LeadingSchoolChange

I recently read Leading School Change by Todd Whitaker (2010).

I have been a fan of TW's thinking and writing for many years.  This work only reinforces the rightness of my fanhood.

My big takeaways from this TW work:

• There are three levels of change possible in organizations – Procedural change, structural change, cultural change.
• Employeees/teachers come in six varieties
• Superstars/Irreplaceables 
• 1. WOW – walks on water, the role model
• 2. Impacter – great in the classroom
• Backbones/Solids
• 3. Stabilizer – solid at everything
• 4. Dow Joneser – pluses and minuses
• Mediocres/Replacement Level
• 5. Harmless – no complaints, little benefit
• 6. Negative Force – addition by subtraction
•   Seems like have have played all those roles at one time or another. I'm working diligently to stay in that top tier.
• Start somewhere, not everywhere.  Yep. Somehow, someway, just get off the starting line.
• Squint if necessary.  Great advice for taking the big picture view (and avoiding micromanagement).
• Include in your toolbox these simple but effective strategies: weekly staff memos, frequent classroom or work site visits, thoughtful meeting room arrangements, notes of appreciation connected to improvement of climate/culture, positive phone calls to parents/customers.        

My favorite quote:
“Managing change in schools [organizations] is never straightforward. It’s much more like playing chess than like playing checkers.” (p. 2). 

Another good work by TW.  I highly recommend.