Blazing New Trails - Connexions

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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
Navigating the Politics of Change in a Suburban School District: A Phenomenological Study 245 position would fall within the quadrants relating to personal motivation. Teacher leaders work to meet the needs of others outside of their own classrooms to have a greater impact on campus and on students (Darling-Hammond, 1994). Finally, persons functioning in the low power, low influence quadrant are primarily motivated by their personal needs, but have often alienated themselves such that those around them know there is not a level of trust and personal agendas will always outrank the good of the group. Personal motivation and agendas within an organization or school district are often difficult for people to define, especially if they are in contradiction with the vision or mission of the organization. However, one of the clear indicators of a person’s motivation or agendas in the large scope of an organization is how he or she uses resources available to him or her. The final factor identified in this study as contributing to or inhibiting change was resource control. Resource control. Resource control referred to a person’s ability to mobilize funding, information and people. A person in the high power, high influence category often has a large budget to control and has a high level of trust and respect of those reporting directly or indirectly to him or her which allows for quick mobilization of those people to accomplish a task (Mechanic, 1962). People with high power and low influence may have a large budget and be able to require employees working directly or indirectly for them to do something, but efficiency will be significantly lower because the level of influence over those directly reporting does not exist. Boonstra and Bennebroek-Gravenhorst (1998) explained that “information power” allows a person some control over others through their willingness to share, withhold, or redirect information toward certain recipients (p. 102). A person that chooses to withhold information would fall into the high power, low influence because after a period of time those around him or her learn that he or she cannot be trusted. A person with low power, but high influence most likely has very little budget to work with, but in many cases can rally groups of people together to accomplish many tasks because of deep personal connections or reputation (McDonald & Gooding, 2005). Low power, high influence people would be information sharers because they have created relationships of trust with their willingness to be open (Boonstra & Bennebroek- Gravenhorst, 1998). Finally, a person with low power and low influence has little budget or monetary control and does not believe that her or she can gather any group around an issue. Usually, people in this quadrant have little confidence and isolate themselves within the organization which equals the inability to gain the trust of other personnel. The interpretation of these concepts in relation to the research questions comes down to a final idea: choice. The initial research question asked, what challenges are involved for a leader implementing district level change to professional development for teacher leaders? I believe that this research study demonstrated many challenges, but the factors of change and descriptors outlined here within the quadrants of power and influence encompass the challenges that one must overcome to implement district level change. District level leaders working to implement changes to programs, policies, or other initiatives could utilize these four factors to effectively address issues associated with change in a proactive way. The question is, “How does a district leader negotiate the politics of this change at the district level?” The answer to this question lies in my interpretation of this study. I believe that the negotiation of politics in the implementation of change in an organization is ultimately about choice. Within an organization, each person makes choices about how he or she operates, especially in relation to change. It is important as the culmination of this study to look deeply at the identified themes and factors to determine
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20 NCPEA 11 BLAZING NEW TRAILS: Pre
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NCPEA EXECUTIVE BOARD 2010-2011 Pre
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NCPEA HONOR ROLL OF PRESIDENTS, 194
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Contributing Auth
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Betty J. Alford, Stephen F. Austin
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xii Yearbook Reviewers Kenneth Rasm
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INVITED CHAPTERS PART 1
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4 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE (3) The fed
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Shadows and Images II 7 LIVING LEGE
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Shadows and Images II 9 see little
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Shadows and Images II 11 settings,
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Shadows and Images II 13 into the m
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16 INVITED CHAPTERS Purpose of the
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18 INVITED CHAPTERS do not recogniz
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20 INVITED CHAPTERS Research Proced
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22 INVITED CHAPTERS Political maneu
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24 INVITED CHAPTERS CONCLUSION This
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26 INVITED CHAPTERS Johnson, R. B.,
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Complexities in the Workload of Pri
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47 CRITICAL ISSUES IN SHARED LEADER
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Professional Learning Communities:
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Special Education Director Burnout
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Superintendent Decision-making and
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CRITICAL ISSUES IN CRITICAL ISSUES
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Administrative Functions The Admini
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The Administration of Special Educa
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CRITICAL ISSUES IN PROMOTING ACADEM
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The Effective Practices and Beliefs
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Creating Shared Meaning in High Per
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Part 5 CRITICAL ISSUES IN EDUCATION
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Service to the Profession: The Forg
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Qualitative Data Service to the Pro
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