CLASSMATE 1
Personally speaking, I think this course has been composed of many valuable lessons for me to take away. Being 21 years old, I find myself still growing with each educational and work-related experience. I’ve always been someone who has steered clear of change and avoided it at all costs, mostly out of fear of change. However, with my education and work-related experiences thus far, I’ve found myself to have grown immensely from the many changes I’ve endured over the past few years in particular. I’ve found that I flourish when changes occur and am able to adapt quickly. This wasn’t always the case, but I think as I’ve learned to adapt to change, I’ve grown to expect it and embrace it rather than avoid it. Moving 1000 miles away from home to attend college, and deciding to stay here afterward was a no-brainer for me, but four years ago, I never would have dreamt that this is my reality now. My personal experiences relating to education and work changes have taught me that it requires a great deal of courage.
Though I’m relatively new to my workplace, I’ve never shied away from suggesting changes when I feel as though they are necessary. This is something that I think the personal changes I have endured taught me to do. I’ve made several suggestions relating to our admissions processes and basic information processing systems that have already gone into effect. One of the larger changes that I am in the midst of was a proposal I drafted and presented to the Dean of the college regarding the restructuring of certain positions. She took my advice and we have been working together to implement these changes. Now, most would look at the title of my position as Administrative Assistant and believe that it is not at the level of making these large-scale connections. However, the Dean has made me feel heard and valued enough to be confident in voicing these suggestions, and that is something I will take away and use when I become a more recognized leader in the workplace. By making all employees feel valued and heard, positive changes can be implemented to a much further degree.
CLASSMATE 2
I personally feel this course has helped me refine my role as a leader and how to best approach leading change. The most meaningful concept for me was the Knowing Yourself and Others assignment. According to the Foursight Preferences assessment, I have no strong preference although “implementor” is the highest score. Puccio et al., (2011) defines a person with this preference as one who is action-oriented and likes closure and their ideas move quickly from conceptualization to implementation without necessarily taking the time to process the details. In a nutshell, what this means to me is, as much as the group process can irk me, I feel it is invaluable to include people who have different preferences on the team in order to identify issues and have the best possible outcome for all stakeholders.
Another important concept for me in this course was implementing change. Identifying the need for and implementing change is difficult endeavor for the best of organizations. The six stages Heathfield (2020) is an important element to consider as is continuously evaluating the impact of the change. The six stages along with the suggestions made by the other authors researched for the essay provided me with insight as to how to begin the process to implement the district directives. As a leader and change agent in my building, I need to make sure to provide time and training for teacher to learn and become proficient themselves at whatever the district is requiring us to do.
References
Heathfield, S. M. (2020). 6 change management stages: A management checklist to guide your efforts in managing change. Retrieved December 1, 2022, from https://www.thebalance.com/know-the-stages-in-change-management-1917802Links to an external site.
Puccio, G., Mance, M., & Murdock, M. (2011). Creative leadership: Skills that drive change. SAGE.
