I know that to promote change in my high school, I need to appeal to the hearts of my admin and colleagues or I will not get very far.
I am, by nature, a rational person. I have a passion for math, science, and all things that make logical sense. If you can show me proof, I will likely believe what you have to say. If you cannot show me proof, you will have a hard time convincing me of your argument.
That said, even as rational as I am, I still have trouble sometimes convincing my brain to believe something that my heart does not want to. As it is pointed out in Star Trek, this is a human characteristic. We cannot all be Spock. Our hearts and emotions are what bring beauty and culture to our world. If we did not have heart, we would see a sunset only as the earth turning another revolution around its star, instead of seeing it for the beauty of the colors it presents.
Traditionally, I think we use logic to try to influence change because it makes sense; if you can show proof that something works, or that it is worthwhile, then everyone must follow, right? The video “How to Change People Who Don’t Want to Change” (Maxfield & Grenny, 2015) shows exactly why that logic does not work. The video shows that smokers know all the reasons to quit smoking, yet they continue to smoke. It is not until they see kids trying to smoke that they seriously consider trying to quit smoking. No adult with a heart wants kids to endanger their health and smoke. The smokers gave the kids all the reasons they should not smoke. They gave all the logical reasons someone else would have given to them to quit smoking. They knew the facts, but it was not until they had to engage emotionally that they saw the reason to change.
The video shows that people do not need more information. They can see logic and likely have all the information they need. Their hearts and emotions are involved in their decision to continue a bad habit. If you lecture to them about facts they already know, they will dig their heels in deeper to cling to their emotional “logic.” The only person who can convince them to change is themselves. All we can do is guide them in an emotionally safe environment by asking them questions and letting their hearts and minds work through their logic.
This is the approach we need to take if we want to see real change in our schools. Our administrators and colleagues want the best for our students just like we do. In their minds, they know logical reasons to make changes, but their hearts are stuck in the same patterns. We need to provide them guidance in an emotionally safe environment so they can realize the changes that will improve our educational environment and be there to provide them with solid ideas and plans to implement changes to make our educational system better.
How to Change People Who Don't Want to Change [Video file]. (2015). Retrieved January 21, 2021, from https://youtu.be/9ACi-D5DI6A
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