Monte Vista Christian School Noble Leadership and Change Management March 4, 2009

Transcription

1 Monte Vista Christian School Noble Leadership and Change Management March 4, 2009 Noble leadership defined Righteous, virtuous, good, honorable, upright, decent, worthy, moral, ethical, reputable; magnanimous, unselfish, generous. Noble leaders rely on the wisdom and power of the Lord With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of His calling, and that by His power, He may fulfill every good purpose and every act prompted by your faith. Thessalonians 1:11 Worthy of His calling that we are listening to and praying for God s will and not our own By His power = it is only by His power Fulfill every good purpose = Our good intentions must be congruent with God s Word Every act prompted by your faith = Faithful deeds are those that model Biblical principles Which describes your typical reaction to change? 1. Clinging to the past 2. Work to maintain personal stability or feel in control 3. Punish the school 4. Save the school from making a mistake 5. Other Why do you react that way? 1

2 Alignment Mission Statement - Are we able to clearly articulate and/or quantify how this decision, plan or resource allocation will further the Mission of our school? Vision Statement - Are we able to clearly articulate and/or quantify how this decision, plan or resource allocation will align with the desired Vision for our school? Core Values - Are we able to clearly articulate and/or quantify how this decision, plan or resource allocation will represent the Core Values of our school? Statement of Faith - Are we able to clearly articulate and/or quantify how this decision, plan or resource allocation will imbed our Statement of Faith? Strategy - Does our decision/plan/program/improvement currently align with the school s continuous improvement plan? Myth Busting Truth #1 = The way you look at a situation--how you mentally frame it, and the conclusions you reach--determines how you will respond to school change. Your thoughts can cause you to resist or to embrace and support the new moves. Truth #2 = Many things shape your thinking--experience, wants, needs, prejudice, beliefs. This is the filter you will use to determine what you will pay attention to or ignore. Truth #3 = Many times a negative mindset is based on misunderstanding, faulty assumptions, ill motives, wrong thinking. Change hits and the school bounces--employees can interpret the predicted problems in a warped manner and come to wrong conclusions. Truth #4 = Change can cause a collection of myths to creep in and this spells trouble. The ability to deal with change will be impaired. Truth #5 = Myths need to be challenged, examined, and placed against a broader, more informed, more objective view of reality. Self-improvement Examine your work routines and see if you are getting out of step with the school. If you see changes in the culture, priorities, management style, or work pace in the school, take it as hard evidence that you probably need to start doing some things differently yourself. 2

3 Fear Management There may not be much you can do about how some things are changing in the school, but there is a lot you can do about your reactions to it. Here you have total control. Nobody is in charge of your attitude. So if your attitude is positive, upbeat, you get all the credit. On the other hand, if you re reacting negatively to the changes, your leadership will suffer. You waste a lot of physical and mental energy maintaining a bad attitude everyday, and it poisons YOUR job satisfaction, clouds YOUR judgment, probably hurts YOUR reputation at the school. Problem Management Problems are a natural side effect of the change process. Change cannot possibly be trouble free. Initially it creates an entirely new set of problems increasing job stress while adding to the actual workload. This does not prove that the changes are a bad idea. Problems are the price of progress. On the road to getting better, expect things to get a little worse. Everything looks like a failure in the middle. This mess is the unpleasant but normal symptom of change. Just remember, you are paid to handle problems--that is your job. This is a fact that does not change even if the problems you are facing do. Ownership It s a mistake to call this management's plan. As long as you accept a paycheck, this is your plan, your program. Management is responsible for laying out the overall game plan and calling the plays. You are supposed to run the plays and make them work. You do not have to like the changes, believe they were a good idea, even want them to succeed. But you are supposed to do everything you can to make the changes a success story. Realistically, managers aren t good enough to make important changes work by themselves--the job is too big. All people need to be aligned, working together. Leading your staff during change 1. Share - Let your group in on any part of a plan you have developed. 2. Organize - Develop steps to your plan so it can be easily followed. 3. A new role - Give your staff a role so the change isn t happening to them. 3

4 Complex Change Managing complex change is the one of the most important skills an individual should master to be a successful leader. You may be technologically savvy or have great people or school skills, but if you can t handle the stress of complex change or do not know how to manage during complex change, you will always struggle. On the chart below the row of elements listed are required to manage complex change. Read across each roll of elements to see how a lack of one critical element results in confusion, anxiety and treadmill repetitiveness. Vision + Skills + Incentives + Resources + Skills + Incentives + Resources + Plan* Plan = Change = Confusion Vision + Incentives + Resources + Plan = Anxiety Vision + Skills + Resources + Vision + Skills + Incentives + Plan Plan = Resistance = Frustration Vision + Skills + Incentives + Resources = Treadmill *All effective action plans using SMART goals and action verbs. 4

5 Noble Leadership Development Review the topics below and circle the one you would like to enhance or improve. Noble leadership attributes The wisdom and power of the Lord Alignment (First Things First) Myth Busting Self-improvement Fear Management Problem Management Ownership Leading staff during change Complex Change Working with a partner, identify one area of school improvement that you are planning or are currently involved in? How does it align with the mission, vision and core values using the questions on page 2? List any myths that may need to be addressed during the change. Are there elements of complex change management that may be missing and need to be addressed? Create 3 specify steps to get your staff involved in the change. 5

6 Mission Monte Vista Christian School champions students to achieve their highest potential through Christ-centered educational excellence. Core Values Faith - Modeling, teaching, and being shaped by a faith that is consistent with a Christian worldview. Integrity - Demonstrating exemplary lifestyles reflective of Christian ethics with accountability to Christ, each other, our students, and our community. Excellence - Teaching a Biblical accredited curriculum and providing outstanding, innovative educational programs that prepare our students for success in life. Community - Creating an environment of generosity and compassion that is responsive to the needs of those we serve. Partnership - Sustaining a partnership with families to enhance our students' character, learning, and development. Global Outreach - Presenting the message of Jesus Christ to all the world, while living as trustworthy and accountable stewards within God s creation. Vision Monte Vista Christian School is dedicated to being the premier, college preparatory Christian school in Northern California committed to preparing students to be world changers. 6