Introduction
Change usually requires a leader, for without someone to lead that change, change won’t happen. People tend to be creatures of habit, and become comfortable with routine. Why wouldn’t they? It’s comfortable and predictable. But sometimes, processes are antiquated and therefore become ineffective and change is required. If change were so easy, than people would do it the moment a new effective way of doing things appeared. It is because it is not easy that it requires a leader with vision and tenacity to help make the change happen. Sheninger and Yong (2014), discuss six elements that help drive change.
Connectedness Matters
Before change can happen, the leader must educate himself on why the change needs to take place and how. He does this by connecting himself to a greater community then just the one he exists in. For example I work within the 29th attack squadron, but I also work with peers in the 6th and 9th attack squadron. By staying connected with them, we can collaborate and share ideas on common problems which in turn prevents duplicate work and produce a more effective organization. And leaders don’t have to restrict themselves to face-to-face connections anymore. With the internet and the plethora of tools available, anyone can connect themselves and learn and collaborate with people in any number of languages from any number of countries. This helps the leader find solutions to his problems, or help affect the change he desires.
Vision
It has been said that necessity is the mother of invention. When a leader identifies a problem, or at the very least identifies an area that can be improved, he should then develop a concrete vision of how and why that change should take place. A concrete, specific vision that answers how and why and is well communicated is much more likely to affect change.
Value
Vision is not enough however. People must see the value of the change the leader is trying to affect. With that said, a well communicated vision should also help people see the value of that change. The simplest way to show value is to capture data. In this way, data adds to the value of any endeavor. This data capture usually is part of some research project, but never the less, this data capture provides proof that the change is needed. Educational technology, despite its advantages, was growing relatively slowly, and part of that is because people involved with education have not seen the value in it for some time. Now that there are research backed strategies that have captured the qualitative and quantitative data that shows the benefits, educational technology is growing rapidly.
Support
Once a vision has been established, that vision must be supported. For example, in the squadron where I work, the commander is trying to change the culture of the squadron to be more tactically minded. He sees the squadron as a place where students come and study alongside instructors, where students collaborate with each other, and support each other through their several events. This vision has been somewhat difficult to establish because some of the support required to maintain and achieve that vision is missing. There is no commercial wifi in our building which motivates students to study elsewhere where they can stay connected. Some of our study materials are out of date and are therefore useless. With that said, these problems have been identified, and technology is the answer. Soon we will be getting commercial wifi that not only encourages students to spend their time where they should, but this access allows us to provide all study materials wirelessly throughout the building, circumventing the need to keep paper publications up-to-date.
Professional Development
Any change requires a culture shift in the work place, and this culture shift will require developing people in the work place to meet the demands of said change. If technology is changing, then people should be learning how to utilize new technology. If a new process is pushed, then people must learn how to work with the new process. Sheninger and Yong (2014) state that professional development must exist if change is to occur. It requires investing in the people that will support the leader’s vision, and giving them the support they need to execute the new plan. Developing people also adds to their credibility as instructors and helps them connect more meaningfully with students, at least in my experience as a flight instructor.
Embracement
All the previous elements discussed should lead to embracement. From my standpoint as a leader in the Air Force, when people finally embrace an idea from the leader and his vision, then change has taken root. The culture has shifted and progress can now be made. In this sense, the people are no longer supporting the leader’s vision and following his policies, but they are now sharing in his vision and are co-collaborators in achieving that vision. They have been empowered through professional development and are no longer considered followers, but share in the success in the leader and themselves are leaders in pushing this vision. The key word here is that they share in the leaders vision. That vision becomes theirs.
References
Sheninger, E. C., & Yong Z. (2014). Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times. Thousand Oaks, CA:Corwin C
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