Misti Morgan & Dr. William Allan Kritsonis

1. The Six Secrets of Change at Work: A Case for the use of
Fullan’s work in a school setting
Misti M. Morgan
PhD Student in Educational Leadership
The Whitlowe R. Green College of Education
Prairie View A & M University
Associate Principal
Spring Independent School District
Spring, Texas
William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
Professor and Faculty Mentor
PhD Program in Educational Leadership
Prairie View A&M University
Member of the Texas A&M University System
Hall of Honor (2008)
William H. Parker Leadership Academy
Graduate School
Prairie View A&M University
Invited Visiting Lecturer
Oxford Round Table
University of Oxford, Oxford, England

2. Distinguished Alumnus
Central Washington University
College of Educational and Professional Studies

3. ___________________________________________________________________________________
ABSTRACT
In my twelve years of experience in the public school setting, I have seen and practiced both
good and bad leadership. Leadership characteristics are learned, many times from the leaders with
whom you have worked, and that model forms our abilities to lead ourselves. While this model can
undoubtedly leave an uneven sense of what effective leadership looks like, Fullan’s description of
the Six Secrets of Change enables even seasoned leaders to gain perspective on what is really
important in the life of a school, and with self-reflection, the possibility of improvement becomes
real.
Purpose of the Article
The purpose of this article is to review Fullan’s Six Secrets of Change and postulate as to how the
theories could foster school improvement at my current campus.
Secret One - Love Your Employees
Fullan’s commandment of loving your employees is at times, as difficult as loving thy neighbor.
In my present experience of working with over 200 adults (teachers, paraprofessionals, counselors, and
administrators), loving our employees is not an easy feat. Opinions frequently differ, and at times, they
can differ loudly. As the administrator charged with overseeing curriculum and instruction, I often clash
with teachers regarding various topics, including grading standards, failure rates, and assessment scores.
Never before have I witnessed a more interesting group of individuals! I find myself loving some of the
teachers and parents who side with philosophy of placing students first, but there are others who
challenge me daily. Fullan insists that we love them anyway. We should love them even more because
without it any changes implemented will surely fail. Fullan insists that employees within an organization
be treated with a combination of McGregor’s Theories X and Y, and this is a strategic directive. When
leaders plan to implement change, often the change begins in their head or on paper. The next task of the
leader is to enlist others to believe in the change he or she wishes to see. Without love for your

4. employees, a leader cannot enlarge his circle of believers, thus, the vision withers on the vine before it
can ever be shared. I liken Fullan’s first secret to my present job because we are undertaking the process
of moving to smaller learning communities. The faculty is being asked to stretch its concept of structure
and beliefs, and the journey is sure to become an unclear one as we delve further into the idea of change.
If the plan of smaller learning communities is to have any chance of succeeding, then faculty members
must first feel that they are respected and cared for by their leader. One key concept that Fullan says even
the greatest school administrators miss is that in their quest to put every child first, they overlook the fact
that adults have to be treated with care as well. While the mission to improve student learning is always
first and foremost, the key to attainment lies with teacher buy-in. As leaders, buy-in cannot be achieved
without a genuine concern for faculty needs, attitudes, and perceptions. This concern differs from
yielding; even though teachers need to be cared for, they don’t need to be catered to just to show them
that they are loved and respected. Good leaders strike this balance and understand how to move people
forward so that change can occur. Loving your employees is tough, but Fullan is correct to state that
change can only occur when people feel most appreciated by their campus leadership.
Secret Two – Connect Peers with Purpose
Employees are at their best when they believe their work matters. Fullan is clear that in order to
affect change, the workers within an institution need to be engaged in meaning collaboration. Teachers
learn and grow from one another when their time is spent working on substantive issues that improve
their practice. On my campus this school year, we have instituted a once-weekly, 150 minute professional
learning time for teachers and staff. The purpose of the professional learning time is to discuss issues that
are rooted in teacher perceptions of students, quality of student work, looking at failure data (six weeks
grades and assessment data), and learning best instructional practices from each other. While teachers
were first resistant to the idea of professional learning time (teacher’s greatest fear is that their time will
be wasted), they have now embraced the idea because it affords them the opportunity to share with their
colleagues in a nonthreatening environment and build common understandings about their campus and

5. instructional practices. Further, the work is more affirming because administrators actually implement
teacher recommendations and change campus practices as a result of the work that is done in teacher
work groups. Teachers feel both empowered and enlightened as a result of the work.
Secret Three – Capacity Building Prevails
In order for change to occur and be sustained in any institution, its employees have to be prepped
for the change itself. Good leaders prepare their employees by exposing them to the components of the
change long before the change occurs. The exposure comes in the form of honest conversations,
professional literature with commentary, small group discussions, and external professional development
for teachers. Further, leaders among the ranks (fellow teachers) are selected for the purpose of leading
their colleagues. Capacity building for the teacher leaders comes in the form of leadership tasks and
training that is designed to teach the leaders how to lead. Leaders should be careful not to place teachers
in a position for which they are unprepared. Careful planning and follow through can ensure that teacher
leaders are prepared for change when it occurs.
Secret Four – Learning is the Work
Often, teachers like to state that they “cover” material with their students. Yet, is “covering” the
material the same as learning it? In my professional experience, I have seen that teachers frequently
engage in covering information, rather than learning it personally. Our goal in improving teacher efficacy
is to ensure that teachers actually “learn” material. How do we ensure this process? By having teachers to
collaborate with one another, engage in relevant discussion, create a product or exemplar model of the
concept, and then present the concept to their peers. Such deep engagement ensures that teachers have not
only been exposed to the material, but that they are prepared to articulate this information to their peers.
Only then can true learning be evidenced within a faculty.
Secret Five – Transparency Rules

6. A leader will not have the backing of the faculty if it is perceived that he or she is not being
completely honest. Throughout the change process, challenges occur and plans may need to be changed.
When this occurs, leaders need to inform their staff of the inner workings or the “behind the scenes”
occurrences. This builds credibility and trust between leaders and their staff, which can easily be broken
if the leader is dishonest or omits key information that the faculty finds out through other means. Even
when the truth is not positive or favorable, leaders should still share it with their teachers and staff to
maintain transparency and credibility.
Secret Six – Systems Learn
When leaders establish a process, they must be careful to solidify successful processes by
creating systems. When leaders convert processes into systems, it allows the organization to be more
efficient, as well as enabling all stakeholders with the “how-to manual” for addressing common problems
that will reoccur without an effective process in place. A good leader’s legacy can be the establishment of
systems for management efficiency.
Conclusion
Fullan’s Six Secrets of Change can transform an organization and its effectiveness from the
inside. Leaders can engage their employees in relevant, systems-based learning principles for the
improvement (change) of their environment. Further, leaders can expand upon their effectiveness within
an institution by loving their employees and practicing transparency with them. Such practices will ensure
that change is carefully implemented and accepted.

7. A leader will not have the backing of the faculty if it is perceived that he or she is not being
completely honest. Throughout the change process, challenges occur and plans may need to be changed.
When this occurs, leaders need to inform their staff of the inner workings or the “behind the scenes”
occurrences. This builds credibility and trust between leaders and their staff, which can easily be broken
if the leader is dishonest or omits key information that the faculty finds out through other means. Even
when the truth is not positive or favorable, leaders should still share it with their teachers and staff to
maintain transparency and credibility.
Secret Six – Systems Learn
When leaders establish a process, they must be careful to solidify successful processes by
creating systems. When leaders convert processes into systems, it allows the organization to be more
efficient, as well as enabling all stakeholders with the “how-to manual” for addressing common problems
that will reoccur without an effective process in place. A good leader’s legacy can be the establishment of
systems for management efficiency.
Conclusion
Fullan’s Six Secrets of Change can transform an organization and its effectiveness from the
inside. Leaders can engage their employees in relevant, systems-based learning principles for the
improvement (change) of their environment. Further, leaders can expand upon their effectiveness within
an institution by loving their employees and practicing transparency with them. Such practices will ensure
that change is carefully implemented and accepted.