Page 23 - Ignite Change: Unleashing thought leadership - A roadmap to thougth leadership

In most organisations change is driven top-down, but this is an unsustainable
change management system. The buy-in from the bottom is seldom accomplished

(Fullan, 2015). Similarly, bottom-up reform never researches its full ambit. The
instructional method of “prioritise, implement” does not sustain innovation. More and

more, there is a call to drive change from the middle, whether it be from the district

level in the broader educational system or from teachers within the school
ecosystem. What is required is “…the strongest system coherence, capacity and

commitment resulting in sustained improvement.”

Leadership from the middle (LftM) is defined by Michael Fullan as a “deliberate
strategy that increases the capacity and internal coherence of the middle as it

becomes a more effective partner upward to the state and downward to its schools

and communities, in pursuit of greater system performance.” (Fullan 2016). If the
middle is strengthened, innovation will be a consistent part of the school’s culture.

The goal is to enable the middle to both pull the organisation together and drive the

changes needed. This is a “connected” strategy. In this environment, teacher leaders

are critical conductors to channel the energy, vision and direction of the organisation.
If changes are created together, it will foster co-learning and ownership of innovation

and deep learning throughout the organisation.

Figure 6 Collaborative Professionalism

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