Advocating for Change with Stakeholders

Strategies for Implementing Policies to Encourage Equity and Respect Advocating for Change with Stakeholders
Teacher and student giving high fives in a classroom

Building Your Case

Everyone involved must be on board if a school wants to use the AEM Quality Indicators framework. This includes leaders and managers, teachers, and students when possible. It is essential to get buy-in from all stakeholders in the district for the framework to be successful.

Two critical questions that most school leaders will want to know the answer of:

What’s in it for the organization? (WIFFO)

What’s in it for me? (WIIFM)

If you want to make sure everyone has equal access to materials and resources, the first step is to create an inclusive quality assurance framework. It’s essential that this plan is tailored to your school or district’s current accessibility and alternative educational material needs. There are plenty of examples online that can help you get started but it’s really important that you’re well-informed before making a big decision like this.
 

Do Your Homework

Before presenting your case to the organization or district administration, it can be beneficial to do some homework.  Training Industry offers four ways to unlock value through stakeholder engagement.  

  1. Communicae Often and Broadly: Getting stakeholders and peers to buy-in to believe in your initiative is all about communication. Make sure you have the right tool for talking to the right people, and then devise a plan for making it happen. That’s the key to achieving positive results.
  2. Identify Whose Who: You need to make sure that everyone has a voice in your project, use a collaboration board like Trello or Padlet. It will help you see who’s involved, what their interests are, and how they could be affected by your decisions. This way, you can ensure that all the key players have a say.
  3. Uncover Motivations: If you want to get other people on board with your project, it’s key to understand what’s driving them. Pay attention to their role in the district, what they’re saying in meetings, and any objections or suggestions they have. Then, figure out how to connect your initiative back to their bottom line – that’s what will really convince them.
  4. Remain Fliexible: If you want to have a successful relationship with stakeholders, stay open-minded and remember that the key to getting people on board is creating a collaborative atmosphere where everyone can work together toward the same goal.(Dillon, 2023).

Overcoming Potential Challenges

If you’re introducing a new process to an organization, you might have trouble convincing people it’s the right way. To make it easier, anticipate potential issues and be ready with a strong argument for using a quality assurance matrix.

-Resistance to Change

-Lack of Understanding

-Too Time-Consuming

-Too Costly

Relationship Enhancing Communication Styles

Coaching Habits: 7 Questions to Ask

The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay-Stanier can be helpful for educators looking to support district leaders make impactful change for their district. This book breaks down seven essential questions that leaders can use to quickly get to the heart of the matter, helping their clients move past surface-level issues and get to the root cause of their problems (Stanier, 2016).

The 7 Essential Questions are:

  1. What’s on your mind?
  2. And what else?
  3. What’s the real challenge for you?
  4. What do you want?
  5. How can I help?
  6. If you’re saying yes to this, what are you saying no to?
  7. What’s the most useful for you?

Non-Violent Communication

Non-violent Communication (NVC) by Marshall Rosenberg is a book on focused communication skills that build empathy, understanding and honesty. The author, Marshal Rosenberg, teaches the reader how to communicate with love and understanding instead of inciting hostility or aggression. Through this book, readers learn how to listen without judgment, speak truth without blame, come up with mutually agreeable solutions, stay true to their own values and needs, and maintain positive relationships (Rosenberg & Chopra, 2015)

Interpersonal Communication

Interpersonal communication is crucial in any setting and can help you succeed professionally, personally, and even with your health. From teamwork to conflict resolution to problem-solving and active listening, communicating effectively can improve your life in many ways. Social connection is also essential for mental and physical health: forming a support system and connecting with others can help boost your well-being.

Assessment:

Create a 1-3 minute Flip video role-playing the following scenario:

Watch my sample video of me using (Stanier, 2016)’s Coaching Habit question: “Whats the real challenge for you?” to inspire leaders to see where general education teachers are experiencing barriers to creating low-quality accommodation for students with disabilities.

  1. Create a Flip video of your pretending to talk to a school administrator about your concern about accessibility in your school district.
  2. Offer a few suggestions from AEM Quality Assurance Matrix.
  3. Close your video with one of the questions from (Stanier, 2016) above .
  4. Post your Flip video in our Slack group when are done (Link to Slack group in Course Overview).

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