Blazing New Trails - Connexions

242 CRITICAL ISSUES IN SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
chart did not carry strong decision-making ability, personnel or monetary control, or access to
high levels of communication or information. For these reasons, I felt as though my power
level was low. However, my thoughts on my influential abilities shifted as I understood more
about influence and how one effectively utilizes it within an organization. I learned that
because of the number of programs and projects where I had the opportunity to work with
hundreds of teachers and teacher leaders, that I truly had a high level of influence, if I chose
to use it. In short, my self-perception changed; therefore, I viewed my reality differently. My
perception of my own level of influence altered within the change process. I thought my level
of influence was in the lower quadrant, but I realized it was not.
In reflecting back on the teacher leaders’ comments and views, they saw me as a
central office employee in charge of professional development. Therefore, I had to be a
person of great power and influence in our organization in their perceptions. They were
looking through a lens of understanding based on their personal knowledge and experiences.
Their perceptions were different than mine because they viewed me as high power, high
influence. In reality, I may be higher in power than most of them, but still in the low power
quadrant because of my position in the organization. I also learned that self-perception and the
perception of others can alter one’s placement in the power and influence quadrant. My level
of influence changed based on the change in self-perception. While this study focused
specifically on navigating the political domain of district office to implement change to the
teacher leader model of professional development, this new learning about my level of
influence will impact all areas of my work, and is the reason it serves as the essence of this
study.
IMPLICATIONS
The implications of results and findings within this study are not complex in their
scope, but can be complex in their implementation depending on how a person chooses to
navigate the political undercurrents of a school district to create change. In this research, I
discovered that power and influence were key elements that I dealt with regularly to impact
district-level change. I came to understand how much my perception of self and the teacher
leaders’ perception of me affected my location within the power and influence quadrant. This
movement within the quadrants of power and influence based on perception and the factors
that impact change are applicable to all people in a school district.
In order to apply this learning to all school districts or organizations, it is important to
be aware of and understand the structure of positions within the work environment. With this
awareness, one is able to begin to see how the quadrants of power and influence interact in
organizational decision making and change. While not all school district leaders may be easily
distinguishable in their power and influence structure, these quadrants are applicable and
provide helpful knowledge to those that must navigate the political domain to create change.
As I discussed this finding with my critical peer and reflected further on my own
career, it was evident that these levels of power and influence as well as the factors that
impacted changes were relevant in all work environments.