Archimedes understood this, do you?

Colleagues,

MVP: Small consistent change makes things better. Use principles of leverage to make change easier.

Note: This week’s messages are about leading in highly stressed organizations. I will be breaking my 300-word limit this week. Don’t feel compelled to read this week’s messages if they don’t apply to you. Look at the MVP and decide, and don’t feel guilty for not reading. Priorities, right?

One of the change processes I teach is the four principles of leverage. The concept is modeled after the phenomena in physics in which we can decrease the amount of effort (force) needed to move a load using a lever and a fulcrum.

Some details:

• The load is reflected by both how much it weighs and the distance we want to move it.
• The effectiveness of the lever is primarily dependent on two things: 
  • The length of the lever (longer is better)
  • The placement of the fulcrum to the load (closer is better)
• The variables relating to load, lever, and fulcrum all impact the amount of effort required to move the load.

In any organization, the easier we can make change, the more likely it is for that change to take place. In the organization experiencing extreme turbulence, people’s capacities for giving more effort is so diminished that change must occur in very small increments which require small amounts of effort.

To bring change in challenging circumstance, we need to:

• Decrease the load by making the change a small one
• Increase the lever by making simple plans
• Move the fulcrum closer to the load by focusing on root problems instead of symptoms

Doing each of these decreases the amount of effort required. It also means the change will occur more quickly.

A small yet immediate positive change is worth far more than a delayed big change.

By creating a series of small changes that gradually improve the situation, we can slowly begin to make progress.

An added bonus is that a series of small changes has an outsized effect on culture as it creates a sense of progress and a belief that the situation can improve.

In summary, if you are leading an organization experiencing severe or extreme turbulence:

• Help everyone clearly understand the challenges and why the challenges exist.
• Help your leaders take better care of themselves and then be present for people in the organization.
• Look for ways to grow and support people in small ways.
• Use the four principles of leverage to make incremental changes to improve the situation.

One other thing – just because your organization isn’t experiencing extreme turbulence doesn’t mean there aren’t people within your organization who are experiencing extreme turbulence. This roadmap for helping your organization can also work when helping an individual.

Today’s intention: There was a lot here this week. Think about what resonated with you, what felt real, and what didn’t. Identify one idea you can take and apply to your own leadership. Bonus points if you share it with me; I would love to hear from you what you thought the most valuable thing was this week.

Cheers,

Frederick
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PS: If you are a school or teacher-leader interested in helping teachers excel at developing strong classroom cultures, check out my free course on the Foundations of Classroom Culture. You will find a systematic integrated approach to building relationships, managing the classroom, and responding to safety events. Give yourself about five minutes to log into the course as there is a brief on-boarding process. There are five video lessons, each about 12 minutes long.