My Influencer Strategy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the Applied Digital Learning program at Lamar University, I have been given the opportunity to grow, critique, and implement the innovation project that I am implementing in my organization. I have a goal of implementing my innovation project into my entire grade level and eventually other grade levels and subjects. My innovation plan is centered around Project Based Learning to give students a choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning opportunities.  This will create a significant learning environment that will provide our students with opportunities that will develop their 21st-century skills. Project-based learning allows learners to practice real-world problems and present their learning in an innovative manner.   

In one of my courses, Leading Organizational Change, we have recently read the book titled, Influencer: The New Science of Leading Change (Grenny et al., 2013). This book teaches leaders how to create change by tweaking human behaviors. This book has truly helped me see how to create a change in my organization and proves that change can be made if you are able to identify some vital behaviors that are needed for the change to occur. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to make a change within their organization or in the world period. Below you will find my own Influencer Strategy. To begin, I start with the goal/result and move on to the vital behaviors. Followed by how I will measure the results and look into what influences the vital behaviors such as crucial moments, gaining insight from positive deviants, and spotting culture busters. Lastly, my strategy identifies my organizational influencers.

Goal/Result: 

My goal is to pilot my grade level into using the Project-Based Learning model to create a significant learning environment that will allow students to develop problem-solving skills and provide them with true authentic learning. 

Vital Behaviors:
 

Teachers will create at least one project-based learning lesson and provide students with a significant learning environment during each quarter. 
 

Teachers who are experienced and knowledgeable of the PBL model will provide mentoring, twice a month, to 1-2 other teachers who are less experienced with the PBL model.

Measurements: 

Informal observations will be provided by mentor teachers and admin to assess the engagement and learning environment when the PBL lessons and the significant learning environment are implemented.
 

Teachers will assess student progress through feedback from students and their scores on exit tickets when the lesson is complete. 

Influences of Vital Behaviors

Notice the Obvious
When looking to create a change within your environment you must appeal to the heart as well. This means that you must get others that you wish to change to actually desire the change, which is pretty obvious. By doing this it will allow for less resistance and more follow through. If people do not like something then they are not going to do it. To do this I am going to eliminate time barriers that may otherwise provide teachers with reluctance to join in. I am going to help eliminate these barriers by helping teachers determine a project that will allow for easy implementation with not a lot of time to be put together by the teacher. This will allow the teacher to spend less time thinking of a project that may otherwise be a burden placed on their already hectic schedule. I will also showcase the positive influence that PBL has had on my own students as well as research on overall student scores from others who have implemented PBL in their organizations. This will appeal to the hearts of the teachers because the ultimate goal of educators is for their students to be successful. 

Look for Crucial Moments
In our weekly PLC’s we often have meaningful discussions about the barriers and struggles we are being faced with in the classroom. Our admin team and other key influencers are in these meetings as well. This is a perfect time to use my key and opinion influencers to help further guide my colleagues in my innovation plan. These influencers can suggest ways to eliminate barriers and struggles while focusing on how using the PBL model can and will allow students a creative and authentic learning environment. Most of the time at least one of the teacher's struggles has to do with student engagement and behavior. The influencers can provide an explanation to teachers that if the PBL model is implemented correctly, it will cut down on negative student behavior and increase student engagement because the student is too involved in their project and learning to get bored and defiant. 

Learn from the Positive Deviants
Collaboration is key when it comes to creating change. It is important to find and learn from others who have already implemented the change and execute it flawlessly. So much can be learned from their insight and mentorship. I will find a colleague who has the same dynamics and pressures as myself but has implemented the PBL model in their classroom with great results. This person does not necessarily have to be in my school. It can be someone in professional learning groups and communities focused on the PBL model. I have recently joined many groups with this focus and have made many connections with people who have more insights than I do because they have already made this change in their organization. 

Spot Culture Busters
Culture can be negatively influenced very easily. “Culture so quietly and invisibly surrounds us that we often don’t recognize its unique norms, practices, and unwritten rules” (Grenny et al., 2013, p. 59). It is essential to find opportunities to apply culture busters. These busters will improve the climate by creating new and effective norms to replace the old, ineffective practices that provide a negative impact. One area that could use a culture buster in my organization is mindset. It is easy for teachers to talk the talk of the growth mindset, but to actually be effective and make a difference we must also walk the walk. When speaking with other colleagues and students I will use the growth mindset in conversation and respectfully recommend to others ways that they can take their fixed mindset to a growth mindset. This will greatly impact our school culture by uplifting and encouraging others to have a growth mindset as well. In other words, this will take the culture from being negative and draining at times to positive and inspiring. 

My Organizational Influencers
Organizational influencers have the ability to make or break your plan. I am blessed to have uplifting and inspiring influencers who strive to provide our students with opportunities to be the best they can be. 
My influencers are:

• Principal

• Assistant Principal

• Head of Math Department

• Math Coach

• Science Coach

• Team Leads

• ELAR Coach

• Counselor

• Sped Department

• Parents

I know that if we meticulously implement the six sources of influence in my school, we will see the positive impact it will have on our organization and most importantly our students. These sources of influence have the ability to create the impact that all schools desire to achieve. 

​

​

References:
Grenny, J, Patterson, K, Maxfield, D, McMillan, R, & Switzler, A. (2013). Influencer: The new science of leading change. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.