From "Resistance is Everywhere" to "Resistance is Futile": Helpful Hints for Leading Change
By Rosabeth Moss Kanter
© Copyright 2005 by Rosabeth Moss Kanter
rkanter@hbs.edu.

In public education today, the imperative to "Change!" surrounds leaders. We hear it on the lips of candidates for schools boards, in the suggestions of activist parent groups, or on the editorial pages of local newspapers.

It's easy for them to demand change, right? You're the one who will have to lead it. And meanwhile, you know that resistance is everywhere. Inside school buildings, the reaction to outside pressure is often pretty defensive (especially on the part of some teachers who are more comfortable with traditional ways and whose union contract protects them from change).

Change is a loaded word that evokes strong emotions. Those emotions are often negative - but not always. It's your job as a leader to minimize resistance and maximize commitment to change. In short, you have to move the system from "resistance is everywhere" to "resistance is futile." The goal is to make any particular change journey seem so natural and exciting that people want to go on it.
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Breakthrough Schools: What Works in High School Reform
Richard A. Flanary, Director,
NASSP's Office of Professional
Development Services

The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) endeavors to speak as both a voice and a system of supports for high school and middle-level leaders. Through our efforts, we work to uncover the specific strategies that lead to successful high schools.

A premiere example of this is the release of Breaking Ranks II: Strategies for Leading High School Reform (February 2004). This publication serves as a field guide for school improvement for principals and leadership teams to use regardless of their size, geographical location, or where they are on the school improvement continuum.
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Success Integrating the Change Toolkit and Its Use with Various Strategic Planning and Quality Tools
By Kathy Jenson, Principal, R.K. Jenson & Assoc

The pace of global, economic, demographic, regulatory and technological developments makes change an inevitable feature of all organizations, including school systems. However, change that "happens" to any organization or school system can - and should - be distinguished from change that is "planned" by its members. For most organizations, improvements do not happen by magic; they must be planned. This is especially for school systems; only through well-designed change can all students achieve at higher levels.
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Change Toolkit Tool of the Month
By Heidi Kraemer, Change Toolkit Project Manager and IBM Corporate Community Relations manager

Developing the Dream: Nurturing the Working Team
No one can go it alone, and 'Change Masters' are highly adept at creating and nurturing 'all star' teams? Do you regularly create 'all star' teams? Is your team an 'all star' team? Read the "Developing the Dream: Nurturing the Working Team" background tool to better understand the steps in effective team building, and then take the "How Effective is our Teamwork?" diagnostic tool to learn more about your own team's effectiveness.




How do I find this tool?
1. Log in to the Change Toolkit website .
2. Move your mouse to 'Get Tools' and click on 'Change Masters.'
3. Click on 'Developing the Dream: Nurturing the Working Team.'
4. Click on the 'Background' or the 'Diagnostic' tab.

Leadership pulse check
A monthly poll of the readership of the Education Leadership Newsletter

This Month's Poll:
AOL users, please click here to complete and submit your survey. If you are using Microsoft Outlook, you MUST open the message to complete the survey.

Is my team equipped to implement school change successfully?
The team that I have in place to implement school improvements/reforms:

• Understands the objectives of the reforms
  
• Is committed to and has a personal stake in the success of the reforms
  
• Has the skills to help the reforms succeed
  
• Works well with one another
  
• Has formal permission to devote time and resources to the reforms
  
• Other ______________________________

	28%	Think there is room to improve all of our roles.
	25%	Have a strong network of team mates   to support my change initiative.
	22%	Am well supported by my supervisor.
	11%	Think the leadership throughout my   organization could be strengthened.
	11%	Feel like I am largely accomplishing   the change on my own.
	3%	Others