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In a classic Exchange article, "Helping Employees Cope with Change," Lorraine Schrag, Elyssa Nelson, and Tedi Siminowsky talked about how sometimes directors have blind spots that get in the way of implementing changes...
"When the director of the Elm Street After School Program decided to buy the computers for her program, she was sure the idea would succeed. She had researched the educational implications of computers; she had read hundreds of software reviews to be sure she selected programs that were truly educational as well as entertaining; and she tried these programs out on the computers she planned to buy to make sure everything worked as described. She even prepared carefully for breaking the news to the staff by pulling together the statistics and research to bolster her case. When the teachers greeted her presentation with misgivings, she set up a computer and, with great enthusiasm, showed them "Speller Kong" and "Math Invaders" in action. Two weeks later, with the computers gathering dust on the shelves, the director wondered what had gone wrong. Why had the staff opposed her great idea?
"What went wrong was that the director had blind spots which prevented her from seeing what was happening. She was so preoccupied with launching her baby that she became oblivious to what was bothering the teachers. When teachers showed signs of resistance, the director responded by rolling out more artillery to win them over to her side. Instead, she should have tried to understand their concerns, to see what was happening from their point of view.
"More often than not, when teachers resist a new idea, they are not so much opposed to the idea itself, as they are anxious about the social consequences of the change. They may be concerned with how this change will affect their relationship with the children, whether it will keep them from working closely with teachers they enjoy, whether it will force them outside their comfort zone to work in an area where they lack expertise.
"If the director is so preoccupied with the logistics of implementing the change that she fails to see such social and emotional impacts of change, no amount of haranguing on the merits of the idea will overcome teachers' resistance. When signs of resistance appear, the director may find it helpful to talk to concerned staff members on a one-to-one basis to explore their feelings about the change. An alternative is to pull aside teachers who have already bought into the change and ask for their views on what it is that is causing some staff members to fight the idea. Only when the director has overcome her blind spots and seen the root causes of resistance can she begin to work toward successful implementation of the change."
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