effect interactions

Multiple predictable cause and

effect interactions

Multiple connected but unpredictable interactions

Multiple disconnected interactions

Complex Complicated

Chaotic Simple

Cynefin Framework

Decisions are obvious

Decisions require expert knowledge

Decisions are uncertain and solutions only

apparent in retrospect

Decisions need to be made quickly to dampen energy

Dave Snowden 2012 www.ideacreation.org

30

Multiple predictable cause and effect

interactions

Multiple connected but unpredictable

interactions

Complex Complicated

Chaotic Simple

Cynefin Framework

Decisions require expert knowledge

Decisions are uncertain and solutions only

apparent in retrospect

Adaptive challenges

Technical problems

+innovative, responsive, nimble +Efficient, reliable, powerful

- messy and spontaneous - Inflexible, slow to respond

www.ideacreation.org

31

Systems Thinking


Student behaviour

issuesQuality of alternative

programmes

S

O

Programme appeal to

other students

S

B

R

“Causal loop diagrams provide a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than events, for seeing

patterns of change rather than snapshots”

Senge


# students enrolled

reputation

student satisfaction

resources (physical,

people)

revenue

S S

S

S

S

resources for

research

staff research

activity

UC research

profile

TEC funding S

S

S

S

efts cap

economy

marketing

financial targets

management

strategies

imposed performance

standards

staff involvement in

decision making

motivation and

commitment

resistance

collaboration/

engagementteam spirit/ morale

sick leave, stress

leave, staff turnover

S

S

O

SO

O

S

S

O

O

O

Causal loopdiagram for

University ofCanterbury

R1 Growth

R2 Growth R3

Performance

B1 Resistance

B2 Health

The Iceberg Model Four levels of thinking

Events

Patterns

Systemic structure

Mental models

Maani 2010


System thinking tools – affinity process

1) Clarify the question

2) Determine influence factors

3) Map connections

4) Identify leverage

5) Act with clarity


What are the indicators of a successful

school in Singapore?

What are the factors that contribute to this?

• What influences that?




39

Complexity – self organisation


The Innovation Stack

Management innovation Strategic innovation Product/service innovation Operational innovation Gary Hamel – The Future of Management

40

organisational processes/leadership roles communication and decision making

initiatives, programmes etc

pedagogy, technology etc

timetable, processes etc


Complexity / Change / Uncertainty / Ambiguity

Paradox / Lack of Control / Unintended consequences

Adaptive challenges

Leadership capacity

Organisational capacity

Self organising, adaptive, innovative, flexible, nimble,

responsive, creative and resilient


43

How does self organisation work?

• independent agents • interactions with neighbours • decentralised control • an attractor - motivated by threat or opportunity

Self organisation leading to emergence

Complexity thinking, complex adaptive systems, adaptive leadership


……..get your goo glasses on – when you walk into a room put aside the programme, cut out the strategy – see the history, interactions, how wired they are, the group dynamics - look for the living breathing thing and then that‟s the stuff that grows….” Duane Major

45

“A key concept is Goo – like primordial soup, you can see it moving and growing – it involves people, relationships, you can‟t control it but you can notice it and foster it…it changes and evolves – its living and breathing….

The Starfish and the Spider…

The unstoppable power of leaderless organisations

Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom


Hierarchies and Networks


Machine Living organism

Hybrid?

+Efficient, reliable,

+innovative, responsive, nimble

-Inflexible, slow to respond

-messy and spontaneous


Adaptive Leadership


Benefits:

• Engagement, ownership leading to…

…enthusiasm/energy and commitment

• Better solutions – innovation

The Pronoun Test “I” or “We”

“My” or “Our”

“We” or “They”

Daniel Pink – “A whole new mind”

“There's only one thing better than ownership – authorship!

Simon Breakspear , “Talent Magnets”

Adaptive Leadership

Characterised by both; • participative processes ”Surfing the Edge of Chaos‟” • collaborate solution finding


Adaptive leadership: fostering self organisation

Conditions for self organisation Leadership role

1. independent agents 1. Proactive mentoring of individuals

2. interactions with neighbours 2. Foster interaction and shared learning

3. decentralised control 3. Distribute power + decentralise control

4. an attractor - motivated by 4. Explore and articulate shared values

threat or opportunity


Layer 1: Proactive mentoring develop independent agents Recognise and value people

•Strong belief in people •Prioritize them and take the time •Creating space to empower people •Notice, listen, appreciate •Enlarge their self belief •Recognise their strengths and passions

Develop people •They leave in better shape than when they arrived •Create support structures to meet needs •Make opportunities available •Support initiative and boundary pushing •Note achievements

“employee first – customer second” Anand Pillai 52 www.ideacreation.org

Who are you actively developing and looking out for? Who is looking out for you?

How could we increase this informal mentoring?


The Roles of a Manager

Leadership (Vision & people driven)

Management (Office bound/paper driven)

Professional (Teaching role)

Plan Organise Control Administer systems Critique Create Order

Vision Meaningful Contribution Values Engage and develop people Create context

Commitment, Change & Hi-

Performance

Cammock (2001) The Dance of Leadership

Compliance & Status-Quo Efficiency


Management and Leadership


How‟s the balance of leadership vs management in your role?

Satisfied?........


Layer 2: Foster interaction and shared learning

interactions with neighbours

“a healthy organisation is one in which all participants have a voice” (Peck ,1988).

Develop culture •Creating environments •Fostering high trust •Build positive relationships •Restorative environment •Compliment each other‟s strengths

Foster learning •Role model a learning attitude •Opportunities to dialogue and build networks •Listening to leverage collective intelligence •Redesign social architecture •Take time to consult, get buy in and find the best solution •Generate feedback

“It is no longer sufficient to have one person learning for the

organisation... Its just not possible any longer to figure it out from the top, and have everyone

else following the order of the „grand strategist‟. (Senge , 2002)


Engagement leads to peak performance Sample culture survey:

Rate each question from 1 (low) to 5 (high) Add up total out of 25 1) I really care about the future of my organisation

2) I am proud to tell others that I work for this organisation

3) My organisation inspires me to do my best

4) I would recommend my organisation to a friend as a good place to work 5) I am willing to put in a great deal of effort and time beyond what is

normally expected


Adapted from Gallop

Diffusion of change


Innovators

Venturesome,

risky, can cope

with uncertainty

Can understand &

apply complex

technical

knowledge

Not always

respected by others

in the system

Plays an important

role as gatekeeper -

bringing in new

ideas from outside

the system

Early Adopters

Respect, more

integrated into the

system

“The individual to

check with”

Not so far ahead

so serve as a role

model

Plays an important

part by decreasing

the uncertainty

and conveying a

subjective

evaluation through

interpersonal

networks

Late Majority

Skeptical, cautious

May adopt because

of increased

network pressure

from peers or for

economic necessity

The weight of

systems norms

needs to favour an

innovation before

they are convinced

Means that most

uncertainty must be

removed before

they feel safe

Laggards

Traditional,

focussed on past

and interact with

like minds

Suspicious of

innovations and

change agents

Limited resources

leads to

cautiousness

Can change when

they can see what

is happening and

it fits with their

cultural values

Rogers (1995) Diffusion of Innovation

Tune into the environment

61 www.thinkbeyond.co.nz

Commitment Charting

A (Induction)

Team Leaders

Technology

Board

B (the D)

Adapted from the ESD Toolkit v2.0 62 www.thinkbeyond.co.nz

Who has a voice in our organisation?

What mechanisms can we create to foster interaction and shared learning?


“Traditional organisations require management systems that control peoples behaviour, learning organisations invest in improving the quality of thinking, the capacity for reflection and team learning, and the ability to develop shared visions and shared understandings of complex issues” (Senge, 2002)

Layer 3: Distribute power and decentralise control

decentralised control

Share journey – share leadership •We are all leaders •Break down hierarchy •Share responsibility and accountability – bit by bit … •Create ownership and empowerment •Delegate and let go •Foster interdependance •Master the process – not the content


A framework for empowerment Extrinsic motivation intrinsic motivation external locus of control internal locus of control control empowerment Strict and complete external control no external control Responsibility on leader responsibility shared responsibility on participant I decide we decide you decide less choice more choice Dependence interdependence independence

Jansen 2005 65 www.ideacreation.org

High Supportive & Low Directive Behaviour

High Supportive

&

High Directive Behaviour

(High)

(Low)

(Low)

(High) DIRECTIVE BEHAVIOUR

SU

PP

OR

TIV

E B

EH

AV

IOU

R

High Supportive & High Directive Behaviour

Low Supportive & High Directive Behaviour

Low Supportive & Low Directive Behaviour

Situational Leadership


Go to the people, Live with them,

Learn from them, Love them,

Start with what they know, Build with what they have, But with the best leaders, When the work is done, The task accomplished,

The people will say, “We have done it ourselves”

Chinese Philosopher Lao Tsu


Who makes the decisions?

How could power be shared more effectively?


Layer 4: Explore and Articulate Shared Values

an attractor - motivated by

threat or opportunity

69

We need to be culturally tight and managerially loose. Order and design are not externally imposed but emerge as a result of the combination of individual freedom and shared core values

Getting on the same page •Explore individual values and negotiate organisational values to fit •Role model values in leadership behaviour •Reconnect all staff with personal moral purpose •Establish benchmark of needs •Create clarity around shared vision •Leave space for emergent outcomes


Moral purpose and collective vision…. 1. What‟s the one change you want to see in the world?

2. What do you currently do in your role that contributes to this?

How do you play your part?

3. What strategies would you have to do to move more towards this?

4. How would your leadership be different?

5. How would you know if you had achieved this shift?

adapted from Jan Robertson 2010


Calling

Duty

Hobby

Job

External opportunities

Inte

rnal pass

ion /

Mora

l Purp

ose

/ M

eanin

g

Getting into the flow…


In what way does our organisation live out shared

core values and vision?


73

Appreciative Inquiry and Positive Psychology


Appreciative Inquiry (AI)

Appreciative Inquiry focuses on supporting people getting together to tell stories of positive development in their work that they can build on. (Reed, 2004) AI as an orientation to the positive rather than just a series of techniques

•Focus on the positive •Inclusivity – shared ownership, voice, decision making

Appreciative Inquiry is an exploratory process for positive change. It identifies the best of what is happening in the present moment to pursue what is possible in the future. (Harkness, 2004)


Appreciative Inquiry Processes

2) Inquire

3) Imagine 4) Innovate

1) Initiate

2) Dream

3) Design 4) Delivery

1) Discovery



2) Dream

3) Design 4) Deliver

1) Discover

Discover - collective discussion around focusing questions -paired interviews around positive and real experiences Dream - collective sense making Design - practical visioning based on these concrete past experiences Deliver - collective action taking



When you ask people appreciative questions, you touch something very important to them. They don‟t give

politically correct answers, they give heartfelt answers because we ask soulful questions. (Hammond)


Think back over your experience as a leader and locate a moment or period

that was a high point in your leadership, when you felt a sense of satisfaction

in your work, when you went home saying YES!

78

• Describe the situation. What happened? What was the result?

• What was your role in creating this experience? What other people and factors contributed to this exceptional moment?

• When you reflect on this experience– what beliefs and values guided you in your leadership?

Step 1) Discover


Step 2) Dream

Collectively draw out the key themes from the peer interviews in step 1

• Listen to each sound bite • Consider key themes emerging • Build up collective mind map of clusters of similar foci


LYNGO Deeply held values

Equality Social Justice Compassion

Dignity and respect Generosity

Honesty and integrity Passion and energy

Humility Quality

Commitment


We take what we know and we talk about what could be.

We stretch what we are to help us be more than what we have already been successful at.

We envision a future that is a collage of the bests.

Because we have derived the future from reality, we know it can happen. We can see it, we know what it feels

like, and we move to a collective collaborative view of where we are going.

(Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry)


Step 3) Design Collective dialogue to explore;

• What energises and motivates us? • What do we have in common? • What could we do collectively that we couldn‟t do individually?

Step 4) Deliver

• If we were to carry this

conversation on beyond this workshop what could that look like? • What opportunities are there for us

to further these conversations? • What would we like to achieve?


AI touchstones for creating learning communities

Focus on the positive strengths, what‟s working

Collaboration

shared ownership, voice, inclusivity, decision making


AI based NGO Leadership Project


Creating a professional learning community Guiding principles • Positive focus • Collaboration

5 key strategies • flexible and negotiated structure • sharing positive stories • cycles of exploration • individual and collective reflection • significant time frame • Intentional facilitation


Pioneered by Jerry and Monique Sternin in Vietnam working with communities whose children had extremely high malnutrition statistics Now successfully implemented in an enormous range of complex settings around the world • infant mortality in the Himalayas • rehabilitating child soldiers in Uganda • preventing girl trafficking in Indonesia • reduction in hospital infections – MRSA superbug • girls access to education in Ethiopia • primary school student retention in Argentina US etc

Positive Deviancy


Positive Deviancy DEFINE, DETERMINE, DISCOVER, DESIGN

Step 1: The community DEFINES or reframes the problem • Explore the magnitude of a problem • Articulate a preferred future • Including all stakeholders in community meetings • Collect baseline data

Step 2: The community DETERMINES common practices • Conducting discussions and focus groups


Step 3: The community DISCOVERS the presence of positive deviants • Identify individuals or groups that exhibit different outcomes • Ensure that those selected have the same circumstances or worse than everyone else in community • Conduct in-depth interviews and observations to indentify uncommon practices • Vet the findings with the whole community

Step 4: The community DESIGNS and develops activities to expand the PD solutions • Set up opportunities for the positive deviants to demonstrate their practices to other members of the community • Create opportunities for community members to learn by doing • Start small, ensure safe environment to try new things • Target the widest possible range of community members


Positive Deviancy

Suggests that when confronted with an intractable problem that is resistant to other change strategies, then look for those outliers within the community or organization who have already successfully addressed the issue, then provide opportunities for these „positive deviants‟ to teach other community members. The solutions to complex long term problems in communities and organisations are to be discovered within these organisations or community “somebody just like me”…

Invisible in plain sight…often invisible

positive deviants don‟t realise what they are doing and yet they

flourish while their peers struggle” (The Power of Positive Deviance, 2010)


Four Critical Tasks in Leading Change

90

Leading Change

Appreciating Change

Mobilising Support

Building Change Capability

Executing Change


Engaged

Gutsy

Inspired

Agile Un-precious

Connected Informal


What is success?

To laugh often and much To win the respect of intelligent people And the affection of children To earn the appreciation of honest critics And endue the betrayal of false friends To appreciate beauty To find the best in others To leave the world a bit better Whether by a healthy child, a garden patch Or a redeemed social condition To know even one life has breathed easier Because you have lived This is to have succeeded RALPH WALDO EMERSON


singapore - leading change from the middle workshop april 15-16 2013

Education