Leading Change Without Losing People: A Roadmap for Schools Navigating Instructional Shifts
- DocHolbrook
- Jan 11
- 4 min read
Educational change is not a technical problem. It is a human one.
If change were simply about adopting a new program, attending professional development, or updating a pacing guide, schools would have solved this decades ago. Instead, leaders find themselves navigating fear, fatigue, resistance, and deeply held beliefs about teaching and learning, all while trying to improve outcomes for students.
And sometimes, if we are honest, that resistance makes us angry.
When I Got It Wrong
Right before winter break, I was scheduled to attend a meeting with one of our grade levels. At the last minute, I was pulled in a different direction. In administration, that happens. I sent our instructional coach in my place.
It did not go well.
Teachers were frustrated. The new unit felt extremely difficult. Time felt scarce. There were calls to remove expectations from the report card because students “couldn’t do it.” There was also a belief, accurate or not, that they had not seen me all year. At first, I was angry.
I sent what some might call a nasty gram. I defended my decision. I explained the size of the district. I justified why I could not be everywhere at once. All of it was true. All of it was logical. And all of it was ineffective.
When leaders get angry, teachers get defensive. When teachers get defensive, learning shuts down on both sides. Research on educational change consistently shows that resistance is rarely about unwillingness. It is far more often about uncertainty, capacity, and fear of failure (Fullan, 2016).
Space Changes Perspective
Winter break gave me something I did not have in that moment: space.
With space came better questions.
What were they really upset about?
Was this about me missing a meeting, or about not knowing where we were going?
Had I been as clear as I thought I had been?
Had I been listening as much as I had been talking?
When teachers feel unseen or unheard, even strong systems begin to wobble. Implementation research reminds us that when change feels done to people instead of with them, even the best ideas fail to take hold (Fullan, 2016).
The Work Beneath the Work
When teachers resist, it is rarely because they do not care.
More often, resistance signals:
Cognitive overload
Fear of being judged
Grief for what feels lost
Uncertainty about expectations
Exhaustion from trying to do everything well
Decades of literacy research tell us that improving reading outcomes requires increased teacher knowledge, instructional coherence, and sustained support, not lowered expectations or surface-level fixes (Moats, 2020; Shanahan, 2017). Knowing this intellectually is very different from living it inside a school system.
And the hardest truth is this: none of this is inevitable.
Start With One and Build from There
There is a moment in Dangerous Minds when Michelle Pfeiffer’s character realizes she does not need to reach every student at once. She just needs to reach one, and momentum will follow.
Schools work the same way.
In every grade level, department, and building, there is someone others watch:
The trusted peer
The quiet influencer
The teacher others check in with after meetings
The person whose body language everyone follows
Effective leaders are observers. They notice who speaks, who stays silent, who others mirror, and who carries informal influence. Change spreads socially before it spreads systemically (Datnow & Park, 2019; Fullan, 2014).
You start with the informal leader, the one everyone watches.
Replace Pressure with Structure
Resistance increases when expectations rise without clarity.
Teachers are far more willing to engage in change when systems provide:
Clear phases of implementation
Short-term goals and timelines
Predictable data touchpoints
Embedded instructional support
Clear definitions of what matters now
Research on school improvement consistently shows that clarity, coherence, and feedback matter more than urgency alone (Hattie, 2012).
Pressure without structure creates anxiety. Structure creates safety.
Resetting the Work
Instead of doubling down, I am choosing to reset. Not by abandoning expectations, but by recommitting to presence and clarity.
That means:
Showing up consistently, even when the calendar is full
Committing to at least one standing meeting each month
Re-centering the why behind the work
Re-sharing the roadmap so no one feels lost
Reviewing results honestly, including progress and gaps
Naming what teachers have done well
Acknowledging what has been hard
Answering questions without defensiveness
Resets are not a sign of weakness. They are a leadership skill.
Vision Still Matters
The vision has not changed.
We still believe students can read complex texts when supported well. We still believe lowering expectations does not close gaps. We still believe literacy is access, and access is a right worth fighting for.
What has shifted is my reminder to hold urgency and humanity together. Vision without connection becomes pressure. Pressure without clarity becomes resistance.
Ending Where It Matters Most
Educational change is slow, emotional, and rarely linear.
There are moments when leadership feels isolating, when it seems like every step forward reveals another pocket of resistance. In those moments, I return to this truth:
This work matters too much to lead it with anger.
The goal is momentum.
Momentum is built through trust, clarity, and consistency. It grows through relationships, not reprimands. It sustains itself when people feel seen, supported, and capable of success.
Change often begins with one teacher. One conversation. One reset.
That is not failure. That is leadership.
When we know better, we teach better.
See you next Sunday.
References
Bryk, A. S., Gomez, L. M., Grunow, A., & LeMahieu, P. G. (2015). Learning to improve: How America’s schools can get better at getting better. Harvard Education Press.
Datnow, A., & Park, V. (2019). Professional collaboration with purpose: Teacher learning for equitable and excellent schools. Routledge.
Fullan, M. (2014). The change leader: Learning to do what matters most. Jossey-Bass.
Fullan, M. (2016). The new meaning of educational change (5th ed.). Teachers College Press.
Hattie, J. (2012). Visible learning for teachers: Maximizing impact on learning. Routledge.
Moats, L. C. (2020). Teaching reading is rocket science (2020 ed.). American Federation of Teachers.
Shanahan, T. (2017). Dispelling myths about teaching reading. International Literacy Association.