As the leader of change in your school, we suggest you first find out your staff's particular hopes and concerns with the exact wording they might use to express these basic ideas.  When you use their words in future discussions, it will be a trigger to them that you really heard what they said.  It also gives them buy-in to the next step:  figuring out ways to deal with the obstacles.

Following is an outline of steps you can use to have a conversation about your staff's hopes and concerns.  We think you will find the conversation enlightening and an effective strategy in reducing resistance and moving the school forward. 

For example, let's say that the staff has agreed to partcipate in schoolwide planning.  Keep in mind that agreeing to participate is not the same as actually participating wholeheartedly.

• Before the session to discuss their hopes and concerns about schoolwide planning, you need to do some homework.  Divide the staff into small groups of four to six people in a group.  These should not be their typical groups, i.e. sitting with buddies.  Post the groups on chart paper so they can sit with their assigned group when they come to the meeting.
• Give an overview of the basic elements of schoolwide planning and implementation.  Have the schoolwide planning elements on chart paper or an overhead for those who respond better to visuals.
• After the overview, have everyone--individually--write down their hopes and concerns on a piece of paper.  It is important that each person has quiet time to do their own thinking about schoolwide planning.
• Then in their small groups, have them list all of the members' hopes and concerns on chart paper.  This makes the lists the property of the small group and cannot be attributed to individuals within the group.
• Have each group agree on their top five priorities in each category.
• Have each group share its list with the large group and note the common hopes and concerns.
• To bring closure to this group exercise, you might say:  "This has been a great discussion.  It sounds as if these hopes are important to you, and we need to keep them in our focus during schoolwide planning.  I can also see that these concerns are the obstacles that can keep schoolwide planning from being successful.  So, if we can accomplish these hopes and remove or minimize these obstacles it looks like we can make this change work.  What do you think?  How do you feel about that?"

This is not just an interesting exercise.  It is the first step to unveil the underlying challenges to making schoolwide planning and implementation successful.  The next step is to have either the school improvement team or the whole staff take part in identifying possible solutions for the "concerns."  Without this follow-up step, people will be confused and become cynical.  And, most importantly, you will have missed an opportunity to lead them forward.

Moving people through change is complex--there is no silver bullet or simple technique that will make it all fall into place.  It is up to everyone in leadership positions to help others become involved, committed, and successful in the implementation of meaning change.