Leading Change in Theory Reflective essay

Reflective writing is a strategy where we as students recollect what we have learnt and the process we have undertaken in learning and use this to reflect on how we have educated ourselves. We describe our experiences in the process of learning along with bringing out the emotions we felt at the particular time, also we may consolidate prior knowledge along with the present in order to fully understand and grasp the experience. Reflective writing allows us to understand the entire process of learning.
My group formerly consisted of six members and finally ended up with only three, this was due to one member dropping out of this module and another two being unable to work with the final group as they felt our language and intellect wasn’t up to the mark. This made me feel extremely let down and somewhat anxious as to how we would function as a group of only three individuals; however our progress greatly improved since we were a smaller and more cohesive group. Our group had a more democratic form of leadership and we shared a sense of collective identity which greatly benefited us in completing our task. Our group values focused greatly on openness, respect, contribution and happiness. Each member contributed almost equally to the overall process and the all three of us were willing to listen and understand each other’s opinions. We divided the work amongst ourselves and decided we would complete it and share it with each other through social media or meetings. I felt relieved and happy at the same time as in my previous experiences of group work I was entrusted with most of the groups work.
Our group aim as part of the model of change is to reduce the quantity of alcohol consumed by the students at the university as our primary targets along with aiming the model towards citizens of Devon. This was a topic each of us were particularly interested in as it was something that would affect us as well, this made us highly motivated in accomplishing our task. Our task was to create a portfolio of what we intend to do in order to make the change we desire a reality. I was given the job of collecting information and organizing a community visit, we had relatively less time due to which we had to get things done doubly fast. We can look at the process of the development of the group towards the stage of fully formed. In the initial few lectures we were confused about our task and uncertain about completing it to an acceptable level however as we worked together and began to understand each other we were quickly able to move on and become a mature group. This can be viewed through Tuckman and Jensen’s theory on group development; beginning with forming followed by storming, norming, performing and adjourning. We went through the stage of forming twice I would say as there was a change of group members, I felt that this was a great waste of time and it could have been saved if we sorted out disagreements and established trust. I became aware of the backgrounds of both my group members and so did they; we were able to establish a basic understanding of each other. The group ended up going through the various stages rather fast due to time constraints. We also went through the process of storming twice, the first time as a group of six members and the second time as a group of three. The first time was during our first lecture and the second was in our third or fourth lecture. There were several disagreements in the first time as certain members felt that they could perpetuate control within the group, they decided the topic and aims without consulting other members due to which we were exhibiting resistance characterized by silence and not contributing to the group. When the two members who were dominating wouldn’t listen to our arguments or thoughts we felt let down and left out of the group, however the second time when we were at this stage we were able to think of good ideas and successfully communicated these to other members of the group who were willing to listen and evaluate our arguments. There was a feeling of unity at this stage as well and we felt part of something. The next stage of norming, we decided the work each member would do and each member fulfilled his work however not always on time. Due to high motivation and time constraints we finished our work rather quickly and effectively. The next stage of performing was one where we were able to finish our initial work and compile it altogether, at this stage we clearly defined each of our roles and got about to doing it. We finished the task earlier than our deadline and as per our own prescribed schedule. This made all of us feel extremely satisfied with our efforts. I felt that we had completed our tasks in a systematic manner with almost no conflict and as a cohesive group.
John Kotter’s eight step change model is one theoretical concept which can be used in leading change; it begins with creating a sense of urgency. As a group our teacher reminded us of the time frame and the requirement which made us feel under pressure and motivated to start with our task. In this stage when related to our group, we began by evaluating several social changes we could use as our topic and discussing the advantages and disadvantages of each and also seeking an opinion about our final topic from our lecturer. The second step was to create a powerful coalition, in the sense of our group this was done by the lecturer by placing us in groups, this was actually done before the first step by our lecturer who placed us into groups randomly. At this point I felt quite demotivated and scared as I had to work with people who I have never worked with before and not known. There was also a feeling a excitement to know what was in store for me. The third step is creating a vision we did this by discussing amongst ourselves the final topic and the way in which we could go about creating it, our aim was to reduce the consumption of alcohol amongst individuals we did this by creating a short movie about our personal experience and the harms of it so that it would not only be interesting for the target community but also educational. The fourth step was to communicate the vision to others; this task was carried out through the use of a presentation within our class aimed at fellow students. This way of communication was prescribed by the module. The following step was to create short term wins, we as a group felt a sense of victory at every part of task completion such as completion of community visit. The seventh step was to create the change, since our topic was only theoretical in nature we did not complete this step or the next which aims to cement the change. I feel the most important part of this model are the initial few stages in which an idea for change is recognized and the methods to implement it are developed, this is the basic foundation which if not strong will lead ultimately to failure.
Several skills are of key importance in leading change; these are detrimental to the success of the plan. These maybe honesty, confidence, self awareness, flexibility, visionary, innovativeness, ability to involve others and being decisive. Self awareness is one of the most important as it enables the individual to overcome obstacles, understand the environment and be the initiator and also maintain consistency. Honesty is also one of the key attributes that society looks for. We can develop these skills through several methods such as attending seminars and workshops although some of these skills are inherent in a person so we must make an attempt to select group members accordingly.
Childtrust India is a run by a group of individuals who work towards the education of underprivileged children in India so as to uplift them from their state of poverty. They have a clearly defined set of aims and objectives and is run by individuals of strong character who have the right skills such as honesty and self-awareness. They communicate their vision through advertisements and other form of media in the form of short messages which are effective since they convey their message in a positive manner. Our community visit was to Torbay where we visited a drug rehabilitation clinic. We received significant amount of information here, this visit made us understand that imbibing change in a society is a difficult process and is faced with many obstacles. The problem of alcohol dependant individuals is a very hard one to solve as there is a severe lack of medical facilities and also it is difficult to make individuals aware and accept the fact that they are dependent on alcohol. Often the message communicated is not interpreted in the manner it is intended. I expected the visit to be informational and to be a minor success as part of our task however the visit was quite depressing and it took a lot of following up even after the visit to get the required information. Arranging the community visit in the first place was a difficult task which began with finding out about institutions in the area which is match our criteria and then short listing and deciding on which one to target followed by communicating with them to avail an appointment which was the most difficult part of the process as such institutions have no motivations to meet student groups like us. We also approached a member of the student guild in the university who gave us a time and date for our appointment however did not show up at the venue. This visit made me aware that leading change is not a short lived process it requires tremendous amount of hard work coupled with perseverance to ensure that the vision is achieved. It’s also a long and time consuming process and often takes up the most part of people’s lives. I had to complete the community visit alone as it was designated to me; this visit made me sympathize with people in despair and also made me appreciate the time and effort put in by individuals to ensure the betterment of society. This experience taught me that if I were to lead change in practice it would require dedication and diligence in being successful also I would need a group of individuals who would be considerate, sociable and sincere in their approach towards leading change. It is also important to target different people within society differently in order to lead change as they interpret messages differently and respond to different stimuli.
The community visit gave us insight into the technicalities and running of organizations that lead change in society, this has helped us understand the process of leading change within a society. If we were to implement our action plan to reduce the consumption of alcohol among students not only would it cost us money to implement it but also a lot of time would be spent in the process. There are a lot of difficulties in obtaining financial resources to implement such a process as such a change is detrimental to the very businesses that might be potential funders. In shaping our own change plan after this essay would be quite different than the one originally planned due to the valuable insights I have gained from this experience. I would alter my awareness program to target different segments of the society differently which would allow me in appealing a wider range of people efficiently also I would stress acutely on the benefits of reduction in consumption of alcohol and emphasize on the saving of money such that people are motivated to change for their own as well as the societies benefit. I would also effectively work towards the creation of partnerships and strong alliances with external individuals of society so as achieve my results. For example working in alliance with the police and health communities of Devon who are interested in the betterment of society would not only make the process relatively simpler for me but would also more effective. I would also seek to improve the value laden within our group to stronger and more relative values such as honesty, self awareness, and diligence among others. I can strongly say that this experience has opened my eyes and taught me a lot about how I can lead change in society, this experience has taught me that a lot of different and more effective techniques must be used compared to the ones originally thought of. The change agents who are instrumental in bringing about this change must also be specifically selected only in accordance with the values which are essential in leading change. The process of leading change in theory is extremely different that the process of leading change in practice, in practice the processes and methods are more complex and difficult to complete than in theory and to successfully implement our action plan in society would be a major success. The entire experience has opened my eyes to the world around me and taught me about the benefits and improvements we can bring about to the society around us.
References

1. Buchanan, D and Huczysnki, A (2010). Organizational Behaviour. 7th ed. Essex: Pearson Education. P316-319. 2. Joughin, G (2009). Assessment, Learning and Judgement in Higher Education. Australia: Springer Science. P146-147. 3. Kotter, J. The 8-Step Process for Leading Change. Available: http://www.kotterinternational.com/our-principles/changesteps/changesteps. Last accessed 10th Jan 2013. 4. Manktelow, J. (2006). Kotter's 8-Step Change Model. Available: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_82.htm. Last accessed 10th Jan 2013.