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Meet the Author
The author of Leading in a Culture of Change, Michael Fullan, is the dean of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto. He is recognized as an international authority on educational reform and is involved in training, consulting, and evaluating change projects around the world. Along with this book, he authored The Changes Forces trilogy, and The New Meaning of Educational Change. He wrote Leading in a Culture of Change to outline the critical skills that leaders in areas such as business, education, nonprofit, and the public sector must develop in order to lead effectively in a rapidly changing world.
Summary
Leading in a Culture of Change identifies five core competencies that Fullan suggests are critical for today's leaders. These competencies include moral purpose, understanding change, cultivating relationships, sharing knowledge, and setting a vision and context for creating coherence in organization. Fullan outlines each of these dimensions of leadership in five of the seven chapters in his book and states that leaders will be empowered to deal with complex change if they embrace these principles.
Initially, Fullan explains that leaders in today's rapidly changing culture are met with a powerful dilemma. Leaders must choose between failing to act when the environment is radically changing or making quick decisions under conditions of mania. He suggests that effective leaders must determine when to think and act and at what pace to do so. The preface briefly touches on this dilemma but Fullan quickly transitions into outlining the five competencies which are expounded upon in each chapter.
First, Fullan addresses moral purpose and explains that this competency involves "acting with the intention of making a positive difference in the lives of employees, customers, and society as a whole" (pg. 3). Additionally, moral purpose is described as a commitment to getting better in whatever arena leaders find themselves. Without understanding the moral purpose, employees may find it difficult to rally behind their leader. However, Fullan does point out that moral purpose alone is problematic because "it must contend with reconciling the diverse interests and goals of different groups" (pg. 25).
Next, Fullan moves on to discuss that effective leaders must understand the change process and in doing so must recognize that understanding change is "less about innovation and more about innovativeness" (pg. 31). Additionally, he points out that though change can't necessarily be controlled, leaders must determine the best way to understand, manage, and lead change. Before moving on to the next competency, Fullan explains the implementation dip which involves the almost inevitable dip in performance and confidence that one encounters with an innovation that requires new skills and new understanding. Without understanding the implementation dip, leaders may haphazardly give up before improvements become visible.
I found this particular chapter of the book to be the most interesting as I could easily relate it to my current position. The issues that Fullan discussed can easily be identified and applied when embracing change in a variety of educational settings, particularly when discussing the integration of educational technology and other educational reforms. Personally, I have found that a better understanding of the change process will help reduce the "fear of change" that often resides within schools and causes bumps in the improvement process.
The third competency that Fullan discusses focuses on building relationships. He asserts that though many believe that it's the people that make a difference in building a successful enterprise, the truth is that it's actually the relationships. For example, in a school it's not just enough to have a diverse group of teachers and students but, if a school truly wants to breed successful members of society, they must first build relationships with their students and take into account their personal lives. The most successful teachers are often the ones that take the time to get to know their students and are then able to build a learning environment that is tailored to their specific needs.
Building relationships is closely related to the next dimension that Fullan discusses. According to Fullan, creating and sharing knowledge through relationships is critical to the advancement of any organization and, unfortunately, schools are often ineffective at accomplishing this task. Fullan goes on to explain that in order for businesses to be successful at knowledge building, "effective leaders must understand the value and role of knowledge creation" (pg. 87).
The final competency that Fullan covers is coherence making. He explains that, particularly in education, one of the ways to accomplish this dimension of leadership is through focusing on outcomes. With regards to education, this often pertains to what students are learning and what they are going to be expected to do with the information. Focusing on outcomes helps clarify what is trying to be accomplished and aids schools in producing effective plans of action.
I gave Leading in a Culture of Change by Michael Fullan 4 starts and would recommend it to teachers, administrators, and business professionals who desire to lead and encourage change within their respective communities. It provides a great deal of insight into what effective leadership looks like and how leaders can flourish in a rapidly changing society. Fullan does a good job of supporting his points with evidence from specific cases but, at times, seems to focus more on the business aspect and, as an educator, I found myself losing interest during these shifts. However, I would still recommend this book to educators who are looking for ways to lead their schools in producing positive change, specifically with regards to integrating educational technology. This book is a well written and easy to read but packed with useful information.
Initially, Fullan explains that leaders in today's rapidly changing culture are met with a powerful dilemma. Leaders must choose between failing to act when the environment is radically changing or making quick decisions under conditions of mania. He suggests that effective leaders must determine when to think and act and at what pace to do so. The preface briefly touches on this dilemma but Fullan quickly transitions into outlining the five competencies which are expounded upon in each chapter.
First, Fullan addresses moral purpose and explains that this competency involves "acting with the intention of making a positive difference in the lives of employees, customers, and society as a whole" (pg. 3). Additionally, moral purpose is described as a commitment to getting better in whatever arena leaders find themselves. Without understanding the moral purpose, employees may find it difficult to rally behind their leader. However, Fullan does point out that moral purpose alone is problematic because "it must contend with reconciling the diverse interests and goals of different groups" (pg. 25).
Next, Fullan moves on to discuss that effective leaders must understand the change process and in doing so must recognize that understanding change is "less about innovation and more about innovativeness" (pg. 31). Additionally, he points out that though change can't necessarily be controlled, leaders must determine the best way to understand, manage, and lead change. Before moving on to the next competency, Fullan explains the implementation dip which involves the almost inevitable dip in performance and confidence that one encounters with an innovation that requires new skills and new understanding. Without understanding the implementation dip, leaders may haphazardly give up before improvements become visible.
I found this particular chapter of the book to be the most interesting as I could easily relate it to my current position. The issues that Fullan discussed can easily be identified and applied when embracing change in a variety of educational settings, particularly when discussing the integration of educational technology and other educational reforms. Personally, I have found that a better understanding of the change process will help reduce the "fear of change" that often resides within schools and causes bumps in the improvement process.
The third competency that Fullan discusses focuses on building relationships. He asserts that though many believe that it's the people that make a difference in building a successful enterprise, the truth is that it's actually the relationships. For example, in a school it's not just enough to have a diverse group of teachers and students but, if a school truly wants to breed successful members of society, they must first build relationships with their students and take into account their personal lives. The most successful teachers are often the ones that take the time to get to know their students and are then able to build a learning environment that is tailored to their specific needs.
Building relationships is closely related to the next dimension that Fullan discusses. According to Fullan, creating and sharing knowledge through relationships is critical to the advancement of any organization and, unfortunately, schools are often ineffective at accomplishing this task. Fullan goes on to explain that in order for businesses to be successful at knowledge building, "effective leaders must understand the value and role of knowledge creation" (pg. 87).
The final competency that Fullan covers is coherence making. He explains that, particularly in education, one of the ways to accomplish this dimension of leadership is through focusing on outcomes. With regards to education, this often pertains to what students are learning and what they are going to be expected to do with the information. Focusing on outcomes helps clarify what is trying to be accomplished and aids schools in producing effective plans of action.
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Additional Links
About the Author: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/bb4e/fullan.html
Purchase the Book: http://www.amazon.com/Leading-Culture-Change-Michael-Fullan/dp/0787953954
