Have you had enough of change? Many working in education complain of change fatigue. It has been said that the only person who likes change, is a baby with a wet nappy! The only constant these days appears to be change!

However some change processes are more successful than others. Whether the change process is ‘top-down’ and imposed on us to implement as leaders in schools or a change that we are initiating ourselves within our schools, there are lessons to be learnt about leading a change.

Leadership guru Ken Blanchard (author of many best-selling business books including the One Minute Manager series) has done a lot of research on why changes fail. From his 15 reasons why changes fail, I think there are 7 Sins of Change Leadership that apply especially in schools.

Which ones do you relate to?

• Leaders think announcing the change is the same as implementing the change.
• People’s concerns are not surfaced or addressed
• Those being asked to change are not involved in planning the change
• The change leadership team does not include early adopters, resisters or informal leaders
• There is no compelling reason to change. A compelling vision that excites people about the future has not been communicated.
• Leaders lose focus or fail to prioritise causing “death by 1000 initiatives”
• People are not held accountable for implementing the change

Do you relate to them because you have witnessed them happen to you through change initiatives imposed on you or because you have been guilty of inflicting them to others?