Practical  Leadership  
 

  RESEARCH INTO
 
Improving   the  Schools  of  Today         PRACTICE
 

Inventing  
  the  Schools  of  Tomorrow  
 

 
Creating  Urgency  for  Change  
 
In  A  Nutshell  
  Talk  with  almost  any  school  principal  and  you  get  a  sense  that  there’s  a  need  to  improve  their  school.  Changes  may  involve  
instructional  practices  to  improve  student  learning,  the  culture  of  the  school,  or  strengthening  engagement  with  the  school  
 
community.    
  Over  the  past  fifty  years  a  lot  has  been  written  about  the  need  to  accelerate  school  reform,  to  improve  schools  and  student  
learning.    But  there  remains  a  fair  amount  of  complacency  about  the  pace  of  change  or  even  the  need  for  change.  The  lack  of  
  resources,  changing  student  demographics,  or  even  resistant  teachers  is  often  seen  as  inhibiting  change.  Too  many  principals  
don’t  convey  a  sense  of  urgency  about  the  need  to  m ake  changes  at  their  school.    
 
   
Creating  Urgency  
The  need  for  change  will  not  subside.  If  anything  demands  for  change  will  accelerate.    Creating  a  sense  of  urgency  is  
one  way  that  school  leaders  alert  their  employees,  families  and  students  that  change  will  occur.    Leaders  can  do  so  
by  following  four  approaches  designed  to  create  a  compelling  need  for  urgency.  They  can  act  in  ways  that  
demonstrate  why  change  is  valuable  and  why  the  status  quo  may  be  a  dangerous  place  to  remain.  In  other  words,  
leaders  create  a  narrative  about  why  it  is  not  in  their  best  interests  for  the  school  to  remain  the  same.  
Creating  urgency  is  as  much  an  emotional  response,  a  set  of  feelings,  as  an  academic  exercise  (Kotter,  2008).  Not  
only  does  a  leader  need  to  engage  the  minds  of  employees,  they  must  also  connect  with  their  heart.  When  
employees  and  other  stakeholders  “feel”  a  connection  to  the  proposed  change,  they  are  far  more  likely  to  engage  
in  behaviors  that  propel  the  change  toward  implementation.  
Perhaps  the  best-­‐known  advocate  of  urgency  is  John  Kotter,  a  Harvard  Business  School  professor  and  author  of  
Leading  Change  (2012)  and  A  Sense  of  Urgency  (2008).    Kotter  described  four  strategies  leaders  can  use  to  address  
the  lack  of  urgency  in  their  organization.  Those  approaches  suggest  a  path  for  school  leaders  to  create  urgency  for  
authentic  change  in  their  school.  
 
Strategy  1  -­‐  Break  Down  Barriers  to  the  Outside  
Most  organizations  are  internally  oriented.  They  focus  most  of  their  energy  on  sustaining  heir  current  programs  and  
practices,  promoting  people  to  new  positions  from  within,  talking  most  frequently  with  one  another,  relying  on  
others  in  the  organization  for  professional  development,  and  resisting  the  idea  that  those  outside  the  organization  
can,  in  any  way,  inform  their  work.  This  internal  focus  supports  complacency  and  is  a  barrier  to  change.    
Continuing  to  do  things  the  way  they’ve  always  been  done  is  exactly  what  happens  in  many  organizations.  They  
continue  to  focus  on  sustaining  what  they’re  already  doing  when  they  need  to  look  outside  the  organization  for  
insight  into  what  emerging  issues  and  trends  as  well  as  strategies  to  deal  with  those  issues.  
Schools  are  not  immune  from  this  complacency.  Schools  where  most  students  are  successful  see  little  incentive  for  
change.  Those  that  are  less  successful  choose  to  blame  external  factors  like  students,  families,  or  society  rather  
than  look  at  their  own  practices.  
So,  what  does  a  school  leader  do?  How  do  you  respond?  

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  RESEARCH INTO
 
PRACTICE
 
 
Recognize  the  Problem  of  Relying  on  an  Internal  Focus  –  Relying  primarily  on  an  internal  focus  means  your  school  can  
miss  opportunities  for  growth.  It  also  means  you  may  encounter  hazards  that  will  undermine  your  current  program.  
Here’s  what  you  can  do.  
•  Read  widely  from  a  variety  of  sources  and  gain  insight  into  emerging  social,  economic  and  demographic  trends.  
Most  importantly  read  about  trends  with  which  you  may  disagree.  Whether  you  like  them  or  not,  they  will  impact  
your  school.  
•  Share  what  you’ve  read  and  information  you  learned  with  employees  and  others  in  your  school  and  district.  Talk  
about  the  issues  but  focus  on  the  possibilities  not  the  threats.  This  will  lessen  the  gap  between  inside  and  
outside.  
Listen  to  Employees  and  Families  –  Create  an  opportunity  for  a  candid  conversation  with  employees  and  families  who  
send  their  children  to  your  school.  Focus  on  listening  and  be  authentic  in  your  response.    
•  Hold  a  series  of  focus  group  or  town  hall  meetings  where  you  listen  to  what’s  working  and  what  is  not  working.  
Occasionally  this  can  be  a  tough  conversation  but  it  is  vital  that  you  demonstrate  your  willingness  to  hear  both  
the  good  and  the  bad  about  your  school.  Take  thorough  notes  and  use  them  to  develop  a  plan  of  action.  
•  Be  respectful  of  employees  and  families.  It’s  hard  to  engage  either  group  when  they  feel  distrusted  or  
disrespected.  Be  candid  and  honest  in  all  interactions.  
Share  Uncomfortable  or  Troubling  Data  –  When  you  see  troubling  data  about  your  school  or  you  learn  uncomfortable  
information,  be  prepared  to  share  it.  Don’t  shield  employees  from  this  information  or  it  will  re-­‐enforce  complacency.  
•  Meet  regularly  with  your  school  improvement  team  to  share  information,  both  good  and  bad,  about  your  school.  
Strive  for  open,  honest  discussion  of  the  issues  with  an  emphasis  on  what  you  can  learn.  Never  blame  the  data  or  
those  who  provided  it.  
Send  People  Out  and  Bring  People  In–  Kotter  suggests  that  you  send  “scouts”  out  to  visit  other  organizations  and  learn  
about  what  is  going  on.    
•  Send  teachers  and  other  employees  to  conferences  to  learn  about  new  trends  and  to  visit  schools  that  have  
implemented  some  of  the  innovations.  Expect  them  to  return  and  offer  an  honest  assessment  of  what  they  
learned.  
•  Bring  in  an  outside  expert,  or  a  team  of  teachers  from  an  innovative  school,  to  talk  about  the  issues  and  to  share  
what  they’ve  done.  Be  explicit  about  what  you  want  the  outsiders  to  share  but  don’t  limit  the  information  to  only  
benefits  of  any  initiative.  Every  innovation  has  costs  as  well  as  benefits.  Talk  candidly  
Strategy  2  –  Act  with  Urgency  Every  Day    
It’s  always  been  true  that  what  leaders  pay  attention  to  becomes  important.  Leaders  are  role  models  and  employees,  
families  and  students  all  note  what  the  leader  talks  about  and  how  the  leader  behaves.  
Respond  Quickly  –  When  you  respond  quickly  you  don’t  make  hasty  decisions  or  act  in  less  thoughtful  ways.  Rather,  
you  are  clear  about  your  priorities  and  your  respond  quickly  with  a  well  thought  out  plan  of  action.    
•  Be  clear  about  your  priorities  and  respond  quickly  to  issues  related  to  those  priorities.  Don’t  be  hasty  but  be  
prompt.  A  quick  response  demonstrates  the  importance  of  the  topic  or  the  issue.  
•  In  meetings,  emails,  and  in  casual  conversation  in  the  hallway  talk  about  your  priorities,  ask  questions  about  what  
is  happening  in  classrooms  and  use  every  interaction  as  an  opportunity  to  signal  what’s  important.  
 
 
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•  If  you’re  attending  a  meeting  about  one  of  your  priorities,  make  active  engagement  a  priority.  Avoid  interruptions  
and  avoid  leaving  before  the  meeting  is  complete.  Never  end  the  meeting  without  being  clear  about  whom  will  
do  what  and  how  quickly  they  tasks  will  be  completed.    
Stop  Doing  Things  That  Aren’t  Urgent  –  Every  school  falls  into  the  trap  of  doing  things  the  way  they’ve  been  done  in  
the  past.  It  might  be  replicating  last  year’s  schedule,  organizing  meetings  the  same  way  or  engaging  families  the  same  
way  from  year  to  year.  Occasionally  those  behaviors  telegraph  messages  about  complacency.  So,  change  some  of  those  
“un-­‐urgent”  behaviors.  
•  Change  the  organization  of  meetings  and  other  routine  activities.  Modify  the  agenda.  Insist  that  cell  phones  and  
tablets  be  turned  off.  Find  ways  to  gather  input  from  all  and  listen  to  the  voices  of  every  participant.  
•  Take  control  of  your  calendar.  Purge  low-­‐priority  items  and  projects.  Delegate  to  assistants  or  teacher  leaders.  
Create  time  to  read  and  think  deeply  about  the  issues.  Avoid  unnecessary  meetings  but  increase  the  time  you  
visit  classrooms  and  other  places  where  students  and  teachers  hang  out.  Talk  with  them  but  more  importantly  
listen  to  what  is  being  discussed.  
Be  Visibly  Urgent  –  Because  people  pay  attention  to  the  leader,  their  behavior  and  their  priorities  it  is  critical  that  you  
be  visible  and  clearly  demonstrate  urgency.  
•  Be  visible  and  accessible  throughout  the  school  day.  In  addition  to  being  seen,  you  also  want  to  talk  with  teachers,  
other  employees,  students  and  families.  Use  every  opportunity  to  talk  about  your  vision  for  your  school,  your  
initiatives  and  how  they  positively  improve  the  experience  of  students.  
•  Talk  with  passion  about  your  school  and  the  initiatives  you  propose.  Be  relentless  in  talking  about  the  need  to  
move,  adapt  and  respond  to  changing  conditions.  Talk  with  feeling  and  identify  examples  of  how  these  initiatives  
impact  students  and  their  learning.  
Strategy  3  –  Embrace  Crises  
Too  often  people  see  a  crisis  as  harmful  with  negative  implications  on  their  school  or  organization.  And  that  can  be  
true.  Leaders  often  try  to  avoid  crises.  But  a  crisis  can  also  provide  an  opportunity  to  reexamine  practices,  to  commit  to  
new  approaches  and  to  adapt  the  school  to  a  new  reality.    
•  Use  a  Crisis  to  Create  Urgency  –  After  any  crisis  the  leader  must  take  time  to  reflect  and  focus  on  what  you,  and  
your  school,  learned.  Use  that  reflection  to  engage  employees  and  families  in  examining  your  core  beliefs  and  
values,  and  identifying  ways  to  respond  that  don’t  threaten  those  values  but  rather  reinforce  their  importance.    
Be  mindful  that  a  crisis  doesn’t  guarantee  greater  urgency.  It  may  simply  lead  to  greater  reliance  on  past  practice.  
•  Create  a  Crisis  –  Only  partially  in  jest  do  I  suggest  creating  a  crisis.  And  I  don’t  mean  anything  that  might  threaten  
your  organization  or  harm  individuals.  But  if  urgency  doesn’t  emerge,  you  want  to  develop  a  strategy  and  act.  
Priority  should  always  be  on  engaging  employees  and  families  in  your  initiative.  But,  you  simply  can’t  allow  your  
school  to  fail  to  act.  Use  data  to  shape  the  crisis  or  set  expectations  for  individuals  so  they  are  forced  to  respond.  
Just  be  clear  that  manufactured  crises  must  be  about  “real”  problems  not  used  to  distract  from  “real”  issues  or  
tough  personnel  issues.  
 

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Strategy  4  –  Deal  with  Naysayers  
Every  school  has  naysayers.  They  may  be  teachers  or  other  employees,  families,  influential  community  members  
or  even  members  of  the  administrative  team.  While  they  can’t  be  ignored  neither  can  they  be  allowed  to  dominate  the  
conversation  or  inhibit  change.  Don’t  confuse  a  naysayer  with  a  skeptic.  Skeptics  ask  questions,  respond  to  data  
logically,  and  often  seek  additional  information.  While  skeptics  can  be  annoying  and  slow  down  decision,  naysayers  
don’t  appreciate  data  or  information,  and  often  suggest  that  no  action  is  needed.  They  value  the  status  quo.    
•  Don’t  Waste  Time  Co-­‐Opting  a  Naysayer  –  Naysayers  want  to  stop  action  and  destroy  urgency.  Because  of  their  
tendency  to  disrupt  conversation  and  delay  action  it  is  best  to  avoid  wasting  resources  on  trying  to  co-­‐opt  them.  
They  are  often  not  inclined  to  listen  to  others  and  won’t  accept  decisions  by  others.  Avoid  their  involvement  in  
study  groups  and  other  activities  designed  to  create  urgency.  
•  Never  Ignore  a  Naysayer  –  On  the  other  hand  you  can’t  ignore  them  either.  If  ignored  a  naysayer  can  continue  to  
create  mischief.  They  are  adept  at  raising  questions  that  have  an  element  of  truth,  or  overstating  the  problems.  
They  often  organize  an  active  resistance,  sometimes  covertly,  and  sow  dissention  among  members  of  the  school  
community.    
•  Distract  the  Naysayers  –  If  you  can’t  ignore  them  and  you  can’t  co-­‐opt  them  what  do  you  do?  Kotter  (2008)  
suggests  you  distract  them  and  he  provides  three  suggestions.  First,  find  a  special  assignment  or  task  for  your  
naysayer.  Ideally,  that  assignment  will  take  them  away  from  the  work  on  your  initiative.  Second,  pair  them  with  
someone  who  understands  their  job  is  to  keep  the  naysayer  distracted.  Third,  give  them  so  much  work  that  there  
is  little  time  to  create  disruption  and  dissention.  They  still  may  find  ways  to  be  disruptive  but  that  disruption  will  
be  minimized.    
•  Get  Rid  of  Them  –  We’re  not  suggesting  you  simply  fire,  demote  or  force  someone  into  retirement.  But,  on  the  
other  hand,  you  need  to  be  clear  about  expectations  for  employees  and  be  honest  about  how  their  behavior  
impacts  your  school.  Don’t  exaggerate  on  evaluations  and  other  assessments  but  be  honest  in  how  you  measure  
their  performance.  Many  teacher  evaluation  protocols  now  include  expectations  about  collaboration  and  
participation  in  school  improvement  planning.  
•  Immobilize  Using  Social  Pressure  –  In  most  schools  everyone  knows  who  the  naysayers  are  and  understands  how  
they  disrupt  efforts  for  improvement.  Find  socially  acceptable  ways  to  identify  the  naysayers  in  public  and  let  
social  pressure  do  the  rest.  
 
Final  Thoughts  
A  sense  of  urgency  is  often  needed  to  accelerate  change  and  improvement  in  schools.  Urgency  is  not  created  by  a  
single  event,  or  through  a  single  conversation  or  presentation.  Rather,  urgency  emerges  when  there  is  a  systematic  
approach  by  the  school  leader  to  modify  the  culture  of  their  school.  It  starts  with  the  leader  and  the  way  the  leader  
spends  time,  the  things  they  talk  about,  and  the  priorities  they  set.    
 
References  
 
Kotter,  J.  P.  (2008).  A  sense  of  urgency.  Boston,  MA:  Harvard  Business  Review  Press.    
Kotter,  J.  P.  (2012).  Leading  change.  Boston,  MA:  Harvard  Business  Review  Press.    
 
 
 
 
 

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ONLINE  RESOURCES  
 
Creating  Urgency  
 
Leading  Change:  Creating  a  Sense  of  Urgency  (2017  )–  Robert  Tanner    
https://managementisajourney.com/leading-­‐change-­‐step-­‐1-­‐creating-­‐a-­‐sense-­‐of-­‐urgency/    
This  article  describes  a  model  for  creating  urgency  in  any  organization.  
 
What  is  a  Sense  of  Urgency  (2008)    -­‐  John  Kotter  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5802FBaMSI    
This  short  video  interviews  John  Kotter,  professor  at  Harvard  Business  School,  about  his  model  for  creating  urgency.  
 
Leading  Change:  Establish  a  Sense  of  Urgency  (2013)  –  John  Kotter  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Yfrj2Y9IlI  
This  video  describes  the  importance  of  creating  urgency  as  the  first  step  in  making  significant  change  in  an  
organization.  
 
20  Ways  to  Create  Urgency(2015)  –  Rob  Llewellyn  
https://enterprisersproject.com/article/2014/8/20-­‐ways-­‐create-­‐sense-­‐urgency    
This  brief  article  discusses  twenty  ways  to  create  urgency.  Each  strategy  can  be  adapted  to  any  school  or  
organization.  
 
Sustaining  a  Sense  of  Urgency  (2013)  –  Janel  Keating    
http://www.allthingsplc.info/blog/view/233/sustaining-­‐a-­‐sense-­‐of-­‐urgency  
This  blog  by  a  school  leader  in  Washington  offers  strategies  to  maintain  a  sense  of  urgency  for  improving  student  
learning.  
 
 
 
 
  This  Research  into  Practice  brief  was  prepared  by  Practical  Leadership,  LLC  and  authored  by  Ronald  
  Williamson,  Professor  of  Educational  Leadership  at  Eastern  Michigan  University  and  Howard  Johnston,  
  Professor  Emeritus  of  Secondary  Education  at  the  University  of  South  Florida.    This  brief  is  prepared  for  
  use  by  principals  and  school  staff  in  Oregon  GEAR  UP  schools.      
 
  Practical  Leadership,  LLC  is  a  full  service  educational  consulting  firm  specializing  in  research,  
  evaluation,  leadership  development  and  achievement-­‐oriented  school  improvement.    Contact  us  by  
   
email:  hojofl@gmail.com  or  rwmson214@aol.com.    Visit  our  website  at  
 
  www.mypracticalleader.com    
 
  Published  April  2017  
 
   
 
 
 

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