Apologies, this was not posted yesterday due to illness!
Module 9: Whakataurite i ngā Huringa (Navigating Change in Education): This module equips you with the knowledge and skills to effectively navigate and lead change within the education system, fostering a culture of continuous improvement while ensuring the wellbeing of staff and ākonga.
“Titiro whakamuri, kōkiri whakamua”
“Look back to the past, strive for the future.”
Due: 8th September
Module Objectives:
- Understand the change process.
- Develop change management strategies.
- Build a shared understanding of the need for change.
- Lead and support staff through the change process.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of change initiatives.
A Harvard University study published twenty years ago, and various other research sources, such as the more recent study by David Leonard and Claude Coltea from Gallup, (published in Business Journal in 2013), estimate that 70% of all change initiatives in schools fail. As recently as 2016 in New Zealand this statistic was still quoted as relevant to understanding sustaining change in the presentation by Randy Pennington, Business Strategist and author, to NZSTA and available here: https://vimeopro.com/nzsta/govtalks/video/145795736.
The National Aspiring Leaders programme is committed to supporting delegates and ensuring growth in leadership skills, in this case by reflection on your role in change practice in your school. This will be achieved by supporting your exploration of change research sources against your current experience, particularly of change management and change leadership.
Reading: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YcwSPqd5k3yWUMe1yFIvEz3-ulMqwQJE/view?ts=689bc6d8
Task: Reflect on this reading in light of your own practice and discuss your reflections with your learning partner. Post on the forum as a partnership, your joint reflections. You may use some of the following prompts to support your reflections:
- Understanding of change management vs change leadership
- Essential skills for leaders of change
- Key reflections/learnings about change leadership
- Creating a culture which supports change implementation
- What I need to develop further
Assessment:
- Completion of reading.
- Discussion with learning partner(s).
- Participation in the online forum discussion.
- Submission of reflection on the forum.
21 Responses
Change management focuses on the technical aspects of change – the processes, systems, and plans required to implement it. It includes project planning, resource allocation, and monitoring progress. It ensures the change is executed efficiently and on time. Change leadership is about inspiring and influencing people to embrace and champion the change. It involves communicating a vision, building trust, and motivating staff and students to move from their current state to the desired future. This is the “why” of change.
A culture that supports change is one where risk taking is encouraged and failure is seen as a learning opportunity. This can be achieved by promoting psychological safety, celebrating small wins, shared ownership, and providing resources and support.
While I’m proficient in planning and managing change, I can improve my ability to listen deeply to the concerns of staff and address their fears and anxieties more effectively. Building a stronger sense of shared purpose and trust is my focus, as it is the foundation upon which successful, sustainable change is built. I recognise that the most effective leaders of change are not just managers of tasks, but nurturers of people.
Looking at Kotter’s work on leading change, it’s really eye-opening for anyone working in education because it helps explain why so many of our well-intentioned initiatives seem to fizzle out. Managing change versus leading it are two completely seperate things. Managing is basically about keeping things running smoothly and minimising risk, while leading change means you’re actually creating something completely new and inspiring people to come along for the ride. I like his clarity in using an 8-step process and how he highlights the skills you need as a change leader. No one really likes change, and if it is not broken – why fix it?
Like getting people to genuinely feel that sticking with the status quo “I’ve always taught this way” just isn’t an option anymore. (he says you need about 75% of your leadership team to really believe this). Building a coalition of people who actually have the power and influence to make things happen, creating a vision that’s so clear you can explain it in five minutes and get people excited about it, then communicating non stop about it, because most of us massively underestimate how much we need to talk about the change, removing the barriers that stop people from doing what needs to be done, and if you people scpetical at the start – having them feel and enjoy the benefits of the change – will organically result in them wanting to talk about it and share it with others (genuine positive influence). I like the idea of celebrating some quick wins along the way, people like to feel seen and valued.
Then, this is the big one – making sure the changes actually stick by embedding them into the culture so they become just “how we do things here.” The reality check from Kotter is that real transformation takes 5-10 years (with the biggest changes often happening around year 5), which is sobering when you think about how impatient we can get in schools when we don’t see immediate results, and his insight about undercommunicating “by a factor of ten” really resonates because teachers are already drowning in information but somehow we still don’t communicate enough about the important stuff.
Where this gets personal is thinking about what we need to work on – like getting better at helping our colleagues see why we can’t just keep doing what we’ve always done, building relationships with all the different groups we need on board (teachers, parents, students, community), getting clearer about painting that compelling picture of where we’re headed, becoming more skilled at spotting and removing the obstacles that frustrate everyone, and developing the stamina to keep going when things get tough in years 2-3 of any change effort.
It all connects beautifully with that Māori saying “Titiro whakamuri, kōkiri whakamua” about looking back while moving forward, because good change leadership honors what’s been valuable in the past while creating something better for the future, which probably explains why that 70% failure rate exists – we either rush ahead without respecting what came before, or we get so bogged down in the process that we lose sight of why we started in the first place.
Phew – breathe now!
This is such a great breakdown. That point about the 5-10 year timeline is so crucial for schools as we’re so used to looking for immediate wins that it’s easy to lose momentum. The Māori Whakatauki you included really ties it all together beautifully, and is one we refer to at my school often.
Our Reflection
Kotter’s article on Why Transformation Efforts Fail highlighted the importance of distinguishing between change management and change leadership. Change management is about systems and processes, while change leadership is about inspiring people, creating urgency, and shaping culture. While this business lens was useful, Randy Pennington’s video resonated with us even more because schools are not businesses – our outcomes are not measured in profit margins but in the growth of young people who will shape our future communities.
From both perspectives, we saw that successful change relies on essential leadership skills: building trust, listening actively, valuing those doing the mahi on the ground, and communicating a clear vision. Flexibility and strong communication are crucial when plans shift, and celebrating short-term wins helps keep momentum alive.
A key learning for us is that change is more about how people are led than about the initiative itself. Leaders must bring staff along on the journey, rather than dictating what must be done. Change becomes sustainable when it is embedded into school culture and viewed as growth, not disruption.
We like the metaphor of change as paddling a waka: we need a vision and a leader to steer, but also someone who paddles alongside us, celebrating milestones, and supporting those who find the journey difficult. For us, an important learning is that successful change is not just about the initiative itself but about the culture that surrounds it. We want to develop further in engaging staff early, co-constructing a shared vision, and evaluating change initiatives to ensure long-term impact and improve outcomes for our tamariki and kura.
Overall, we see that navigating change requires both structure and heart – managing the process while leading people with clarity and compassion.
By Samantha and Tazmeen
Spoken like a couple of leaders you two! Taking people on the journey is everything but they must know it’s urgent and we must make sure that whatever the ‘solution’ is that we offer it has a guaranteed successful outcome!
Hi there. Just hoping Tessa from Growth Culture sees this and knows its from Tazmeen and myself and that I haven’t paid for travel and accomodation down to Christchurch for no reason. 🙂
Adding on from Nathalie’s post…Change management vs leadership:
Kotter’s reading helped me to also reflect back on Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle; change leadership is the “why”, change management is the “how and what”. There needs to be a sole purpose for change, and ensuring staff understand the “why” – we need to have buy-in from our colleagues.In essence, a successful change requires both. You can have the most detailed change management plan (“How” and “What”), but if you haven’t sold others on the “Why”, the effort is likely to fail. On the other hand, a powerful “Why” without a structured plan (“How” and “What”) will struggle to become a reality.
Essential Skills for leaders of change:
The most critical skill is to be an effective communicator, whether it’s pitching your idea to others or rolling out change, staff need to be in the know all the time. Communication must be given well in advanced. Not last minute.Leaders should have empathy towards others, as change can cause worry, fear or anxiety among staff.Be flexible and adaptable; know how to bounce back if implementations don’t go as planned.
Be a visionary thinker. Painting a picture of “what’s next” and answering the crucial question: “Why do we need to change?” This skill gives the change purpose and meaning, inspiring others to get on board.
Reflections:
As I reflect on all the recent changes that were made at my current school, many teachers have not been onboard. The new “Navigation” classes that were created this term needed to have its own long term plan (localised curriculum), not just lessons and activities provided to teachers the week of. There doesn’t seem to be much buy-in and teachers don’t see the “why”. Some believe that in theory, it’s a great idea, however the school needed to spend longer on the change management plan. It was a great idea to “remove the barriers” but having collaborative teams plan certain units, however there was no across school collaboration, and so the Navigation “curriculum” felt disjointed, where the student went from learning about Financial Literacy, to doing a Wellness Walk the next week.
Creating a culture:
When creating a culture that supports change, it’s important to first build trust with others, through clear communication, asking for feedback and consultations with students, teachers and whānau, and being an “influencer of change” – thinking of the Three Carriage Train analogy.You need to help others understand the “why” for change, and its benefits. Help others to see how this will benefit them too. By involving others early on who embrace growth mindset, and having early adopters to convince others.And investing in ongoing professional development to support teachers in implementing change.
Our Reflection on Change Leadership
Change management is about structures, processes, and tools to control change. It often emphasises stability and minimising disruption.
Change leadership, however, is about creating vision, inspiring people, and leading them through uncertainty. Kotter highlights that when organisations lack urgency, guiding coalitions, or vision, they fall into management traps rather than leading transformation. True leadership focuses on building trust, communicating consistently, and modelling behaviours that embody the change. “We change every time we see an opportunity to be better.” – Pennington
Essential Skills for Leaders of Change:
Building urgency without creating panic – leaders must engage others in why change is essential.
Collaboration and coalition building – identifying influencers beyond senior management to form a strong guiding coalition.
Strong vision setting and communication – being able to explain the vision in under five minutes so others feel clarity and hope.
Empowerment – removing barriers so others can act on the vision.
Patience and persistence – avoiding premature victory declarations and ensuring change becomes embedded in culture.
Emotional intelligence – understanding resistance, supporting people through discomfort, and modelling resilience.
Support and lead authentic cultural responsiveness. Embed leadership practices that value diverse perspectives, so change is both inclusive and equitable.
When talking about change, talk about what matters to 80% of the people – the people implementing the change rather than leading the change.
Key Reflections/Learnings about Change Leadership:
– Leaders underestimate how difficult it is to shift people from their comfort zones. Change needs both emotional buy-in and practical support.
– Communication is never “one and done.” Leaders must repeat, model, and live the change vision in consistent ways.
– Short-term wins are not just morale boosts – they are deliberate strategic tools to maintain urgency and momentum.
– Culture change is the final destination. Unless the change is embedded into “how we do things around here,” it will be fragile and reversible.
Creating a Culture Which Supports Change Implementation:
– Leaders need to align systems, symbols, and behaviours with the change vision (e.g., celebrating success, telling stories of positive impact, and rewarding people who model new behaviours).
– Building trust and psychological safety encourages staff to take risks and contribute.
– Ongoing professional learning ensures people feel capable of working in the new way.
– Succession planning is critical so that future leaders embody and continue the new culture.
– “Go first” people need to see the leaders changing. This creates motivation for them to follow you and increases your credibility to inspire them to change.
What We Need to Develop Further:
– Strengthen my ability to create and communicate vision in a compelling, simple, and inspiring way.
– Develop strategies for building urgency without overwhelming people.
– Enhance skills in coalition building by engaging not just formal leaders but also informal influencers across the organisation.
– Build my resilience and patience – recognising that real culture change is long-term and requires consistency over years, not weeks.
– Learn how to systematically plan for and celebrate short-term wins while keeping momentum towards long-term goals.
– Having a strong, enthusiastic and knowledgeable team to drive the change.
– Improve use of data and evidence to track progress. Using measurable insights to adjust strategies, show impact, and build credibility during change processes.
By Craig Dryden, Alicia Baird and Kirsty Ng
Our discussion about Kotter’s work on Leading Change sparked some great kōrero. We shared through google meets and email. Here are the notes from our google meet session: A few things stood out for us:
Change management vs change leadership – management is about the process, but leadership is about people.
In schools, leadership and change often feel fast-paced, so it’s about choosing carefully where we put our time and energy.
Managing change isn’t about being the expert in everything. It’s about leveraging the expertise around us.
Kotter’s errors really resonated – especially Error 5: not removing barriers (which links to the idea of “clearing the path”), and Error 8: not anchoring change in culture (imposing rules vs actually bringing people with you).
I liked the reminder that if we’re leading change, we’re not just trying to introduce new practices but embed them into “the way we do things around here.”
A helpful rule of thumb: If you can’t communicate the vision in five minutes and have people both understand and be interested, you’re not finished with the vision phase.
We also found the “rider, elephant, and path” metaphor from Switch a useful way of framing this – it captures both the rational and emotional sides of change, plus the importance of clearing barriers along the way.
Caroline & Nat & Andrea
To add alongside my fellow colleague, Alix. Yes, in essence, true and lasting change requires urgency, shared ownership, visible wins, and consistent modelling so that new practices become embedded in the culture. Success depends on engaging people from the beginning and sustaining momentum over time. True change is a long-term process that cannot be rushed. It takes years of sustained effort, discipline, and reinforcement before new practices become embedded as “the way we do things here.” Early wins are important, but lasting transformation requires patience and persistence.
After reading Kotter and listening to Randy Pennington, we realised that we sometimes focus more on managing tasks than on truly leading change. Change leadership is not just about planning and organising — it is about inspiring people, creating urgency, and helping everyone see why the change matters. Our next step is to shift from task management to genuine change leadership by inspiring others, involving them in every step, modelling the vision, celebrating wins, and keeping the purpose alive.
What really stood out to us was the importance of celebrating short-term wins while also recognising that the journey is not finished until change becomes embedded in the culture. Sustainable change only lasts when it is woven into “the way we do things around here.” A key takeaway for us is that leaders need to clear the path by addressing systems, practices, or mindsets that contradict the change, while also empowering others by creating the conditions for success. For our own practice, this means reflecting on the barriers that currently exist in our school context and working deliberately to remove or reduce them so that change is both achievable and lasting.
From Shasta and Suzie
Celebrating small milestones within your change implementation is a great way to boost motivation and morale, reenforcing the effort and motivating staff to continue. Celebrating these wins also acts as concrete, visible proof that this change implementation is working, and that way you’re reinforcing the vision, too!
This would be a big piece of work and probably as important as the change itself. I also think if we expect Teachers to invest in change we need to take things away. So often we get given “another thing to fit in” without something being taken away – that can be the straw that breaks the camels back!
Totally agree!
Definitely agree with so many of your sentiments Shasta and Suzie – from moving away from task ‘management’ to inspiring staff, how we can inspire the people we work with, involvement in the change process, and celebrating those wins along the way.
I also found the removal of obstacles interesting. I think a lot of good leaders do this naturally, but it is also important to actively identify barriers and understand the notion of different people having different barriers.
1: Understanding of Change Management vs Change Leadership: I realized that we often consider change management with change leadership, but Kotter draws a clear difference. Change management focuses on process, planning, and control, which is important, but often insufficient. Change leadership, on the other hand, is about setting direction, building momentum, and inspiring people to believe in and drive the change themselves. In my experience, when change was treated as just another project to manage, efforts quickly lost energy. But when leaders focused on the ‘why’, urgency, and alignment, the change gained momentum and could be sustained with buy-in and commitment.
2: Essential Skills for Leaders of Change: From Kotter’s model, these leadership skills stood out as essential to me – A: Using persistent and consistent, multiple channels of communication. B: Having emotional intelligence, understanding resistance, engaging empathy, and building trust. C: Creating a compelling vision through strategic planning and aligning short-term wins with long-term goals. D: Pulling together an influential, guiding team from across the team.
3: Key Reflections on Change Leadership: One major learning is the importance of not skipping steps or sticking with strategic planning goals. I’ve experienced change initiatives that faltered because there was no sense of urgency, early wins were celebrated as final success, or because the direction changed course to new ideas, so nothing stuck.
4: Creating a Culture That Supports Change: Change can’t be sustained unless it’s embedded in the school culture. This means developing leaders who model the new behaviours, and ensuring systems and recognition align with the new direction. Again, I have experienced a loss of momentum or moving to the ‘new in thing’ when a key leader left or a new year came, bringing new PD focuses, which highlighted Kotter’s point about the risk of poor succession planning and the failure to anchor changes in school culture.
5: Reflection: What I Need to Develop Further: Kotter’s model reminded me that transformation isn’t a checklist – it’s a journey of sustained leadership. Success relies on leaders who are courageous enough to challenge comfort, humble enough to listen, and persistent enough to ‘stay the course’, even when wins appear slow – showing a commitment to continuing to develop as change leaders, not just managers of tasks. I want to grow in fostering effective collaboration, involving people along from the start (beyond Senior Leadership), to be more intentional in identifying and removing barriers that block people’s progress. I want to strengthen my ability to communicate the ‘vision’ clearly and more consistently (repetition and modeling are key).
I agree that change leadership is more about inspiring people than just managing tasks. In my experience, I have seen how focusing on the ‘why’ builds stronger commitment. My question is: how do you keep that urgency going when other pressures and new initiatives come up?
I think by involving the community and others in a timeline. Perhaps whānau evenings or the likes, where you can share where you are up to and the positives of the change!!
Empowering others to change is vital, particularly by removing the obstacles that stand in the way.
The pace of change is a common discussion point among educators. It can be disheartening when a new initiative is introduced that dilutes or replaces previous initiatives that people have poured a lot of time and energy into. Finding a way to avoid early wins being perceived as final successes is vital. Schools and staffing change, so mahi around how to deeply embed change in the culture needs consideration. There also needs to be an ‘eyes wide open’ approach by those leading so if transformation hasn’t stuck, time and effort can be given to reviving the change process. I think this takes a reflective and honest leader.