Me to Leo: “You got the Governor to make remarks?!”
Leo: “We did.”
Me: “I am so proud of you all! Makes all the ground work put in place the last decade seem even MORE worthwhile.”
Leo: “You laid the structure Walter.”
Me: “Thank you, Leo. But your Board is realizing the full potential of what is possible through your good work. I am humbled to see the strides you have made!”
This is an excellent example of ongoing organizational change. When I was invited to join the MassCUE board years back, I was fairly new coming back to my home state and honored to be asked. I remember that first board meeting I attended suffered under the exhaustion of a group of tired veteran members, many who had been serving in some capacity for ten, fifteen and even twenty years. There was no energy. These fine professionals had put in their time, served educational technology well for the commonwealth, and were ready to move on. As one of the founding members of the organization told me after the meeting, “We are hoping you can give us a shot in the arm.”
That year most of those veteran board members stepped down, realizing room needed to be made for new blood, fresh eyes and eager hands. Of course, there was a small segment who chose to stay on. These few veterans had served in supporting roles on the board up til now, and they saw this as their opportunity to move up into leadership positions. Unfortunately, as often happens in long-standing orgs, these aspiring leaders were locked into the existing practices of the board…the very practices that had worn out the majority of their colleagues. Everything from conference venue to bookkeeping to board representation around the state was met with the same response: “This is how we’ve always done it. There is no need to change.”
This is significant because the organization’s revenue and membership were both in steep decline. Conference attendance was down and even though board members were elected, it was assumed if you were invited to run for a seat you would be voted in because such a paltry number of people bothered to vote. For an organization with a proud tradition of promoting and supporting technology in education, these were bright red flags. No doubt about it…MassCUE needed that shot in the arm.
Of course, many of the new board members did not see the need to continue practices that no longer delivered the necessary value to the organization. With much resistance from those veterans remaining from the previous board, the new board began a transformation of MassCUE, from its bylaws to its web presence. We read Jim Collins’Good to Great and set up a Moodle environment on which to discuss it between meetings. We identified the need to become the voice of ed tech leadership in the state, and instituted an annual Tech Leadership Symposium to bring administrators together to connect and collaborate. We began building partnerships and alliances with other associations and organizations in Massachusetts. In short, we built capacity for MassCUE to broaden its influence and impact in education.
When I left to return to Arlington, Virginia Public Schools, MassCUE had great momentum in place and still lots more work to be done. I finished up my work on the board serving as President, and left the organization in good hands as I moved on. Still, you never know what will come of your work once you hand it on to others. As a leader, you have to be able to let go and trust that your successors will continue to do what is best for the organization. This is why it is important for leaders to move on after they have contributed their efforts; change is not only good, it is critical to longterm growth and success.
So when I saw Leo’s post this past Thursday morning, I was very gratified…not for myself but for MassCUE. The work we had done over the past decade was producing impressive results. The organization had partnered with the state superintendents’ association, giving it clout it had not had heretofore. It had moved its annual conference to the New England Patriots’ football stadium and increased attendance and membership in the process. And now the governor of the great state of Massachusetts was giving opening remarks at its conference. I am truly humbled.
What can I surmise from all of this? Well…for organizations in general…
- Change is never easy. There were many tough decisions to be made along the way.
- There are no sacred cows in acting in the best interests of an organization.
- Organizations need to build a leadership pipeline that puts in place and then moves along talent on a regular basis.
- Know when to move on. You may be the biggest impediment holding your organization back, and you don’t even realize it.
- Today’s organizations cannot be led by an honorary listing of Who’s Who in the profession. Leadership needs to be active, engaged and hold one another accountable for moving the organization forward.
- That firm, uncompromising vision and will that Collins speaks of in Good to Great is essential to make change happen.
- The challenge for all organizations today is value creation: finding new ways to serve your clientele..because if you’re not serving them well...why are you still in existence?
- Capacity-building is essential in moving any organization forward. You can’t aspire to evolve and expand if you still only have the means to conduct business as usual.
- Once you have your organization back on track, opportunities will make themselves available to you that were never apparent before. Business gurus often refer to this as synergy. I call it the good fruits of hard work.
- Never rest on your laurels. As far as you’ve come, there’s always more work to be done.
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