7 Responses

1. Comment from Vicki and Adele
   After reading the article ‘Leading Change: Why transformation Efforts Fails’ by John P. Cotter, we (learning partners Vicki and Adele) noted down our reflections and conclusions, with task requirements in mind.

   Change management focuses on the technical aspects of implementing change—the plans, processes, and systems. It’s the “how-to” part of change. Change leadership, on the other hand, is about the human element. It’s about motivating, inspiring, and guiding people through the transition. Effective change requires us to be strategic with our energy. Instead of trying to manage every detail, we should focus our efforts on leading people. This involves empowering our colleagues, building trust, and fostering a collaborative environment.
   A leader doesn’t have to be the sole expert. They excel by leveraging the knowledge and skills of those around them. This shift from “expert-in-all” to “expert-in-leveraging-others” allows a leader to guide a school community through change by drawing on the collective expertise of teachers, staff, and the wider community.
   Drawing from Kotter’s change model, these are the leadership skills that resonate as most essential for us:
   Strategic Communication: It is crucial to use persistent and consistent communication across multiple channels. This isn’t just about sharing information once; it’s about continuously reinforcing the vision through every available medium to ensure the message sticks and becomes part of the daily conversation. Emotional Intelligence and Empathy: Successful leadership requires emotional intelligence to understand and navigate resistance to change. By engaging with empathy and building trust, leaders can address people’s concerns directly and turn potential opposition into support. Vision and Strategic Alignment: A leader must be able to create a compelling vision for the future. This involves not only dreaming big but also breaking down that vision into manageable, short-term wins that are strategically aligned with the ultimate long-term goals. This provides momentum and tangible proof of progress. Building a Powerful Guiding Coalition: Change cannot be driven alone. It is essential to pull together an influential, guiding team from across the organization
   Leaders must be fully invested in the change process and communicate with a positive attitude to create a healthy culture around it. Once a new initiative is underway, it’s crucial to maintain momentum by following through on promises. This includes consistently communicating the new vision and processes to both current and any new staff members, ensuring everyone understands and supports the direction of the school.
   One particularly relevant part of the reading, especially in light of our current efforts as leaders facilitating the adoption of three new curriculum rewrites and a significant pedagogical shift, is the section that states: “Process goes through a series of phases that, in total, usually require a considerable length of time. Skipping steps creates only the illusion of speed and never produces a satisfying result.”
   This is not to say that we don’t need to accelerate change but as we do not operate in the corporate environment, we can take the time to make sure it is done right and errors are picked up and learnt from. The article cited an interesting case study that quantified the rate of change over a 10-year model, noting that peak change occurred in year five—36 months after the first set of visible wins.
   Another relevant point from the article that relates to our context is the idea that we, as educators, are well positioned to “walk the talk.” At our school, middle management—whānau leaders with responsibilities equivalent to assistant principals—are still active classroom practitioners. This places us in a unique position to model successful pedagogical change and the adoption of new curriculum content.
   Being “on the ground,” so to speak, also gives a whānau leader the opportunity to identify aspects of the organisational structure that may pose obstacles to the change process. In a school setting, this could include assessment systems that need to be adjusted to support the adoption of new curriculum content. It might also involve human resource challenges—such as individuals who are unable or unwilling to commit to the changes required. As middle managers, our role is to support the process by either escalating concerns or providing direct support through honest, solution-focused conversations.
   An interesting takeaway from the article “Leading Change: Why Transformations Fail” is the importance of a strong coalition for change. In our context, this refers to our role as whānau leaders within that coalition. A key responsibility is to clearly communicate the connection between the change initiatives and the outcomes observed in the classroom. This is crucial for sustaining motivation, as it helps demonstrate that positive results are not simply due to a teacher’s personality, energy, or ambition, but rather the effectiveness of the pedagogical shift and the strength of the new approach.

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2. After reading the article ‘Leading Change: Why transformation Efforts Fails’ by John P. Cotter, we (learning partners Vicki and Adele) noted down our reflections and conclusions, with task requirements in mind.

   Change management focuses on the technical aspects of implementing change—the plans, processes, and systems. It’s the “how-to” part of change. Change leadership, on the other hand, is about the human element. It’s about motivating, inspiring, and guiding people through the transition. Effective change requires us to be strategic with our energy. Instead of trying to manage every detail, we should focus our efforts on leading people. This involves empowering our colleagues, building trust, and fostering a collaborative environment.
   A leader doesn’t have to be the sole expert. They excel by leveraging the knowledge and skills of those around them. This shift from “expert-in-all” to “expert-in-leveraging-others” allows a leader to guide a school community through change by drawing on the collective expertise of teachers, staff, and the wider community.
   Drawing from Kotter’s change model, these are the leadership skills that resonate as most essential for us:
   Strategic Communication: It is crucial to use persistent and consistent communication across multiple channels. This isn’t just about sharing information once; it’s about continuously reinforcing the vision through every available medium to ensure the message sticks and becomes part of the daily conversation. Emotional Intelligence and Empathy: Successful leadership requires emotional intelligence to understand and navigate resistance to change. By engaging with empathy and building trust, leaders can address people’s concerns directly and turn potential opposition into support. Vision and Strategic Alignment: A leader must be able to create a compelling vision for the future. This involves not only dreaming big but also breaking down that vision into manageable, short-term wins that are strategically aligned with the ultimate long-term goals. This provides momentum and tangible proof of progress. Building a Powerful Guiding Coalition: Change cannot be driven alone. It is essential to pull together an influential, guiding team from across the organization
   Leaders must be fully invested in the change process and communicate with a positive attitude to create a healthy culture around it. Once a new initiative is underway, it’s crucial to maintain momentum by following through on promises. This includes consistently communicating the new vision and processes to both current and any new staff members, ensuring everyone understands and supports the direction of the school.
   One particularly relevant part of the reading, especially in light of our current efforts as leaders facilitating the adoption of three new curriculum rewrites and a significant pedagogical shift, is the section that states: “Process goes through a series of phases that, in total, usually require a considerable length of time. Skipping steps creates only the illusion of speed and never produces a satisfying result.”
   This is not to say that we don’t need to accelerate change but as we do not operate in the corporate environment, we can take the time to make sure it is done right and errors are picked up and learnt from. The article cited an interesting case study that quantified the rate of change over a 10-year model, noting that peak change occurred in year five—36 months after the first set of visible wins.
   Another relevant point from the article that relates to our context is the idea that we, as educators, are well positioned to “walk the talk.” At our school, middle management—whānau leaders with responsibilities equivalent to assistant principals—are still active classroom practitioners. This places us in a unique position to model successful pedagogical change and the adoption of new curriculum content.
   Being “on the ground,” so to speak, also allows a whānau leader to identify aspects of the organisational structure that may pose obstacles to the change process. In a school setting, this could include assessment systems that need to be adjusted to support the adoption of new curriculum content. It might also involve human resource challenges—such as individuals who are unable or unwilling to commit to the changes required. As middle managers, our role is to support the process by either escalating concerns or providing direct support through honest, solution-focused conversations.
   An interesting takeaway from the article “Leading Change: Why Transformations Fail” is the importance of a strong coalition for change. In our context, this refers to our role as whānau leaders within that coalition. A key responsibility is to clearly communicate the connection between the change initiatives and the outcomes observed in the classroom. This is crucial for sustaining motivation, as it helps demonstrate that positive results are not simply due to a teacher’s personality, energy, or ambition, but rather the effectiveness of the pedagogical shift and the strength of the new approach.

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3. To lead change in a way that fosters shared ownership, emotional connection, and collaborative growth; by building trust, promoting dialogue, and empowering others throughout the change journey.Reflection on Current Practice as a team leader, I have increasingly recognised the distinction between change management and change leadership. While I am confident in managing logistical aspects of change (e.g. curriculum updates, planning cycles), I’ve come to understand that effective change leadership requires emotional intelligence, vision, and the ability to inspire trust and collaboration. In recent initiatives (e.g. the introduction of a new writing framework), I noticed that success was not only about systems and planning, but about helping staff feel part of the journey, addressing concerns, and creating opportunities for dialogue.

   Change leadership thrives on shared ownership.
   Ensure staff don’t just follow the plan, but feel a sense of purpose behind it.
   Action: Involve staff in co-creating parts of the change, such as defining success indicators or identifying implementation challenges.
   Strategy: Use storytelling to connect the change to wider values or student outcomes; this helps people feel the “why.”

   Lead Through Conversations, Not Just Plans
   Dialogue is crucial; not just formal meetings, but informal check-ins where concerns are heard and small wins are celebrated.
   Action: Create structured opportunities for feedback and idea-sharing throughout the change process (e.g. open forums, feedback walls, small group reflection).
   Strategy: Frame resistance as engagement when people raise concerns, it shows they care. Treat these moments as chances to listen and clarify.

   Build Leadership in Others
   Changing leadership isn’t a solo role. Empower others to lead within their spheres of influence.
   Action: Identify and support ‘champions’ within your team who can model and advocate for the change.
   Strategy: Offer coaching or peer mentoring opportunities to develop leadership capacity more widely.

   My learning partners Maddie’s reflection: The most important difference between change management and change leadership is that your team should see you actively leading the change and living it yourself. As a new leader of a team who have been together for a couple of years, I found that it was important to show why the change is happening and why it is effective. If your team sees that it is actively working for you, they are more likely to jump on board as well.

   The idea of creating urgency is also important, particularly when you’re working in individual classroom spaces. If that urgency isn’t created and recognised, then most likely, the change will be forgotten and pushed to the side. When the change is being made, it needs to be brought to the forefront.

   Linking to other modules, having that sense of trust within a team will help with leading change. If your team trusts you, they are more likely to want to activate the change alongside you. This creates the culture that supports change implementation. Strong communication through words and actions, a strong sense of trust and urgency is a great foundation to implementing change within a team.

   I agree with what others have said about recognising progress along the way. Actively showing your team that the change is working as progress is made is so important for the effectiveness of the change being made and for it to not fall through as time goes on. I really liked the term ‘change champions’. Leading change isn’t only about making changes and guiding your team through them, it’s about giving the skills needed to create change and progress with change to your team members.

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4. Understanding the distinction between change management and change leadership has significantly shifted how I view school transformation. While both are essential to successful change, they serve different but complementary purposes.Change management focuses on the processes, tools, and techniques used to manage the people’s side of change. It’s systematic, often reactive, and concerned with minimising disruption, ensuring that initiatives are delivered on time, within budget, and with desired outcomes. It often involves training, communication plans, curriculum mapping, and performance guides.In contrast, change leadership is more about inspiring and shifting people’s philosophy of teaching. It is proactive and visionary. It involves creating a compelling narrative for change, influencing school culture, and leading people through uncertainty. Change leaders are not just implementers—they are catalysts who align the emotional and rational sides of change to generate buy-in and sustain momentum.
   What I need to develop further in my role as Team Leader:
   With our school going through significant curriculum and delivery change, I need to:
   As a leader I must go first – Demonstrating personal commitment to change—being visible, vulnerable, and aligned with new behaviours—sets the tone for our school.
   Continuous Learning Mindset – Leaders that embrace learning, feedback, and experimentation are more adaptable to change.
   Rewarding Change-Oriented Behaviours – Recognising and rewarding those who take initiative and embrace change encourages others to follow.
   Leadership Alignment – Leaders at all levels must model the values and behaviours consistent with the change. Mixed messages from leadership undermine credibility.
   Clear Purpose and Shared Vision – When your team understands the bigger picture and how their roles contribute to it, they are more likely to support change.Successful change is not just about implementing new systems or processes; it’s about leading people through uncertainty with clarity, empathy, and vision. By fostering a supportive culture and developing key leadership capabilities, schools can not only manage change effectively but thrive in it.

   My learning partner’s reflection:
   The biggest things that hit me through these readings/videos were the idea that although you seek short term wins, never stop growing, never hit a finish line, look for further ways to incorporate the vision, be a lifelong learner and grow. It hit me the idea that when you stop and celebrate before it is engrained this is when results stop, change stops and you can sink back to square one. I have seen this a lot but having it spelt out was significant especially when it shows the lifespan of change.

   The idea that has been reiterated throughout many modules of being a leader, having the knowledge and confidence to walk the talk as you need to embody the change yourself for others to be inspired to follow. Also the leadership communications – I found the strategies that were mentioned I have seen a lot. I appreciated and see the purpose of communicating in the daily activities linking these things back to the vision to show purpose the WHY. This not only would spark motivation but also help create the rituals and culture around what we do.
   Lastly, creating a clear vision. I appreciated the example of the full manual being given. I believe at times we can ‘over explain’ in an attempt to justify change. I feel the reminder of concise and clear vision was important.
   Being in a Deaning space I have not had the time to develop a change as of yet. I feel to prepare for this possibility it is important to continue to add to my kite of knowledge and PLD is important. I am going to try and utilize goals and the concept of creating clear visions. Within my role of Year 9 Dean I want to do this for our year level – have a shared vision for the year and everything we do in Year 9 links back to our vision. This I understand is a little different than intended but I do see that this will be useful in working on communication channels and sharing common goals and getting others on board.
   Working on collaborating with staff is key, I can be stubborn within myself of doing it all, working on incorporating key staff and having people on board is definite work on, one that will be front and centre as I take on my new role next year.

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5. (After discussions with my partner Colleen we came to a few conclusions regarding Understanding of change management vs change leadership. Change leadership is about creating a new system, which requires a clear vision, motivation, and buy-in from people. This is in contrast to change management, which is focused on minimising risk and keeping the current system operating.
   Essential skills for leaders of change
   Core Leadership Skills
   Communication: You must be able to clearly explain the vision for change. This involves listening to people’s concerns, making them feel heard, and showing them how the change will benefit everyone.
   Vision-Setting: A leader must create and share a clear, inspiring picture of the future. This vision helps people understand the purpose of the change and motivates them to move forward.
   Motivation: You need to get people excited about the change. This means inspiring them, not just telling them what to do. A good leader builds enthusiasm and a shared sense of purpose.
   Building Trust: Leaders of change must be trustworthy. People are more willing to follow someone they believe in, especially when facing something new or uncertain.
   Problem-Solving: Change always brings unexpected challenges. Leaders must be able to think on their feet, solve problems creatively, and help their team work through obstacles.Key reflections/learnings about change leadership
   The main takeaway for us was that that there’s a big difference between change management and change leadership.
   Change Management is like being a careful planner. It’s about keeping things running smoothly and avoiding problems while you make changes.
   Change Leadership is like being an inspiring guide. It’s about building a vision, motivating people, and getting them excited to willingly accept a big change.
   We think that creating a culture that supports change implementation
   For the new practices to stick, they must become part of the school’s culture and this means incorporating explicit teaching and cognitive load management into formal observation and feedback processes at our school. Also making sure new and overseas teachers are trained in these methods. We think that its important to create a culture where it is normal for teachers to discuss and refine their instructional practices in these specific areas. By following this leadership-focused approach, we can move beyond simply managing the curriculum change and truly lead our teams to embrace a new, more effective way of teaching.Leading change has made us reflect on what has worked well in our school. The one positive is creating a sense of urgency and following through. Getting everyone on board, offering resources and PD to support the change and creating a culture where it is normal for teachers to discuss and refine their instructional practices in these specific areas. Breaking things down step by step is a winner – and having a solid plan with short term goals. By being able to clearly explain the vision for change and involving listening to people’s concerns, making them feel heard, and showing them how the change will benefit everyone and support change. The article’s key point is that major change projects often fail because they have plenty of good plans (management) but not enough people who can truly lead and inspire others. Having a strong group of people to lead the change is also what leads to success.
   What I need to develop further
   Leading this change has to be a team effort. We need a powerful guiding partnership that includes other team leaders and l teachers from different year levels. We should believe in understanding the principles of explicit teaching and cognitive load.
   Follow Kotter’s eight-step plan that, when you follow it in the right order to make success much more likely.
   As a leader I must be resilient, stay positive and persistent even when things get tough.
   Help my team “unpack the curriculum” by giving them the power and resources and try to remove barriers .
   Give effective Feedback

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   1. Thanks, Ronelle, for being a great learning partner in this course. It has been great sharing resources, learning together, supporting each other, and hopefully helping us to become even better leaders at CPDS.

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      1. Thank you Coll, we are a great team!

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