Why does choosing to change cause so much interest? Is there a person today in education who is not experiencing change? As a leader in the educational community, we experience change constantly. However, too much change can cause people to become weary. I have always advised leaders of the rule of “3 to 5”. In any given school year, a leader could collaboratively choose 3 major areas of change and definitely no more than 5. You should be able to count the items where educators are expected to experience change on 1 hand. The need for consistency is essential in the change process. Other than those 3 to 5 items, you should attempt to keep all other processes unchanged.
Why is this important? With the complexity of the educational environment, as a leader, you want to make sure your changes are done well and deeply enough to make a difference. If you tackle more than 3-5 items, through my experience, you will most likely not get the results you would like. When approaching the change process, the number of areas you adjust and the people involved in the process are the 2 most important aspects of consideration. It is also essential to communicate why the change is taking place. Imagine having to explain more than 5 major change items to a group of educators who already have a very complex job. What if all of the changes are not under your control? If one comes from the another source, then that still counts for your total as a leader.
As you innovate, improve, or adjust your educational processes, count them on one hand and keep your focus. Change is essential for leaders to accomplish their goals, but to do this well it makes sense to monitor the effect of the few instead of the many.