Learning From Change

"A good balance between theory and practice . . . it definitely fills a void in the [lack of] texts in the area and the change literature in general . . . a good fit for my graduate class on 'Managing Organizational Change.'" —Anthony F. Buono, McCallum Graduate School of Business, Bentley College "Like Gareth Morgan's Images of Organization, this book is a superb blend of theory and practicality. It demystifies chaos and paradox, and it encourages the understanding of organizational dynamics from multiple perspectives. It is refreshing to read a book that presents diverse theories and interventions so even-handedly." —Andrea Markowitz, Ph.D., President, OB&D, Inc. Learning to Change: A Guide for Organizational Change Agents provides a comprehensive overview of organizational change theories and practices developed by both U.S. and European change theorists. The authors compare and contrast five fundamentally different ways of thinking about change: yellow print thinking, blue print thinking, red print thinking, green print thinking and white print thinking. They also discuss in detail the steps change agents take, such as diagnosis, change strategy, the intervention plan, and interventions. In addition, they explore the attributes of a successful change agent and provide advice for career and professional development. The book includes case studies that describe multiple approaches to organizational change issues. This book will appeal to both the practitioner and academic audiences. It can be used as a text in graduate courses in change management and will also be a useful reference for consultants and managers. Features: Discusses the abilities, attitudes, and styles of successful change agents Describes five fundamentally different ways of thinking about change Presents a state-of-the-art overview of change management insights, methods, and instruments Summarizes an extensive amount of organizational change literature Supplies readers with useful insights and courses of action that will allow them to design and implement change professionally Learning to Change became a bestseller upon its initial publication in the Netherlands. The color-model on change is very popular among thousands of managers and change consultants and presents a new approach to change processes and a new language for change.

The success of school reform measures greatly depends on thesupport and commitment of teachers. This book examines therealities of educational change from the frontline perspective ofreform-minded teachers. It charts the perceptions and experiencesof twenty-nine teachers in grades 7 and 8 from four schooldistricts--showing how they grappled with such initiatives asintegrated curriculum, common learning standards, and alternativemodes of assessment. This book moves beyond the bandwagons of rhetorical change andexamines how these changes work in practice for better and forworse. Authors Andy Hargreaves and Lorna Earl focus on how reformproposals have brought new complexities to teaching practice andwhy major investments of time and support are required if teachinginnovations are to become lasting and effective. Most importantly,they highlight the intense emotional demands that school changeimposes on teachers, and they outline practical strategies forhelping teachers through the difficult transition process--thusensuring that worthwhile reforms flourish and endure.

The three concepts central to this volume—practice, learning and change—have received very different treatments in the educational literature, an oversight directly confronted here. While learning and change have been extensively theorised, their various contexts articulated and analysed, practice is notably underrepresented. Where much of the literature on learning and change takes the notion of ‘practice’ as an unexamined given, its co-location as a term with various classifiers, as in ‘legal practice’ and ‘teaching practice’, render it curiously devoid of semantic force. In this book, ‘practice’ is the super-ordinate organising idea. Drawing on what has been termed the ‘practice turn in contemporary theory’, the work develops a conceptual framework for researching learning in, and on, practice. It challenges received notions of practice, questioning the assumptions, elisions, conflations and silences on the subject. In so doing, it offers fresh insights into learning and change, and how they relate to practice. In tandem with this conceptual work, the book details site-ontological studies of practice and learning in diverse professional and workplace contexts, examining the work of occupations as various as doctors, chefs and orchestral musicians. It demonstrates the value of theorising practice, learning and change, as well as exploring the connections between them amid our evolving social and institutional structures.

The Strategies and Skills Learning and Development (SSLD) system is an action-oriented model for enabling clients in social work, health, mental health, and human services settings to address their needs and life goals. In Learning to Change Lives, author A. Ka Tat Tsang introduces SSLD’s powerful framework and practice, which has been developed based on three decades of experience in psychotherapy, counselling, education, training, consultation, and community service. Learning to Change Lives provides detailed, step-by-step guidelines for SSLD intervention – starting with engagement with the client, assessment, translating problems into intervention plans, systematic learning and development of appropriate strategies and skills. Key practice procedures are described clearly and illustrated by case examples, specific instructions, and sample worksheets. Aimed at clinical practitioners, mental health professionals, social workers, and other human service professionals, this book can be used as a manual by practitioners and as a textbook for courses and training programs.

Learning from Change provides an overview of the common themes and experiences in participatory approaches to monitoring and evaluation across different institutions and sectors. It is a compilation of selected case studies and discussions between practitioners, academics, donors, and policymakers in participatory monitoring and evaluation (PM&E). It explores conceptual, methodological, institutional, and policy issues that need to be addressed to enrich our understanding and practice of PM&E. The book is in three sections. The first provides a general overview of PM&E, synthesizing literature surveys and regional reviews of PM&E practice around the world. The second presents case studies that illustrate the diverse range of settings and contexts in which PM&E is being applied. The third raises the key issues and challenges arising from the case studies and discussions, and proposes areas for future research and action. Learning from Change will be an important reference for development professionals worldwide as well as for anyone interested in the process of participatory development, including researchers, academics, fieldworkers, development practitioners, and policymakers.

We live in a challenging, complex, inter-connected and unpredictable world beset by a range of seemingly insoluble problems. But, says Michael Fullan—an internationally acclaimed authority on organizational change—we have an increasing understanding of how to tackle complex change. This involves developing a new kind of leader: one who recognizes what is needed to bring about deep and lasting changes in living systems at all levels. These leaders need a deep understanding of what motivates us as human beings and how we tap into and influence other people's self-motivation. In his previous best-selling books The Six Secrets of Change, Leading in a Culture of Change, and Turnaround Leadership, Michael Fullan examined the concepts and processes of change. In Change Leader he turns his focus to the core practices of leadership that are so vital for leading in today's complex world. He reveals seven core practices for today's leaders, all of which appear to be deceptively simple but actually get to the essence of what differentiates a powerful leader from one who is merely competent: Practice Drives Theory Be Resolute Motivate the Masses Collaborate to Compete Learn Confidently Know Your Impact Sustain Simplexity Throughout the book Fullan argues that powerful leaders have built bedrocks of credibility, have learned how to identify the few things that matter most, and know how to leverage their skills in ways that benefit their entire organization. The author shows leaders how to avoid policies and strategies that focus on shallow and short-term goals and develop leadership skills for long-term success. With a wealth of illustrative examples from business, education, nonprofit, and government sectors Change Leader provides a much-needed leadership guide for today's turbulent climate.

This book offers a step by step guide for those seeking to undertake a transformational change process based on strong collaboration among diverse interests. Guiding transformational change goes beyond small changes to an existing system. It leads to lasting change in the system itself.