My thinking has shifted quite a bit from the outset of this course in how I relate to and understand my organization. What I attempted to do with this learning opportunity was actually act differently in my organization and take steps towards changing some of my behaviours to realign with positive leadership actions and re-adopt a systems view of my organization. I applied the learning from this course as we were learning it to an initiative around e-portfolio adoption into programming at Coast Mountain College (CMTN) and from the outset of 525 worked with the Centre of Learning Transformation (COLT) at CMTN to apply what I was learning. I learn best by doing and the opportunity to work on a project that was just out of reach with the current resources of COLT but I could work with helped me take this course from thinking to doing and now reflecting.
One big perspective that did shift for me personally is I have doubled down on the idea that leadership can emerge anywhere in the organization and that is actually acceptable and should be legitimized. In the past I have stepped out of my position at my organization to lead but I always feel there is risk in doing so. My thoughts were somehow aligned with the idea that it’s better to step out only if there is an injustice of some kind I cannot ignore and will take the risk for, get the job done and head back into the fray of the organization hopefully without notice (see Brenna Clarke-Gray’s Digital learning Toolbox February 7 for an example of how that stealth strategy really didn’t work recently). I think all that anxiety about being seen as a leader can probably get put to rest now because leadership can come from within the organization. I have some legitimacy as someone who has worked in multiple positions in the organization and demonstrates alignment with the strategic plan consistently. I don’t need to be so shaky about stepping forward and I likely don’t need to reserve it for only those times where injustice is taking place. I can be more pro-active in my leadership which I have tried to experiment with over this time in the e-portfolio project. It’s kind of painful but also a bit fun and just stepping into this new way of being has been cathartic in a way. If I lose my job next week because I got noticed in my organization MALAT colleagues please help me find new employment. Also I can find leadership in my organization and encourage it to grow in other pockets of innovation without feeling I am forwarding someone for the chopping block. I can adopt an approach that is similar to what Chad Flinn described in the Voices interview we heard (2022) and feel like I am still keeping people safe because it’s normal and good to act in this way.
Secondly. through learning about the types of barriers to change that Conway et al. present in their report about Design Thinking and Systems Change I have reconciled many, many initiatives at my organization that have been enthusiastically announced as a new change taking place only for them to disappear and never be spoken of again. I may have at one time (cough cough last week), chalked it up to incompetence of management but the reality is we can unpack those failed change initiatives as being challenged by the system barriers that then prevented innovation from scaling. One of the most interesting aspects of this to me and not fully reconciled in my own mind is how those barriers to change are considered from the dichotomy in our organization between union and management. Management often chalks up the failure of bringing innovation up to scale to the strict union agreements, faculty chalks it up to incompetence of management (personal communications). Neither of these viewpoints are helpful or true and it may be a cultural norm that has created its own barrier that needs tending to but for now I am pondering that and as Kotter advises my efforts are being put towards engineering small wins (Biech, 2007) starting with intentional e-portfolio integration.
Biech, E. (2007). Thriving through change: A leader’s practical guide to change mastery. Association for Talent Development.
Clarke-Gray, B. (February 7, 2022). The worst is yet to come, and babe, it won’t be fine. Digital Detox.
https://digitaldetox.trubox.ca/the-worst-is-yet-to-come-and-babe-it-wont-be-fine/
Conway, R., Masters, J. & Thorold, J. (2017). From design thinking to systems change: how to invest in innovation for social impact. RSA Action and Research Centre.
https://www.thersa.org/globalassets/pdfs/reports/rsa_from-design-thinking-to-system-change-report.pdf
Flinn, C. (2022). Unique Challenges. Voices of Leadership.
https://malat-coursesite.royalroads.ca/lrnt525/schedule/voices/
March 25, 2022 at 4:47 am
Hi Karen,
This was a great read and reflection, and amazing to see some of the concepts of the course put into action in real time. For me you highlighted one of the most important aspects of leadership – that you can lead from anywhere, and that you need to find your own way to make change happen. Your post sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole as well – I had not kept up with Brenna’s digital detox this year, and it was great to go back and read some of the posts, but also your great story of change at your own institution. It sounds like you have had some great success already and kudos! Hoping the key pieces that you have taken from this course will help you with your next big project – ePortfolios!
March 25, 2022 at 4:50 am
Oh and I was going to add – I think Martin Weller’s post that I shared yesterday will also really resonate with you. Thinking about the ways our institutions are very resistant to change (even though they say they are not)…was good for me to reflect on ways to manage that as well.