Enhancing College Mathematics Teaching Through Effective Change Management Strategies

1. And Now for Something Completely Different --Change in (Academic) OrganizationsCOL Steve Horton - USMA Improving College Mathematics Teaching Through Faculty Development14 June 2012

2. Some Mathematics • Let X be the set of all experts on Organizational Change • Let Y be the set of all people who can be persuaded to talk about Organizational Change • Theorem:  y  Y such that y  X. • Proof:

3. Outline • Introduction • Preparing for Change • Introducing Change • Communicating Change • Implementing Change

5. Outline • Introduction • Preparing for Change • Introducing Change • Communicating Change • Implementing Change

6. Preparing for Change: Why does Change Fail? • Allow too much complacency/no sense of urgency • Fail to create strong guiding coalition • No clear vision • Undercommunicate the vision • Permit obstacles to block the new vision • Fail to create short-term wins • Declare victory too soon • Changes not anchored in culture • Employee resistance • Lack of leadership support • Limiting organizational policies

7. Outline • Introduction • Preparing for Change • Introducing Change • Communicating Change • Implementing Change

8. Introducing Change: What Should I Do? • Increase urgency • Overcome inertia • Aura of prosperity • Lack of data • Low standards • Build a guiding team • Get the vision right • Communicate for buy-in (≠ “sell”) • Empower action • Create short-term wins • Don’t let up (don’t declare victory too soon) • Weave change in to culture (to make it stick)

9. Outline • Introduction • Preparing for Change • Introducing Change • Communicating Change • Implementing Change

10. Communicating Change • Explain the change • Communicate message often – over and over • Be empathetic • Exhibit passion and intensity • “Walk the Talk” – people at the top need to adhere to the change themselves

11. Outline • Introduction • Preparing for Change • Introducing Change • Communicating Change • Implementing Change

12. Implementing Change (traditional, linear model) • Replace inertia with imperatives • Communicate the change • Actively remove obstacles • Aim for early success • Sustain momentum

13. Implementing Change: Recess (nonlinear model) • Let’s take a field trip to the local Elementary School. • You’re in charge of recess; you’ve got 3 minutes; what’s your plan to lead recess? • Imagine recess at the elementary school. . .The bell rings! What do you see? • Wait 5 minutes; now what do you see? • Could you have predicted exactly . . . ? • How do you Evaluate Recess? • What’s the leader/teacher doing? • Which plan? (yours or theirs?) • Why does it work? Simply hands-off? Or. . .

14. The Recess Model • A few simple rules… • Some initial conditions… • Details are very unpredictable, but… • Order emerges from the chaos

15. How is Change Harder/Easieror Different in your Environment?

16. How do I approach my Department Chair/Dean about my ideas for change? • Be positive • Have a plan • Catch him/her in a good mood • Be passionate about your ideas, but not emotionally attached to them!

17. Thanks Scott Snook – Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.

18. Q.E.D. █