March+2013

March 19, 2013.
For the past few weeks I have been stewing over the ideas of Fullan and Hargreaves; two international Titans when it comes to research on change and leadership in the Education sector. Every once in a while I get together with a group of people to hash out leadership ideas from a variety of fields, and as the wheel turns, it is now my turn to give something back. Who better to highlight than [|Fullan] and [|Hargreaves]?

While the two are often spoken of in the same sentence, I like that they also disagree with one another. In fact, the Introduction of [|Change Wars (2009)] reiterates a few times just how these two disagree with one another. I guess that they don't want to be seen as singing from the same song book, and it is true that Mike and Andy can both stand very well on their own. I guess that when they edit a book together that it makes sense that they might also highlight their differences.

Even so, they frequently write on the same themes. Going back 12 years or so (2001) they were both writing about change, [|leading during change], and they both wrote on the idea of Sustainable Leadership as a model. Each of them wrote books on the subject, and they referenced one another. [|Hargreaves and Fink (2006)] wound up publishing the defining work on the subject in the creatively titled book: Sustainable Leadership.

Flash forward. Andy moved on to [|Boston College] while Mike dug in deep with the [|system level school reforms in Ontario]. Measurement, improvement, simple goals, stay the course, ready fire aim, and a few years went by. Both kept writing about leadership and change. Both kept conducting research and publishing. Both are still presenting their most current research at symposia world-wide, but I would like to mention two recent Canadian talks in particular. Andy opened the final (...how sad...) [|AISI conference in Edmonton in February 2013], and Mike closed the [|Manitoba COSL Winter Conference] in Winnipeg in the same month.

In his talk with AISI, Andy highlighted the need to both improve and innovate within schools and school systems to achieve the best results. Ontario has done very well with school improvement over the past 10 years, and now they need to innovate. Mike is giving the same message in his new work [|Stratosphere]. Improvement is good, but not sufficient. School systems need to innovate as well. After Mike gave his address in Winnipeg I had a chance to ask him about the AISI talk that Andy had given earlier that month in Edmonton. Mike agreed that he and Andy "did not disagree" about the need to take the parallel approaches of system improvement and innovation simultaneously. Talking with Mike made me feel a bit like the mouse addressing the lion, but he was kind, and I think my question made sense. It also confirmed for me that the ideas of Mike and Andy are as close as ever, and maybe closer than they were all those years ago in 2001.

So I get to try and introduce some of these ideas tonight with a hybrid group that includes educators, bankers, marketers, engineers, officers, and ministers who all have an interest in leadership theory and practice. Andy and Mike do not sing from the same song book, but there is a certain harmony in their work. Maybe I can try to sing their tune and do their work a bit of justice tonight.

Here is a link to the slides if you are still curious: Sustainable Leadership in Times of Change. [] Basically it is a quick look at some of the leadership ideas of Andy Hargreaves and Michael Fullan. Dean Fink should get some credit here too!