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Facilitating Change

Young boy and girl doing classroom excercises

Leaders within your initiative will be involved in facilitating change within and across the systems of school, mental health providers, law enforcement agencies, and juvenile justice entities. Understanding how change happens can help leaders plan for and create change.

Change is an ongoing process that should occur in individuals first, then in institutions. It is a highly personal experience. People change at different rates and in different ways. One theory about this process that many people find helpful is the Concerns Based Adoption Model, or CBAM. This model proposes stages of change for individuals and describes what kinds of concerns leaders need to address to help individuals move forward through those stages toward adoption of change.

To help make any large-scale change effort such as the SS/HS Initiative more likely to succeed, its leaders can address the following questions as they communicate about and work to implement change:

  • Do the intended adopters of change perceive a strong need for the change?
  • Are the intended adopters of change convinced that the change initiative will bring improvement to the current situation?
  • Are the intended adopters committed to making the project a success?
  • Is there enough authority and credibility to make the change happen?
  • Is the top leadership committed to the change and does the lower-level leadership demonstrate buy-in to the change initiative?
  • Is the strategic action plan well designed, concrete, understood by all, with identifiable targets, steps, and timetable for achieving the priority goals that contribute to the vision and mission for change?
  • Is there a clear process for collecting ongoing data on the implementation and on the results of the new initiative?
  • Does the feedback show visible short-term successes that build engagement and momentum for the initiative?
  • Is there ongoing communication to maintain stakeholders and staff engagement, share information, reduce anxiety, correct misinformation, and share successes?
  • Does leadership advocate for the change in the greater community?
  • Is there an understanding of the significant internal and external forces that affect the organization and its ability to enact the change?
  • Are staff engaged in decision-making and other authority-sharing practices that increase commitment to change?
  • Do supporters of the change gain more than opponents of the change gain?
  • Are current resources leveraged for maximum results and does the change initiative build on existing expertise within the organization?
  • Is there an investment in appropriate professional development and training to increase staff confidence and competence in implementing the change?
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