Blazing New Trails - Connexions

244 CRITICAL ISSUES IN SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
number of people that report directly or indirectly to them (Drory, 1993). People in high
positions of power choose to take the opportunity to communicate with these people or not.
The choice to communicate or not impacts the level of influence that a person in a position of
power has. For instance, a person at the top of the hierarchy who chooses to communicate
using encouragement to promote collaboration among team members and to gain buy-in or
feedback on key issues and consistently sends a common message to all stakeholders will
yield a high level of influence. In contrast, a person who chooses not to communicate
effectively and focuses on isolation and communication with individuals rather than groups
which inevitably leads to inconsistent understanding cannot build a level of influence
(Anderson, Flynn & Spataro, 2008).
Though people in lower positions of power may not have formal direct reports or the
ear of those at the top of the hierarchy, they can choose to have a high or low level of
influence related to their ability to communicate. A person with low power and high influence
is one that communicates effectively with smaller groups or individuals (Kipnis & Schmidt,
1988). He or she uses many of the same strategies to promote collaboration around topics of
passion and displays excellent listening skills to understand all stakeholder positions so that
when opportunities arise to make changes, he or she can speak for larger numbers of people in
an impactful way (McDonald & Gooding, 2005). He or she also shares and communicates on
many topics to help others in understanding the decision making processes which elicit trust
and reverence from those that work directly and indirectly with the person (Kaul, 2003).
However, a person in a low power position can also choose not to talk with anyone
and operate in isolation with the belief that he or she is there to do one job. This type of
person often does the minimum that he or she must to stay in compliance with job
requirements, but does not believe that his or her work can or does impact others. This low
power and low influence group operates in isolation and is only individually motivated to
communicate with those that can improve or enhance situations that will move them forward.
Roles and communication inside an organization are often driven by an individual’s personal
motivation or agenda. This is the third factor identified in this study that impacted the change
process for the teacher leader model and translates to impact all types of change in a school
district or organization.
Personal motivation or agendas. Within the organization, personal motivation and
personal agendas can be strong motivators for change. In the high power, high influence
quadrant, a leader is personally motivated by what is best for the team or organization as a
whole and personal agendas were always focused on what is best for stakeholders within the
district (Crowther, Ferguson, & Hann, 2009). Personal gain is not a consideration for this type
of person when what the majority wants is in conflict with what he or she feels. A person
operating in the high power, low influence quadrant is driven by personal motivation and
personal agendas without consideration of the team or organization (Crowther, et al., 2009).
There is no level of understanding of what those below him or her in the hierarchy may be
experiencing and no forward thinking about how they may be impacted by decisions that will
be beneficial on a personal level. Often these people compete against those in positions
laterally to them and function in an unethical way with those operating above them in the
hierarchy, choosing to tell them what they may want to hear, but not what they need to hear.
People who have low amounts of power, but high influence utilize their personal
motivation and agendas to be the voice of their team or small group. These people may not
have hierarchal power, but gain a level of respect because of their service oriented attitudes
and willingness to think globally instead of personally. Often, this is where a teacher leader