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EdTech & Design, Leadership, Opinion, Promising Practices

Everyone has an excuse for not wanting to change

But our young people deserve for us to take the challenge of change seriously

When thinking of the challenges to change in education, I’m reminded of a recent story about the CEO of Myers, one of Australia’s largest and oldest department stores. It’s comparable to the Bay, or Macy’s in the U.S. He has a problem. For the past five years, his profit has been dropping, yet each year his rationalization of that has been different.

When thinking of the challenges to change in education, I’m reminded of a recent story about the CEO of Myers, one of Australia’s largest and oldest department stores. It’s comparable to the Bay, or Macy’s in the U.S. He has a problem. For the past five years, his profit has been dropping, yet each year his rationalization of that has been different. First it was a national tax issue, next the impact of the dreaded online retailers eating his margins…that lasted for two years, then their ability to avoid local ‘value-added tax’…all 10% of it, and finally almost on cue, it was the wage and penalty rates. 

The interesting thing is that not only has he maintained his position and multi-million dollar salary, but also both his shareholders and financial commentators have bought his stories. Why? How could it be that this could be happening to his chain of department stores and not to everyone? How could it be that he has been able to roll out a range of excuses for the company’s profit issues without being challenged about them openly? 

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CC photo by r.nial.bradshaw

The answer is interesting. Firstly, this situation should be compared to the absurd notions right-wing (…and some left-wing) commentators and politicians have about accountability for teachers and performance pay. One of the biggest myths going around is that the corporate sector is highly accountable. Remember the global financial crisis? Yes, some sales people do have tight targets to meet, but sadly as a general rule, the higher you go, the less accountable the sector seems to be.

The second point is about leadership. Sadly this lack of accountability is rarely rooted back to those in charge; think Kodak, think Britannica, et al. The ‘secret handshake club’ of company directors and boards usually work effectively to protect those leading these companies from the most important accountability of all: strategic accountability.

If you think about a department store today, it is operating in a totally different world; a very different context to 20, even 10 years ago, as are our schools. Yet how much have they changed strategy? I would contend that for our department store CEO at Myers, very little, if at all.

Which leads to the third point – the role of strategy. If you think about a department store today, it is operating in a totally different world; a very different context to 20, even 10 years ago, as are our schools. Yet how much have they changed strategy? I would contend that for our department store CEO at Myers, very little, if at all. He has made mention of ‘integrating technology’ into his business, (sound familiar?), and he has talked sternly about the need to change and adapt (sound familiar?) – but the evidence is yet to be seen.

My simple thought is that everyone has an excuse for not wanting to change. It’s in our nature; it’s part of the way we are, but it doesn’t mean we should ever allow ourselves to always opt for the path that’s easiest. 

For every school across the globe that has given me a reason why they cannot change, I have seen five that – in exactly the same circumstances – have done so successfully; for every reason that I’ve been told change is hard in education, I’ve simply said it’s meant to be. It always is. And for every leader who has stood up and showed just what is possible and lead change, I have stood back and applauded.

For every school across the globe that has given me a reason why they cannot change, I have seen five that – in exactly the same circumstances – have done so successfully; for every reason that I’ve been told change is hard in education, I’ve simply said it’s meant to be. It always is.

It is about being accountable – not to politicians, or commentators – but to our young people who deserve for us to take the challenge of change seriously. It is about leadership, and we have to stop shirking the importance of that and be bold and ambitious; and it is about developing a comprehensive strategy about what you believe in and executing it effectively.

It’s as simple as that. There is nothing standing in the way of change in education. Go lead.

 


This blog post is part of a series of thoughtful responses to the question: What’s standing in the way of change in education? to help inform CEA’s Calgary Conference on Oct 21-22, (#CEACalgary2013) where education leaders from across Canada will be answering the same question. If you would like to answer this question, please tweet us at: @cea_ace

Meet the Expert(s)

Bruce Dixon

From a diverse background over 30 years as an educator, educational software developer, business and social entrepreneur, Bruce Dixon co-founded the not-for-profit Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation, which provides thought leadership, advocacy and resources to policymakers and educational leaders for the effective implementation of 1-to-1 initiatives world-wide. Currently he divides his time between his role as Director of ideasLAB, or the pro-bono work he does for the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation, and his consulting to Ministries of Education and corporations in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Europe, and Asia and he still speaks frequently at national and international conferences around the world. You can follow Bruce on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/bruceadixon

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