As a leader, I have often had to stand up for and explain the changes needed to be made in order for the organization to work toward set goals. I've wondered how "we do it for the best of organization" is interpreted and what do we really mean by it?
I mean that the best for the organization is connected to the organization it is pertaining to and it should be different depending on it. It is about creating better quality based on developing identified improvement areas - linked to the policy documents we are dealing with. In term of education, the best for the organization is of course connected to activities in the classroom and the students' learning processes - for this we have shared responsibility, but in this regard the teacher is the most important. How I, as a leader, support and challenge my employees in this change process, is crucial for the results we achieve. What is your experience? Arja
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I thought at the beginning of my career as a leader that it was enough to give "orders" or tell people what to do - to make things happen! Over the years, I have become more and more aware of the fact that it's not much about what I say as a leader - it's all about what I do!
If I want things to happen, as a leader I need to "walk the talk", be a role model, set examples for others in the organization to follow. For example, if I would like to introduce something new that I myself have not previously tried - I would do it myself to show that it was important. Giving the message, "this is serious, we are actually implementing this in our organization!" As a leader it would be easy to say "I'm not good at this" which would be removing myself from responsibility and leaving the implementation to someone else. There is nothing wrong in delegating (we should do even more) but there is something wrong with the equation if I'm not part of the change process and merely act as a spectator and expect others to do the job! What experience do you have working with transformation? Arja Is it possible to develop and improve a business without the occurrence of unforeseen obstacles on the way? No matter how much strategic planning in my experience things will go wrong, unplanned and unforeseen events will occur and they are, naturally, a part of the change process!
As the saying goes "Failure is the first step to success!". Now and again I heard that our process in Falkenberg was straight forward and rewarding - but did it go well the whole way .....? It was because we reflected and discussed what we encountered during the change work - this was an important part of our own learning process. This has made me wonder how organization's think about change - probably many think they are moving from point A to point B - then everything is finished and everyone is satisfied - the change is accomplished! Or is it? My conclusion is: based on what I know today - change requires the courage to make mistakes, to fail. This an important part of the learning process! We expect this to happen in the classroom - we need to have the same expectation at all level of the organization. What's your experience? Arja |
Arja Holmstedt Svensson
A blog about my work and assignments as a Change Leader. The posts will be about my experiences – new experiences, meeting new people in new environments. Archives
January 2018
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