It is amazing to be part of a community that grows and innovates over time. Working at various schools, I have been grateful to have the privilege in working at both public and private schools, ranging in sizes and age - large school district to small emerging schools well under under 300 students.
What is common with all of them is no matter what size, type, or age, they all experience similar challenges when they innovate, especially from a technology perspective. These specific challenges occur when the school reaches a point when the processes and technology can be integrated, typically describe as the "Third Technological Wave" (Unlocking Energy Innovation: A Framework for Action, 2012; Strategy & Information Technology, 2021)
At some point, those charged with the task realize they do not have the necessary resources or the skills to innovate. Things become challenging and then onerous. At this point, those involved receive additional training and then try again but they also realize the old way is more comfortable. Often when this happens, things slow down and start to falter.
What happens next?
Those executing the change reports back that there are issues, unexplained glitches, and that it is not working as envisioned. With that, A sense of urgency develops from leadership...
With the right intensions, leadership starts to look at other areas of the organization that maybe be able to help. This is when things start to blur, the accountability and ownership of those originally responsible shift to those who are good with solving problems and technology; often it is the technology department but can also be teachers or other departments. The envisioned innovation moves forward with the new people involved and failure was avoided. However, a new challenge has emerged. The ownership is now no longer with the original department and the capacity of those who are now assigned to the task have increased. The organization now has two groups, one department with lack of growth and under capacity and another department with an increased track record of solving problems with diminished capacity. How does an organization continue to grow and continue to move forward this way?
I get it. If no one stepped in, things would likely inviably fail. At least the first time. But is that a bad thing?
One thing I learned as a leader, teacher, and a parent, that failure is okay as long as it is not catastrophic. As an educator failure is part of the learning process. Executive functioning is also an outcome in the learning process. Failure invigorates conversation and when framed properly, leads to recognizing the need to grow, seeking resources, and increased ownership (including accountability). This is where people develop and learn - and eventually become talented and build expertise in what they do (Digital Transformation Is About Talent, Not Technology, 2020).
The stakeholders and vested leaders will also recognize that failure is okay if allowed, especially when it involves a paradigm shift that involves new skills and innovations. With the right resources, time, planning, and the option to fail - Leadership at all levels will realize it is part of the change process. "It’s really quite simple: the most brilliant innovation is irrelevant if we are not skilled enough to use it, and even the most impressive human minds will become less useful if they don’t team up with tech." (Digital Transformation Is About Talent, Not Technology, 2020) In terms of organizational structure, the aim is to build efficacy and enable ownership within all departments, not for one department to take take over - this way all boats (departments) rise with the tide (innovation).
So when your school innovates, with new ways to go paperless, customize student offerings, implement prefilled forms, enhance digital communications, etc. make failure as part of the process and have a conversation at the leadership level (Evans, 2013).
Comments
Post a Comment