Five Steps for Successful Change

What We’re Trying to (Hopefully) Make Lasting Change

by Third Eye Education, consolidated by Heather M. F. Lyke

A few years ago, my parents made a request: they wanted to celebrate their 50th anniversary not with a large party but with a family vacation. They wanted all three of their children along with each of their spouses, and their four grandchildren, to settle on one place to travel to together--much like the original five in the clan had done decades before with road trips to Michigan, Duluth, and Niagara Falls. 

It took us two years to agree on what that vacation would look like and where it would take place. 
​
One common struggle with any organization--education-based, familial, or otherwise--is to get the collective whole on board when there is a new initiative or a looming shift. This was one of the key items discussed by Third Eye Education's core collaborators this January.  Together, we ended up creating a simple checklist to help us all move forward as we navigate future changes in each of our districts and organizations.

|  1  |
Show Action Quickly on Something

When a goal seems far off, it’s sometimes hard to get traction.  In Pine Island, for example, they celebrate as many ‘instant wins’ as they can when trying to make systemic and lasting change. Some changes may need workshopping, funding, or significant troubleshooting, but there are often at least pieces that can be acted on instantly. It can be something simple, like replacing the scented soaps in the bathroom with unscented or swapping out a keyboard to help mitigate a staff member’s arthritis pain.

In the case of a 5oth Anniversary celebration, we learned early on that most of us wanted to end up vacationing near water: the ocean, a river, a great lake, whatever. We discovered that almost the moment the idea was brought up by our parents, but we didn’t formalize it nor celebrate it. I can’t help but wonder how things would have materialized differently if we had.

|  2  |
Elevate All Voices

This is in part why it took us so long to come together on a vacation plan: we weren’t communicating as a whole. It wasn’t clear who was to make the final decision and our planning conversations were often pocketed. Had we established from the beginning that all would have a say in the final decision, and had there been more collaborative conversations, I am certain we could have come to an agreement sooner. 

When all know they were at least listened to, heard, and considered, it’s much easier and faster to get on board with the final product. Quick surveys, listening posts, feedback loops, or the creation of sub-committees are all little things that make a big impact. (Although, be wary of sub-committees, as sometimes the “divide and conquer” approach can create a false sense of collaboration and end up derailing the overall goal.)

Pro-tip: If too quick to wash away some individual’s ideas, it often feels the same as if that voice had not been heard at all. This is commonly seen when an initial idea or reaction is perceived as negative and is swept aside with a positive response (toxic positivity). Consider validating hesitations and struggles first, while also indicating how it could lead to a positive outcome. 

|  3  |
Get Others Involved in the Work

It’s been said that it’s hard to justify tearing down a fence you once helped to build. 

My family ultimately decided, after years of back and forth, to have all four of our households meet in Glenwood Springs, Colorado for the anniversary celebration. What tipped the scale to a final decision? We started working together. When we started, each household was working on one idea, while each of the other households was doing the same: occasionally one household would share an idea with one other household. It wasn’t until all four households got together that we were able to come to a consensus.

When we work together as a cohesive team to create, to advance, and to change paths we share in the feeling of success. Often a more complex process, especially in the early stages of creating systems and laying groundwork, the long-lasting nature and self-sustaining elements that comes with this methodology is well worth the added work. 

|  4  |
Be Sure there is Trust and Transparency

Perhaps this is the failure point in so many complex plans: sometimes all cards just have to be laid on the table, but that doesn’t often happen without trust. Limiting factors often have to be noted for success to be obtained. Is there a tight budget? Are there laws, codes, or regulations that need to be followed? Is there a specific timeline that needs to be followed?

Turned out, this was the tripping point that inevitably got in the way of us settling on a unifying satisfactory vacation location. For the longest time, none of the four households were transparent on how much they were comfortable spending. Plus, some members were envisioning all 12 of us in a house or cabin with shared common spaces while others expected separate hotel rooms where one could escape for downtime. In a family that never talked about money out in the open, and with us being half introverts and the other half extraverts, these invisible issues needed to be seen before moving forward. 

But, how does one establish the trust needed for transparency to occur?

• Individualized appreciation: thank you notes, individualized gift baskets, candy at a staff meeting--they all add up
• Authenticity: keep it real--appreciation isn’t felt if it’s inauthentic
• Vulnerability: if you want others to lay their cards on the table, you might have to lay yours down first​

|  5  |
Have a Public Celebration of Success

For our family, we ultimately took that vacation: four flew, six drove, and two took the train but no matter how we got there, ultimately there were breakfast gatherings and family dinners, water slides and soaks in the hot springs, whitewater rafting and browsing in local shops. In the end, there was a celebration of my parents having spent 50 years together and a celebration of our growing family. It was a vacation I am certain none of us will forget. 

Heather's family in Colorado

In the workplace, you’ll not likely all take a vacation together, but there are other ways to celebrate success. Pine Island commonly has large picnics offsite to celebrate the completion of a large initiative. Dover-Eyota loves doughnuts and delivers them to the classrooms of those who helped make greatness happen. From drawings to doughnuts, from meals to a morning coffee run there are many ways to celebrate a collective win.

We at Third Eye Education hope these five steps help you navigate your next big move. I know I’m certainly going to use these tips the next time we plan a collaborative, multi-family vacation.

---

Third Eye Education is a cohort of midwestern educational leaders seeking and sharing insight from educators, districts, & learner-focused communities. 

---

​Heather M. F. Lyke is the Teaching & Learning Specialist for Dover-Eyota Schools and author of numerous articles focusing on quality education. 

---