“Never underestimate the power of clever people to help others see the possibilities, to help them generate a feeling of faith, and to change behavior” (Dr. John Kotter, 2011).
While watching the videos for this discussion, many experiences throughout the years of my life were coming to mind. I thought of times where I was led, or led others, by the mind, or heart, and the differences in the outcome of those situations. I recognized that when I had a strong emotional connection to things first, I valued the experience more and was more motivated. When only given data and information without any type of emotional connection, I was unmotivated and gave less effort. Without the heart connection, it seemed more like a job I had to do rather than one I wanted to do.
One experience specifically stood out to me. In my organization, I am on a team of mentors and trainers for online teachers. In each session, we spend two hours working with teachers training them on effective ESL teaching methods to apply in their classes. Over the years, the curriculum has been adjusted and perfected to meet the needs of the teachers. When we first began training, we noticed two hours was a long time for sessions. Teachers were zoning out by the end of the first hour. We were losing them. Over time, we would see what was and was not working and adjust as needed. Reading through this course’s books, and watching the videos, I can now see that our sessions changed from providing data and information to starting with the ‘why’ and reaching the heart along with (or before) the mind.
In the video “The Heart of Change”, Kotter (2011) discusses reaching both the heart and mind. He says that we can provide data and information in a way that hits both thinking and feeling (Dr. John Kotter, 2011). Starting with the ‘why’ in the training sessions produced teachers that were more responsive, attentive, and invested. They are now willing to go above and beyond in sessions. They are no longer zoning out after an hour. We see full engagement, even to the point of them asking if we can extend sessions at times! We also have noticed higher levels of positive feedback submitted after our sessions.
Understanding how this process works now and realizing how this has changed motivation in our adult learners, I have further insight into the importance of using the same style of reaching the heart of the stakeholders in my organization. Kotter (2013) spoke of how creating a sense of urgency is a necessary component of leading change in an organization. I want to put focus on reaching the heart of those I am presenting my innovation plan to so that they are motivated to a sense of urgency to create the needed change in the organization. Simon Sinek (2009) gives great insight to this by explaining the need to stop caring of only numbers and to care for people, and by doing so, people will follow and create the change that we would like to see. That is my goal!
References
Dr. John Kotter. (2011). John Kotter - The Heart of Change. In YouTube.
Kotter, J. (2013). Leading Change: Establish a Sense of Urgency [YouTube Video].
In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Yfrj2Y9IlI
Sinek, S. (2009). Start with why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action.
Portfolio/Penguin.
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