Overcoming a Fear of Change, One Hurdle at a Time

Approaching change as if you’re training for hurdles is a practical way to address and overcome any fears that may surface.

G. FAITH LITTLE
Initiative Director, 21st Century Learning

Fear of change is real and challenging.

Fear manifests itself in different ways for each of us, whether it means becoming defensive in the middle of a coaching conversation, avoiding a colleague you’re paired with, or becoming paralyzed at the prospect of dealing with conflict directly and openly. As Roberta Lenger Kang noted in Don't take it personally: de-escalating conflicts in the classroom, “The more fear we have, the more likely we are to become hyper-vigilant micro-managers in the classroom, which can sometimes magnify small issues and escalate conflicts…”

Whether you’re affected by a change taking place or you’re implementing change that will affect others, treating the process as if you’re training for hurdles is a practical way to address and overcome fear of change in yourself and as you lead others.

This training can be broken into three parts.

Before	During	After
- Stretch - Practice - ​Count	- ​Speed up toward the first hurdle - Run steady through the middle - Finish strong	- Celebrate ​- Reflect

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Before change: flexibility and preparation

Before enacting a change, stretch, practice, and count. 

Stretch: Whatever the change, find where you already have some flexibility and elongate it.

• Example: You’re tasked with finding a new way to address the social-emotional learning (SEL) needs of your students. Even though the task is daunting and feels far outside your content area, you locate your own practice of writing for full presence before you start the day and connect to that as a healthy investment you make in your own SEL.
• Outcome: You find you're not actually starting from scratch after all.

Practice: When preparing for a change, implement small steps on your way to the starting line or implementation date.

• Example: The announcement is made that your grade level team is going to implement an advanced literacy plan and will start by incorporating I used to think, but now at the end of each unit. You’re anxious to implement another new idea and aren’t sure how your students will respond. Instead of waiting for the end of a unit to jump that hurdle, introduce the I used to think, but now tool after a lesson. Frame the idea as a practice for your students and solicit feedback so you can customize the experience at the unit’s end to be most helpful for your class.
• Outcome: You get to practice and the added bonus of an additional formative assessment built into your lesson plan.

Count: When leading change, you know teachers will have some level of anxiety or fear of change. It’s normal.

• Example: Instead of asking teachers to ignore their fear or push down their resistance, consider what their reasons may be and count them up. Name them. Name them for yourself and for others. Ask your colleagues to add any other reasons they are experiencing discomfort around the change ahead.
• Outcome: Teachers can express their concerns and you'll know exactly what you'll want to address prior to and during the shift ahead.

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During change: keep moving forward, but pace yourself

During a process of change, speed up toward the first hurdle, run steady through the middle, and finish strong.

Speed up: After laying the foundation for the change ahead, consider taking the first hurdle of actual change with excitement, energy, and speed. With a little extra energy, you can leap through the discomfort and make it over the first goal.

• Example: If you’re trying a new guided reading technique, you might tell your students how excited you are about something new you’re trying and that even though they might not notice, you are learning and growing just like they are. Then go for it, welcoming any mis-take is an opportunity to learn.

Run steady: After the initial hurdle, move forward steadily, pacing yourself as you go. You’ve already entered into a new way of teaching, so keep the changes to a minimum.

• Example: Consider a simple cycle to help you stay focused when shifting from asking students questions during a discussion to students asking one another questions. Notice that changes aren’t the focus here, but staying steady, encouraging students, and making observations keeps the process moving forward.

Finish strong: As you round the corner toward a natural check-in point, gather some energy.

• Example: If the change you’ve been working toward is implementing weekly formative assessments, what about adding them daily during the final week? At the beginning of the week, have your students start a Know, Want to Know, Learned chart, completing the first two columns (Know, Want to Know) only. Then, each day during the last few minutes of class, have students add to the third column (Learned). This will allow you to get daily information, as well as an overall look at the end of the week.

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After change: celebrate and reflect

After implementing change, allow yourself time and space to reflect on your experience and celebrate your successes. 
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Celebrate: Pick a finish line. The finish line may be obvious, like the end of a unit or the semester. It may be decided by administration based on an outside deadline. It could be ongoing, like making a change that lasts the entire school year and beyond. If that’s the case, choose a check-in as your finish line. When you get to the finish line, celebrate. You did it! You engaged in change.

You may or may not feel like it went well, but that doesn’t affect the celebration. To celebrate, you simply share with yourself, and others if possible, that you made it to a finish line! Find a way to concretize the celebration, whether in writing, capturing your success using social media, or sending an email to people who care about you. If you’re leading change, consider making a well-deserved certificate for your teachers or students to commemorate their progress.

Reflect: To make the most of your experience, find the time to reflect. Find ways to adjust your practice going forward, and ask more questions about what is possible. What went well? What would you like to see more of? What questions came up that you’d like to explore? Journal, use a template (create your own or download our What, So What, Now What tool), or make a list of what you want to talk about with your academic coach or colleagues.

Hurdle after hurdle, make a habit of attempting your jumps. Whether you sail over them, tip them, or knock them over, you’ll give yourself the opportunity to learn from every leap and fall.