Adopted from Rick Maurer | Maurer & Associates

THE CHALLENGE Francine Edwards, PhD

Administrative Team Retreat

WITH CHANGE
July 24, 2019
 Table 1
Center for Teaching and Learning

CTL at (302) 857-6140 or CTLCourseEvals@desu.edu.

• We go through cycles of change as a University and sometimes it
is our fault.
• We plan change based on various factors (economic, enrollment
needs, what peer institutions are doing, etc. but do we put these
things first?
1. Putting the why before how
2. Provided an emotional reason why people should care
3. Using a credible change agent
4. Providing opportunities to listen
• At DSU we don’t have under-performing teams, per se, there are moments when the teams don’t
get what they need to be successful
• We also face the challenge of overworking our admin teams and placing additional demands on
them when change has been something that has been embraced but not fully communicated.
• CHESS has 1 senior chair (Becker), 2 chairs going into the 2nd academic year (Patterson, Rouser)
1 interim chair (Tanzey) and 2 new chairs (Bluemel, Tutu)
• Everyone will be:
1. Looking to the senior chair for guidance
2. Leaning on the admin team who has probably been in the department longer (or for the
same amount of time as the chair for assistance
• We need to think about the admin team’s role in making sure that the 70% fail rate for change is
not something that we face.
• AVOID DUMPING VS DELEGATING
• Resistance comes in many shapes and forms in a
University setting and it is a major reason why changes
fail so often in organizations
• Understand why people might resist rather than
turning a blind eye helps to build support for ideas and
the change process.
• What are some of your ‘resistance’ stories?
 (Continued)

• To get ahead
of resistance,
it is important
to identify the
levels of
support and
the types of
resistance
that may be
displayed in
your
environment.
• We have a significant goal forecast for the 2019-20 AY
• If we don’t change the way we work with the frontline and continue with
that status quo we just talked about, failure is not avoidable.
• We do know that failure is not an option.
• What things do we need to learn from (through the admin team’s eyes)?
• Feedback throughout the semester, at the end of major projects/events
and end-of-year surveys are ways to collect and analyze information.
• Most important is taking highly-visible action to demonstrate that we
have learned from the past and showing appreciation for those who’ve
taken risks to discuss what is critical.
• Engagement isn’t hard but we fail to do so
• Successfully getting a change process started means
engaging people at ALL levels in ALL aspects of a
process
• Where can we make changes in how we engage with
our admin team?
 (Continued)

Guidelines for Engaging Your Team

• Keeping change alive is simple —> strong leadership
and consistent communication
• One of the things that DSU faces is 11th hour change.
• Much of the last minute work does fall on the admin team, how does
this impact how you do your work?
• How to build support
1. Connect organizational purpose with individual meaning.
2. Embrace leadership as a collective accountability. I want the
admin team to work like leaders.
3. Find your collective voice.
4. Unleash and harness new energy
Final Thoughts...

WHAT’S YOUR
BIGGEST CHALLENGE
WITH CHANGE?