Beyond School Improvement by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1077634
Publisher: Corwin Press
Published: 2010-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Explorers scan the horizon for the next great adventure—not for signs of impending doom. Embracing dissonance means perceiving discordant information as an unexpected ally in the search for the nugget that refines into gold. Those that embrace dissonance ask questions like, “What can this reveal?” “Where can this take us?” “How can this help us clarify where we stand with our mission?” Keep in mind that you are looking for the nugget. Embracing dissonance means to notice all of it in your peripheral vision—know it is there and then by referencing it against your purpose, beliefs, and vision filtering out the vast majority that does not cause some flutter, stirring, or perturbation when referenced. Filter until that special discord is found—the one that leads to reflection and transformation. You are seeking the bit of dissonance that keeps resonating as people determine what it means. It grows stronger, creating greater coherence the more people interact with it.

Think back to Randy’s story in Chapter 3. As with every teacher and principal, there were all kinds of discordant information present at that time. There were district initiatives being implemented. There were difficult behaviors to deal with. There were state and national calls for change. There was a movement in the community for homeschooling among certain parents. There were other students with learning issues. There were contract concerns and changes in leadership at the top of the organization. All of the discord was in their peripheral vision. Yet with all of that discord, something in Randy’s eyes resonated for the teacher and for her principal. That was the nugget to refine into gold.

Leaders who have learned to embrace dissonance have done so as a natural byproduct of a set of beliefs about change and how it occurs. They understand that change is about reordering and that transformative change is messy—it involves breaking down and letting go of old patterns so that new ones can emerge. They may not relish the messes, but they know that messes are an essential precursor to developing higher capacity. We have found that those leaders who are leading for innovation, do not just merely value dissonance and its role in change, they consciously choose to be disturbed, which is the first attribute of innovation. These leaders perceive that one of their main responsibilities is to disturb the status quo of the organization through creative tension. To them being comfortable with the status quo is a dangerous state. Creative tension comes from continually questioning, where are we headed? Where have we been? Where are we now? How are we going to get there?

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