Crucial Conversations Paving the way...
At the foundation to my Why statement, my 4DX implementation and my Influencer strategy you will find crucial conversations.
It all starts with a conversation; with other leaders, peers, students, and even outsiders. Crucial conversations with my organization's members will influence change, support execution, and turn behaviors into habits. As I implement my innovation plan, there will be setbacks, disagreements, non-believers, and resisters. How I conduct myself in these situations with my peers will make my plan thrive or fail. At every step of my plan to lead innovation, I will need to connect with others through crucial conversations; to do this, we must start with the heart.
Start with the Heart...
To influence change, I started by creating my why statement. Why did I want to implement the use of iPads in the classroom? I began by thinking of the good it will do for the students. After going down a couple of rabbit holes, I realized that the reason for my innovation plan was to give students opportunities that I wish I would have had as a 5th-grade student myself. The crucial conversations approach teaches us to start with our own heart by ensuring that we have the right motives for ourselves, the people involved, and the relationship at hand. I must maintain my why statement at the head of my approach, especially when circumstances are not up to my expectations.
Influencer Strategy and Crucial Conversations...
My influencer strategy requires candid collaboration among all members of my organization. The plan is to provide stakeholders in my organization with an experience that will reach their hearts. Submerge them in the creativity that can be attained when using iPad apps (Keynote, Pages, iMovie, Clips, Numbers) and demonstrate how we can transport learning outside of the classroom using these tools. The experience will help provide a need to my implementation plan and promote buy-in. Unfortunately, not all members will be convinced; some may question the plan or may want to keep things the way they are. After all, change is hard to accept. When we identify our resisters, I can then apply strategies presented in the Crucial Conversations book. There will be disagreements not only about being on board but also about accountability, vital behaviors, and their measurements. To prepare, I must create an environment that allows my peers to feel safe to contribute to the pool of shared meaning. Mutual respect and purpose need to be established. Most importantly, I have to keep in mind how I need to behave to achieve my desired results; it starts with me. I plan to approach these instances with a lot of self-regulation, keeping in mind what I want for myself, others, and the relationship. I plan to maintain purpose by changing the stories I tell myself about what is going on. I must start with the facts and draw my conclusions from those facts, acknowledging that multiple conclusions or stories stem from those facts. Although it begins with me, I must also open the way for others to express their thoughts and add to the shared pool of meaning. When I encounter silence or violence in dialogue, I can employ tools to keep the conversation on the right path. I can ask, mirror, paraphrase, or prime. One of these four approaches (AMPP) can encourage others to share their facts, feelings, and stories. Ultimately, crucial conversations will play a vital role in the collaboration aspect of my influence approach. I must be ready and willing to be self-aware of the role I play in dialogue; hopefully, the more I practice, the easier it will become.
Four Disciplines of Execution and Crucial Conversations...
The 4DX model focused a little less on feelings and a little more on action and performance. Each of the approaches we have studied overlap; they all focus on similar topics but shine a light on specific aspects. When applied together, the Influencer model, 4DX, and crucial conversations are a guarantee for change. Throughout the Four Disciplines of Execution, we see a common notion; we must include the team in planning each discipline. The WIG will come from me, but I would like my team to contribute and make changes in the most realistic way for our needs. The lead and lag measures of how we will implement the use of Ipads in the classroom will have to come from a team decision. The 4DX model encourages us to create a list of as many possible lead and lag measures as possible; the more options we have, the higher our measures' quality. Similarly, with our scoreboard, if the team is a part of creating it, there will be more ownership and buy-in. Lastly, an essential part of the 4DX model is the weekly WIG sessions. This is where we review the scoreboard, share successes and failures and hold each other accountable. I must prepare to respond to unfulfilled commitments; 4DX, similarly to Crucial Conversations, highlights the importance of maintaining mutual respect. If my team members feel negative or discouraged, then the way that I respond and conduct the dialogue will make or break our goal. I will certainly have to lead by example, keep my why statement as my focus, and behave in a way that achieves results. Moreover, I must be prepared to guide discussions in a way that makes everyone safe to contribute to the pool of shared meaning. When stakes are high and opinions vary, it's so easy to lose our true purpose in the heat of the moment. We have to find a respectful and candid medium in which we can all dig deep, put stories to the side and find or create mutual purpose. Conclusively, 4DX is about action; as a team, we will have to make decisions during our planning process and our WIG sessions. This is where we will use crucial conversations to move to action. After we are in a safe sharing space, where the pool of shared meaning is overflowing, we have to move to action. Decide who does what, by when; we follow up on this through our weekly WIG sessions. See 4DX WIG sessions and Crucial Conversations' move to action lay out a path for us to turn vital behaviors, lead and lag measures into habits.
Dr. John Kotter. (2013, August 15) Leading Change: Establish a Sense of Urgency [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/2Yfrj2Y9IlI
Grenny, J., Patterson, K., Maxfield, D., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2013). Influencer: The new science of leading change (2nd ed.). North Ryde, NSW: McGraw-Hill.
McChesney, C., Covey, S., & Huling, J. (2016). The 4 disciplines of execution: Achieving your wildly important goals. New York: Free Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
Patterson, K., Grenny, J., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2012). Crucial conversations: Tools for talking when stakes are high (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Steve Briginshaw. (2013, September 29) Start With Why – Simon Sinek TED Talk [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/sioZd3AxmnE