“Change can be beautiful when we are brave enough to evolve with it, and change can be brutal when we fearfully resist.” Bryant McGill. As the school year approaches and we are beginning to plan for the unprecedented changes to our school year, I feel like there is no better time to incorporate blended learning into our curriculum than now. I am extremely excited to propose my innovation plan to my colleagues and get their input. Though I feel many of my colleagues will be on board and in favor of this plan, I am sure that I will encounter some individuals who are opposed to or are resistant to change. Especially with the many restrictions, we will be facing this year. Therefore, it is important that I prepare accordingly and include my “Why Statement”, use the Influencer Strategy, 4DX Strategy Plan, and use the Crucial Conversation Methodology when presenting this to my colleagues. 

 

One thing that will help persuade my colleagues to join this initiative is why this is so important and necessary and how it will make a difference, not only for the teachers but for the students as well. When planning to make a significant, long-lasting change within an organization, it is imperative to provide stakeholders with a way to connect to the why, or the root cause, of the change. My “why statement” allows me to state my purpose for this change. Although it is important for stakeholders to understand the process of change, it is more important that they feel the necessity for the change. I want to implement change in our school that will allow our students to have ownership, choice, voice, and authenticity of their learning. By explaining the purpose, my colleagues will have a firm understanding of my true intentions, beliefs, and goals and will see that I have put a great deal of thought into the success of this plan. 

 

After establishing my reasons for bringing blended learning into the Health and Physical Education (HPE) curriculum, I need to motivate and ensure that my colleagues have the skills necessary to tackle such a large endeavor. I will use the Influencer strategy to plan for the Six Sources of Influence that affect organizational change. This strategy focuses on a core goal and then influences measurable results, vital behaviors, and social influencers to ensure success. It separates influence into six main categories: personal motivation, personal ability, social motivation, social ability, structural motivation, and structural ability.  By separating these six categories, we are able to see how people are motivated with each aspect, and also identify skills that are needed to accomplish our goal of implementing blended learning into our HPE curriculum. 

 

The Influencer Model and the 4DX Model have quite a few similarities and differences. Both strategies complement one another because they focus on successfully developing and achieving a goal through multiple steps or pathways. While the influencer model utilizes two or three vital behaviors and the implementation of six different strategies to evoke change, the 4DX model simply encourages the use of just one to two goals and then collects information based around lag and lead measures. The 4DX Model also focuses on solutions for managing the Whirlwind of everyday life while still completing Wildly Important Goals (WIG). The most crucial piece of information that I took from this strategy is that people have other responsibilities in their lives, so it’s important to keep them engaged and motivated to make this initiative successful. By holding weekly WIG meetings, making sure the scoreboard is up to date and visible, and making sure that the teachers are involved in holding each other accountable this innovation plan can become a success. 

 

While the Influencer Model and 4DX model help plan for how to keep people motivated and prepared for change, it is also necessary to plan and prepare for Crucial Conversations that may arise throughout this process. It is highly likely that there will be some push-back from my colleagues on this change, so I need to have a plan for how to deal with the emotions and fears of others and their differing opinions. These challenging conversations can often slow down the process of implementing your innovation plan so it is important to be able to identify when a crucial conversation is happening. By being clear, stating your path, and listening to others’ input, the conversation can end on a positive note and can bring a plan to life. 

 

In order to make my innovation plan a success, I will need to incorporate all of these strategies. Used together, these strategies will help me gain the support and motivation from my colleagues that are needed in order to bring this plan into action. By stating clear goals and a plan for the opposition, people will hopefully be more willing to adapt. When we fear change, we can never grow and see the beauty that it has to offer.