This article outlines three basic steps for establishing an effective framework for leading change based on Michael Fullan's eight lessons of change: 1) Establish a clear understanding of the need for change to create buy-in, 2) Ensure goals and timelines are set to provide direction and build confidence, and 3) Build a collaborative team with diverse skills and resolve to drive systemic change. The article emphasizes the importance of research, vision, patience, empowerment, and addressing problems to successfully transition schools from 20th to 21st century models.

1. Directional Leadership:
Three Basic Lessons for Establishing a Framework
Alex Torrez
PhD Student in Educational Leadership
The Whitlowe R. Green College of Education
Prairie View A&M University
Prairie View, Texas
Assistant Superintendent
Clear Creek Independent School District
Houston, Texas
William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
Professor and Faculty Mentor
PhD Program in Educational Leadership
The Whitlowe R. Green College of Education
Prairie View A&M University
Member of the Texas A&M University System
Prairie View, Texas
Visiting Lecturer (2005)
Oxford Round Table
University of Oxford, Oxford, England
Distinguished Alumnus (2004)
College of Education and Professional Studies
Central Washington University
ABSTRACT
This article defines three crucial steps to maximize the success of transforming schools
from the 20th
century to the 21st
century model required for students to compete in a
global economy. Michael Fullen’s eight basic lessons are presented as the model for
establishing the framework for transformation. Establishing a clear understanding of the
need for change, ensuring the team has a time line and goals providing confidence in the
leader, and the building of a team that has the skills and resolve necessary for systemic
change are the principles outlined in this article.
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2. Introduction
Educators continue to focus on transitioning high schools in an effort to address
the concerns that students lack and may even be in a decline in preparedness required to
compete in the 21st
century global economy. Wick (2007) states, “The world is changing
faster and in more ways than any of us could have imagined even a few years ago. This is
the world our children inherit, yet our public schools have been among the slowest
institutions to change” (p. 1).
The Purpose of this Article
The purpose of this article is to assist schools in recognizing the importance of
researching and selecting the best framework for change. To ensure the successful
initiation of transition from the 20th
century to the 21st
century model leaders must not
overlook the importance of research and planning. In addition, providing the right
conditions such as a change platform and clear timelines and goals are at the center of a
collaborative team. School leaders who lack in the preparation and research required for
change are likely to experience slow and inconsistent results.
Establishing Step for Change
Leaders who are attempting to change the trajectory of our present educational
system must find the right framework for their organization to establish the foundation of
change. Fullen (1993:21-22) provides eight basic lessons that can be taken into account
as leaders establish the foundation for educational change.
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3. Lesson One: You cannot mandate what matters. The more complex the change the less
you can force it.
Lesson Two: Change is a journey, not a blueprint. Change is non-linear, loaded with
uncertainty and excitement and sometimes perverse.
Lesson Three: Problems are our friends. Problems are inevitable and you cannot learn
without them.
Lesson Four: Vision and strategic planning come later. Premature visions and planning
blind.
Lesson Five: Individualism and collectivism must have equal power. There are no one-
sided solutions to isolation and group thinking.
Lesson Six: Neither centralization nor decentralization works.
Lesson Seven: Connection with the wider environment is critical for success. The best
organizations learn externally as well as internally.
Lesson Eight: Every person is a change agent. Change is too important to leave to the
experts. Personal mind set and mastery is the ultimate protection.
Using these eight lessons educational leaders should embark on the following process of
reflection for establishing the primary steps to change.
Creating the Right Platform for Change
Fullen states that what matters cannot be mandated or forced. Most successful
leaders would agree that attempting change without establishing the need and process can
create a long and difficult implementation of the initiative. In addition most leaders
would agree that the leadership of a school or district must be committed to
transformation and have the resolve required to accomplish the task. Potter (1996)
explains, “A majority of employees, perhaps 75 percent of management overall, and
virtually all of the top executives need to believe that considerable change is absolutely
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4. essential” (p. 48). Fullen supports this idea stating that “every person is a change agent”
and that everyone’s ideas are important to success.
Time and Direction
When it comes to change a leader should remember to apply the virtue of
patience. Fullen describes it as a journey filled with uncertainty and excitement. But as in
any journey all travelers must have a destination that includes milestones and timelines
for arrival or completion. Without such steps leaders will drift without direction and
followers will loose confidence in the process being implemented. Bell’s (2009)
perspective is, “Goals guide your daily activities: they serve as milestones that help you
know your moving in the right direction” (p.27). Successful leaders are successful
because they have the ability not only to plan and sell a plan but move the plan forward
by keeping their eye on the outcome desired.
Building the Right Team
All great leaders surround themselves with a sound staff that in turn makes for a
great team. Team members who are authentic, unselfish, and have the ability to see
solutions and problems from different points of view are needed to move an organization
forward. Fullen describes this as an organization that understands, “There are no one-
sided solutions to isolation and group thinking”. Team members who are free to express
their thoughts and feel empowered to act on behalf of the organization’s goals are
powerful assets. Blanchard states, “Empowerment means letting people bring their brains
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5. to work and allowing them to use their knowledge, experience, and motivation to create a
healthy triple bottom line” (p.57).
Concluding Remarks
How leaders create and sustain change so that it endures time has always been a
major challenge. Educators like most organizational leaders have found that change of
any type is difficult, and that the systemic change required to progress the educational
system from the 20th to the 21st century will require a strong process with the right
framework. As educational leaders continue to explore and understand the process of
change it is important that they continue to research new organizational transformation
philosophies and ideas to guarantee the best first step in the journey.
References
Bell, G. (2009). Water the Bamboo: Unleashing the Potential of Teams
and Individuals, Portland, OR: Three Star Publishing.
Blanchard, K. (2009). Leading At a Higher Level: Blanchard on
Leadership and Creating High Performing Organizations. New Jersey: BMC
Blanchard Management Corporation Publishing as FT Press.
Fullen, M.G. (1993). Change Forces: Probing the Depths of Educational
Reform, London: The Falmer Press.
Potter, J.P. (1996). Leading Change: Boston Massachusetts: Harvard Business School
Press.
Wick, C. (2007). Most likely to succeed: Real-life stories of progress in five redesigned
urban high schools: Every student deserves a legacy. Retrieved November 15,
2009, from Knowledge Works Foundation Web site:
http://www.kwfdn.org/resource_library/_resources/Legacy2007SmallSchools.pdf
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