As I move on in this course, the readings have taught me a lot about life from a leadership standpoint but more so about myself and my past. They continue to give me explanations for things that have occurred in my life that I never thought I would figure out. This has never been truer than it was while reading lesson 5, specifically about planned change. Planned change is expressed in the readings as very important on the part of the leaders. In my story and how planned change relates to me, I am not the leader rather the result of poor leadership during a planned change.
Just like many others, I came to college unsure of what I wanted to do and with no clue as to how much I had to change to fit into my new environment. Step one in Schein’s (1980) planned change theory is that “any change process involves not only learning something new but unlearning something that is already present and possibly well integrated into the personality and social relationships of the individual.” (PSU, 2019) In high school I wasn’t a student that had been accustomed to studying. Unfortunately for me, my high school had a mentality of coddling their students. Their methodology of holding their students hand and walking them through every aspect of academics only put us at a disadvantage as we moved forward in life. Obviously, this style of education set me up for a culture shock when I first got to Penn State. All these learned behaviors that had been instilled in me throughout my development needed to change. I was aware of this and thought I was prepared. However, the gap between what I knew and what I needed to learn was so vast that the second I stumbled I fell through the cracks. With not a single organization leader (teacher, advisor, school rep, etc.) to help me through this planned change it set me on a collision course with failure. In the beginning I knew that things weren’t going to be just handed to me. I needed to seek out advice from someone in a leadership role to learn how exactly I needed to change in order to succeed. Like most college freshman I was so excited, willing and open to learn. That momentum needs to be met with adults in leadership positions ready to harness that drive, in order to point us in the right direction. This takes us to step two in Schein’s (1980) planned change theory. “No change will occur unless there is motivation to change, and if such motivation to change is not already present, the induction of that motivation is often the most difficult part of the change process.” (PSU, 2019) Unfortunately, the professors I ran into in college seemed to expect their students to change without particularly caring to motivate us to meet their expectations. Professors not equipped with the knowledge of how to notice signs of distress and how to address their students about the problem without making things worse can be potentially dangerous. A graduate instructor from Missouri stated “There’s a huge disconnect between the training programs for professors – who are on the front lines – and students themselves.” (Clayson, 2018) over the course of my four years at Penn State I could see that I was falling behind, I wasn’t blind. Nevertheless, everywhere I turned I was faced with people that couldn’t answer my questions. Any response I did get typically confused me even further; eventually leading to me being so discouraged and so far from motivated that I could no longer continue on. I tried everything, went to every person I could think of – my academic advisors, my RA, student disabilities services, student affairs, and later on counseling and psychiatric services in the health center. I sadly no luck finding anyone to help motivate and guide me through the overwhelming amount of changes I faced. Penn State is a great school and that fact isn’t lost on me. The issue is the sheer size of the university makes it possible for students like me, who have learning disabilities, severe anxiety and other issues to be swallowed up whole. Penn States Support system (infrastructure, training, people, etc.) lack the tools to make sure the changes, for their students, to go beyond lip service. (PSU, 2019)
In my second year at Penn State I was reassigned to an advisor who was so knowledgeable and helpful as I continued to struggle on my path. She made it clear to me that my current behaviors in my academics was not satisfactory and if I didn’t change I wasn’t going to make it as a Penn State student. This is called disconfirmation, “the process of showing organizational members that their current behaviors or attitudes are incorrect, and that continuing to behave in those ways will not only harm the organization, but themselves as well.” I was petrified and already so discouraged that even though she meant nothing but the best, her words only set back further. I am not sure if things would have been different had I been assigned my current advisor right off the bat but by the time I did get assigned to her the damage had already been done. My confidence had been shot by professors who hated my work and as an art student this means everything as the grading scale is very subjective. At the same time, I was drowning in self-loathing because of the way I was treated by members of my sorority. So as a person who already struggled with severe anxiety, my advisor bringing the possibility of impending failure made me shut down completely. My advisor is brilliant and caring but she is very ‘matter of fact’ which may be acceptable and reasonable as a college advisor. However, due to the fact that my mental health was on a steady decline the unfreezing mechanism on psychological safety wasn’t considered in her delivery. Psychological safety is “showing organizational members that there is an alternative to their current behaviors that will reduce the guilt and anxiety they are experiencing.” (PSU, 2019) As mentioned in the reading the mechanism of psychological safety is the most important step in organizational change but is also the most forgotten. No alternatives were brought to my attention such as switching majors, I just continued to dredge on until I fell so far behind with no way to back.
By the time my senior year came around I had let all the changes get the best of me and was in the darkest place I’ve ever been. For me, it took reaching rock bottom, retroactively withdrawing from PSU and coming back home to face my depression and failure head on. It was only then that I was able to successfully work my way through Schein’s (1980) three-stage model of planned change: unfreezing, changing, and refreezing. The first, unfreezing, is “creating the motivation to change.” (PSU, 2019) For this stage my parents, and psychologist were my leaders in motivation; keeping me moving forward. The biggest motivation during this time was when the PSU Faculty Senate granted my request for a retroactive withdrawal. It was as if the organization that knocked me down took some responsibility for my shattered spirts and wiped my slate clean to start anew. Step two of Schein’s (1980) three-stage model of planned change is the actually act of changes in behaviors and attitudes through a two-step process. The first step, identification, which is “connecting with a respected person and learn the new behaviors and/or attitudes from that person” (PSU, 2019), came when I visited Hersey’s Children Hospital and met with a nurse who just so happened to be a Penn State alum. It was as if a lightbulb went off in my head. The path I was on towards a BA in photography wasn’t what I was meant to do. I was meant to be a nurse. After this realization I moved on to the second step of change which is scanning the environment, “looking in particular for information about the current problem and solution.” (PSU, 2019) I then was able to see my end goal, identify any obstacles and find people to help me with solutions. “People in organizations do not simply look to one person for information about change; they seek information from multiple sources.” (PSU, 2019) I had to complete my pre-requisites for any nursing program while still needing to complete my undergraduate degree. All I needed was to find what motivated me instead of seeking motivation from others who were incapable of doing such. I became the student I never thought I could be; one who earns perfect scores on exams, gets A’s across the board and makes not only Dean’s list but President’s list. This brings me full circle and to Schein’s (1980) final stage of planned change theory, refreezing; which is “stabilizing the changes by freezing the new behaviors into the standard behavior.” (PSU, 2019) It wasn’t an easy ride and it still isn’t, but I am now a dedicated student, with drive and a thirst for success. I am now back at PSU and on track to graduate this May and I won’t let anything get in the way of that.
The sad truth is that my story isn’t very unique. What is meant to be a positive life changing experience, colleges are changing students from hopeful and optimistic to lost and defeated; simply because the proper steps to address planned changes facing the people within organizations are not taken. A newsletter from Boston University’s School of Public Health reports that “30 percent of students struggling with depression drop out, one-fifth of whom might have stayed in school with the proper treatment and intervention” (Fairyington, 2018) People within an organization, college or university, need to be motivated through changes, not be discouraged when they fall short. The current infrastructure of college campuses isn’t geared towards motivating for planned change. However, with the right leadership who understand their role and the mechanisms of organizational and planned changes than maybe we can bring the number of college students who fall through the cracks down to zero.
REFRENCES:
Clayton, J. (2018, May 15). Students, Parents And Suicide: What’s The Role Of The University”. Retrieved from https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2018/05/15/students-parents-university-suicide
Fairyington, S. (2018, October 9). 9 Eye-Opening Truths About the College Mental Health Crisis. Retrieved from https://thriveglobal.com/stories/9-eye-opening-truths-about-the-college-mental-health-crisis/
Kovesi, C. A. (2015, November 23). Dealing with Mental Health: A Guide for Professors. Retrieved from https://www.universityaffairs.ca/opinion/student-voices/dealing-with-mental-health-aguide-for-professors/
Pennsylvania State University. (2019, February). Lesson 5: Learning and Change in a Global Setting. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1964331/modules/items/25821691
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