Tag Archives: Steve Jobs

5 Characteristics of a Change Agent

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cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by visualpanic

(change agents) – People who act as catalysts for change…

In my work through school and organization visits, I have been fascinated to see the correlation between the speed of change and an individual who is “leading” the charge.  The schools that have someone (or a group of people) helping to push the boundaries of what can be done in schools seem to move a lot quicker with a larger amount of “buy-in” through the process.

As Malcom Gladwell describes in his book, “The Tipping Point“, he states:

The success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts.

Although Gladwell talks about the “Law of the Few” (connectors, mavens, salesman), I do not believe change is solely dependent upon their skills, but also the culture in which they exist.  You cannot be a connector if you are in an environment where people do not want to come together.  So although a change agent can trigger growth in an organization, the culture in which they exist or are brought into has a huge bearing on their success.  If a school embodies itself as a true learning organization, change will happen much quicker.

With that being said, I have noticed that the individuals that are really successful in helping to be a catalyst for change certainly embody some similar characteristics.  Below is a list of what I have seen consistently.

1.  Clear Vision – As mentioned above, a “change agent” does not have to be the person in authority, but they do however have to have a clear vision and be able to communicate that clearly with others.  Where people can be frustrated is if they feel that someone is all over the place on what they see as important and tend to change their vision often.  This will scare away others as they are not sure when they are on a sinking ship and start to looking for ways out.  It is essential to note that a clear vision does not mean that there is one way to do things; in fact, it is essential to tap into the strengths of the people you work with and help them see that there are many ways to work toward a common purpose.

2. Patient yet persistent – Change does not happen overnight and most people know that.  To have sustainable change that is meaningful to people, it is something that they will have to embrace and see importance.  Most people need to experience something before they really understand that, and that is especially true in schools.  With that being said, many can get frustrated that change does not happen fast enough and they tend to push people further away from the vision, then closer.  The persistence comes in that you will take opportunities to help people get a step closer often when they are ready, not just giving up on them after the first try.  I have said continuously that schools have to move people from their point ‘A’ to their point ‘B’, not have everyone move at the same pace. Every step forward is a step closer to a goal; change agents just help to make sure that people are moving ahead.

3. Asks tough questions – It would be easy for someone to come in and tell you how things should be, but again that is someone else’s solution.  When that solution is someone else’s, there is no accountability to see it through.  It is when people feel an emotional connection to something is when they will truly move ahead.  Asking questions focusing on, “What is best for kids?”, and helping people come to their own conclusions based on their experience is when you will see people have ownership in what they are doing.  Keep asking questions to help people think, don’t alleviate that by telling them what to do.

4.  Knowledgeable and leads by example – Stephen Covey talked about the notion that leaders have “character and credibility”; they are not just seen as good people but that they are also knowledgeable in what they are speaking about.  Too many times, educators feel like their administrators have “lost touch” with what is happening in the classroom, and many times they are right.  Someone who stays active in not necessarily teaching, but active in learning and working with learners and can show by example what learning can look like now will have much more credibility with others.  If you want to create “change”, you have to not only be able to articulate what that looks like, but show it to others. I have sat frustrated often listening to many talk about “how kids learn today” but upon closer look, the same speakers do not put themselves in the situation where they are actually immersing themselves in that type of learning.  How can you really know how “kids learn” or if something works if you have never experienced it?

5. Strong relationships built on trust – All of the above, means nothing if you do not have solid relationships with the people that you serve.  People will not want to grow if they do not trust the person that is pushing the change.  The change agents I have seen are extremely approachable and reliable.  You should never be afraid to approach that individual based on their “authority” and usually  they will go out of their way to connect with you.

That doesn’t mean that they aren’t willing to have tough conversations though; that also builds trust.  Trust is also built when you know someone will deal with things and not be afraid to do what is right, even if it is uncomfortable.  Sometimes trust is built when you choose to do what is right for your community or organization, as long as it is always done in a respectful way.

Should every school/district administrator have these qualities?  Probably.  But with that being said, positive change is not reserved to be the responsibility of any position.  The best leaders may have all of these qualities but also empower others to be those “change agents” as well to build a culture of leadership and learning.  I can think of many people that I have encountered who have helped pushed their organizations ahead that have no formal “authority” over any individual.  That being said, some of them do it in spite of their principal or superintendent and often feel that they are in constant conflict.  Things would obviously move a lot quicker if they had the support of their leader.  With that support, change can happen in an organization quickly, but if the leader does not “clear the path”, improvement will take a lot longer than it should.

What is important to note is that being a “charismatic leader” is not something that is essential.  Often, charismatic leaders lack many of these qualities that I have listed above and although they can seemingly lead change, it is not sustainable and does not permeate throughout the school or organization; it becomes too dependent upon one person.  For example, was Steve Jobs a change agent, or a charismatic leader?  Apple is not doing as well since he has passed away and their innovation has seem to slow down.  Steve Jobs was known for being notoriously tough to deal with and the trust that is essential to building a strong culture was probably lacking to some degree.  I believe that change agents will help to create more leaders, not more followers.

What qualities from this list did I miss?  Do you think that there has to be at least one person or group to help permeate change and growth in an organization?

 

Is “failure” an option?

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cc licensed ( BY SD ) flickr photo shared by plural

I saw this tweet:

 

I have to admit…every time I see when others use the term “failure”, it makes me cringe.  This has nothing to do with the intent of what people mean, but just the word itself and what it says.

Many of us come from a different time in schools where, if you “failed” a test, this was not looked at as something that was just a part of the learning process.  This is was something that was looked down upon and often, the people that “failed” tests, didn’t necessarily do well in school after the fact.  Many of us in education understand that mistakes and “bumps” are a part of the learning process, as they should be. If people didn’t struggle with what was being taught, why would we have to teach it?

But many people that have, and should have, an interest in education that aren’t necessarily educators.  They can be parents, politicians, or anyone in the community, and when the term “failure” is used, it sometimes says something different.

You don’t think terminology is important?  Look at the backlash that Edmonton Public had about their supposed “No-Zero Policy” at the end of the last school year.  If you actually look at what the school was doing with assessment, the practices were totally focused on improving learning and helping students get better.  It was not a way for students to “opt out”, but from my understanding, it was a way for students to not have the “opt out” option.  The policy, whatever the name, was meant to higher expectations as opposed to lower them.  But when you say “no zeros”, that takes people back to a time that they were in school and doesn’t necessarily focus the conversation on the right thing; improving student learning.

Just to reiterate…I get why people say that “failure is important to learning”, etc., but does a short sentence with that one little word invoke faith in what our schools are doing?  Bill Gates failed.  Steve Jobs failed.  Tons of other failed.  I get that.  But schools are a place where all of us went and most didn’t go to school with Bill Gates.  Many of them will have stories of the kid who “failed” and continued to “fail” often; that is where many minds will go.

We work in the public eye and I do believe we have to be aware of the terminology that we use.  Even when we are doing something we could all agree upon is right, simple “words” may lead others to think different.

You Should Read… (November 20, 2011)

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Video is such a powerful tool to spread messages and share some amazing stories.  I would love to share two videos that inspired me this week, along with a cry for “play” in the classroom, to assure that we continue to inspire innovation in our children.

1.  If we don’t let our children play, who will be the next Steve Jobs? – In this awesome Huffington Post piece that was shared with me as I continue to work on my video for “play”, the author shows the belief that we have to be open to the true messiness of learning and be comfortable in an environment that is unstructured:

We are raising today’s children in sterile, risk-averse and highly structured environments. In so doing, we are failing to cultivate artists, pioneers and entrepreneurs, and instead cultivating a generation of children who can follow the rules in organized sports games, sit for hours in front of screens and mark bubbles on standardized tests.

We say we’re “protecting” our children. We say we’re setting them up to “succeed.” Really, we’re doing neither, and we’re letting an entire generation down. The most fitting way to honor Jobs’ legacy? Let our kids outside to play.

In my own time that I have spent on this topic, I really believe that we should never limit kids to what we think they should be learning or even what we think they know.  This post exemplifies those thoughts.

2.  Kevin Spacey on Desire - I shared this video of Kevin Spacey speaking to a group of actors and his quote really resonated with me on the work we should be doing with students to help guide them in their futures:

To *want* and to be ambitious and to want to be successful is not enough. That’s just desire. To know what you want, to understand why you’re doing it, to dedicate every breath in your body, to achieve . . . If you feel that you have something to give, if you feel that your particular talent is worth developing, is worth caring for, then there’s nothing you can’t achieve.”

Check out the video below:


3.  Thomas Suarez : iPhone Application Developer and 6th Grader – This TedX talk by a young student is both inspiring and  powerful in the message that he has about the power of his own learning.  Watch this kid share genius in his own personalized learning

As the snow continues to fall in Alberta, I hope that everyone has a wonderful and warm week!


cc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo shared by weaknechtc

Crazy or genius?

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The tributes and articles about Steve Jobs keep coming in on the Twitter stream.  Tweets from Barack Obama, endless articles talking about his battles with being famous, or even products of his that failed.

But of all the professional articles that have been created, it was the amateur created picture that really stuck out (even though it had been created before this day).

Absolutely beautiful.

This video below also really stuck out for me:

The quote comes originally from the “Think Different” ad campaign and is amazingly powerful.

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes.

The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.

About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward.

Maybe they have to be crazy.

How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?

We make tools for these kinds of people.

While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

Powerful stuff.

Imagine if we always looked for the genius in our kids?  It might not be what the “test” is looking for, but it is in there.  We just have to find it.

RIP Steve Jobs

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“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” Steve Jobs

I actually had tears when I heard the news.  People like Steve Jobs, push the boundaries of what we already know and inspire others to not only make things, but to change lives.

Rest in peace.

Systems Thinking

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cc licensed ( BY SD ) flickr photo shared by marcopako 

A few weeks ago, Apple, one of the most successful companies around today saw their leader step down, presumably for health problems.  Immediately, consumers were worried and stock dropped with the announcement.  Obviously, many were worried about the fall of Apple with the leaving of their fearless leader, and you would see headlines such as “Steve Jobs Resigns, Apple Visionless“.  Fear, uncertainty, and doubt probably started to not only creep in the mind of consumers, but employees as well.

Yet with the leaking of the iPhone 5, stocks again rose for Apple which probably started to put some of the fear to rest.

Yes, Steve Jobs obviously is extremely intelligent, dynamic, and a major reason behind the success of Apple, but as the years go on, we will see how great of a leader he was.  A leader can possess a range of qualities, but the most important quality is how they empower others.  Great leaders create systems where people thrive after the leader walks away.  We see too many schools that are dependent on dynamic individuals and when they leave, everything falls apart.  That is not a leader.  Leaders create systems that create other leaders.

I love this Covey quote that sums up quickly this imperative of leadership:

Management works in the system; Leadership works on the system.

As Apple continues, we will find out how great a leader Steve Jobs really was.  The definition does not only come from his time there, but he will also be defined by what they do in his absence.