Blazing New Trails - Connexions

Navigating the Politics of Change in a Suburban School District: A Phenomenological Study 241
Monetary resources were relevant immediately in the study. As I was preparing the
proposal for the changes in the model, my supervisor asked questions about how the changes
would be funded. Her goal was to make sure that the changes I was suggesting could be
supported by my budget, since she knew that I would not gain additional dollars from
alternate sources in the district (Reflective Journal, August 24, 2008). My resources were key
to the implementation of the new training plan, since I would not be gaining any additional
help in the way of funding from other departments or campuses.
The ability to mobilize personnel resources impacted the changes in the TLT model as
well. As planning was underway and discussion about the anticipated training topics arose,
one of the executive team members mobilized one of the groups in the district to become
involved in the process (Reflective Journal, September 4, 2008). The executive leader who
put this group into action had a purpose in their involvement in the training of the TLTs at the
campus level. This additional personnel resource had a direct impact on the change process
because suddenly my level of control was much lower, and I was sharing decision-making
power with a group that had been directed to be a part of the training process. The
collaboration had the potential to be a positive; unfortunately, because of the way that the year
progressed, the other group’s involvement was not a priority for the participants, and they
withdrew from their part of the work in December after hosting two trainings. Their
withdrawal showed evidence of how influence and power were interacting. The group was
mobilized because of an executive team member’s power over them, and they complied with
the request without being committed to the work. At the time when other initiatives took
precedence, these individuals asked to be removed from the training of the TLTs, and their
request was approved. This ability to easily control resources served as evidence of the use of
power in this change process.
Studies have shown that power comes from position, control over monetary and other
resources, organizational alliances, and the ability to use personal characteristics effectively
(Anderson, Flynn & Spataro, 2008; Boonstra & Bennebroek-Gravehorst, 1998). The ideas of
power and influence in relation to resource control were evident in my reflections on the
change experience as a whole. The factors that impacted changes in the TLT model were (a)
roles in the organization, (b) ability to communicate, (c) personal motivation or agendas, and
(d) resource control. Each of these factors related specifically to the power and influence
quadrants discussed as one of the themes in this study, as well as the concepts of perception
and reality. As part of a phenomenological research study, the essence of the experience must
be determined after extensive reductions in data (Creswell, 1998).
ESSENCE OF THE EXPERIENCE
The essence of this research was based on the overall concepts of power, influence,
perception, and reality relating to the change process. In reflecting once again on my
experience of negotiating the political domain of the school district to improve training for
our group of teacher leaders, I was able to clearly make the connections between these themes
and patterns as well as the factors in the change process. During the course of the study, I
reflected on my self-perception of power and influence in the organization, how I viewed
CRISD stakeholders and their levels of power or influence, and finally my view of our teacher
leaders and how they exercised power and influence within their work.
It was evident in self reflection of my own placement within the power and influence
quadrant that I viewed my role and my actions as low power and high influence. As explained
in relation to the factors of change, my positional power within the district’s organizational