CASE STUDIES
Managing Conflict in a School-Wide Change Effort
THE CHALLENGE
How could we help a school principal build buy in for a change after he had offended many teachers and half the school was looking for a new job?
THE STORY
After meeting to fully understand the issues, we designed a 90-minute meeting during which the principal first apologized for some of his unskillful presentation of the change, and then clarified aspects of the change that were unclear buy negotiable. The staff then formed groups (without the principal) to brainstorm and prioritized what they would need from a process to move forward with the change. Suggestions (such as a longer time frame for implementation) were then prioritized and passed onto a change leadership team that had been nominated at the meeting.
THE OUTCOME
"Thank you so much for facilitating our staff meeting. It seems as though you have gotten us over a hump so that at least we are now moving forward and are no longer stuck. I appreciate the thoroughness with which you approached our situation. I'm sure we will use you again next school year!"
Steve Crofter
Academy School
