Change Management Basics: Six Easy Conversation Starters to Warm Up Reluctant Faculty
Authored by: Holly Whitaker, PhD, Learning Strategy Consultant at D2L.
As a change leader on your campus, achieving your institutional goals for using Brightspace is probably one of your most important priorities. The problem is that the realities of reluctant faculty members can throw even your best-laid plans into a tailspin.
As a change leader, it's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.
Start lighting that candle by engaging reluctant faculty members in conversations. They know that you probably think they are part of the problem, but they see their reluctance and their resistance as having legitimacy. Therefore, you need to honor the legitimate sources of their resistance – and use those as an inroad toward change.
The first rule of engagement here is to not worry if you perceive that a faculty member seems offended. They became academics through a rigorous exercise of defending their ideas with every strategy they know, and even some strategies that they completely faked. It's a normal part of academic culture to settle into a defensive mode once conversation elicits differing opinions. Don't get discouraged - stay in the conversation. Eventually, you'll come to an understanding. That's when progress happens.
So, with that in mind, how do you begin to engage the conversation in the first place? Let's go to journalism basics on this one: who, what, when, where, how and why questions are a great place to start, and this journalism framework serves as an excellent rule of thumb to guide you when you don't quite know what to say next.
Conversation starter #1: Who do you know who is using Brightspace well?
This question elicits who they consider to be their influencer network. We know that later adopters look very heavily to their personal network to decide whether to adopt. Leverage that by giving them a few examples of people they could have a conversation with about Brightspace. Give some detail about specific tools you know those influencers are using, like announcements, rubrics or quizzes so there is a specific reason for the reluctant faculty member to seek the influencer's guidance.
If they say they don't know or that they'd like to find out who is using Brightspace well, this is a good signal because it means that they're just curious about how others are using Brightspace, though they may be embarrassed that they don't already know.
You could start with some of the easier tools in Brightspace like content tools. Get them using one tool well, then they will be willing to start using others.
Set up a departmental showcase at their next faculty meeting. Include the best use cases from that department and have those faculty members demo their courses.
Conversation starter #2: What part of the process do you wish you knew more about?
Sometimes, reluctance is about the anxiety of the unknown. Never assume that your email detailing the basics of the migration plan to Brightspace made its way to their inbox, much less than the email was read and accurately interpreted.
Be open to whatever they say. They will tell you the specific hurdle they need to clear before they jump on board.
Respond directly and transparently. Give them the exact thing they need to make progress.
Conversation starter #3: Is this the semester you are going to try using self-graded quizzes in your class, instead of using scantrons?
This approach comes from a sales mindset, but it doesn't have to come across as slimy or sales-y. In fact, the more you start with this, it can almost become a running joke between you - but the faculty member will sense that your offer of support is ongoing. This will bridge trust.
This conversation starter will help you understand what else is going on with that instructor that is a bigger priority for them. You never know - you may only have to ask one or two more times before they agree to let you help them with Brightspace.
Conversation starter #4: Where do you think your students are getting tripped up in your course?
This can lead to a delightful, super nerdy conversation about data and student achievement, and their answer will tell you the degree to which they prioritize student success in their course.
Offer to look at the Brightspace data together and plan improvements.
If you get a dismissive gesture and a blustery response, this indicates that the faculty member holds an ongoing personal question about how the shift to Brightspace is going to impact them.
You can't leap ahead to conversations about student achievement if personal concerns go unaddressed. If this is the case, go back to Conversation Starter #2: What about this process do you wish you knew more about? This will crystallize the source of that personal concern about the change to Brightspace.
Conversation starter #5: How are you going to know what kind of a difference Brightspace would make if you don't try it?
This can feel like you are throwing down the gauntlet, and to an extent, you are. Be prepared to offer a plan for how they can try Brightspace or how you can help them pilot their course in Brightspace.
Use the Plan-Achieve-Measure framework to help you target the success indicators that faculty member is specifically looking to achieve.
The beauty of this approach is that you're helping the person dismantle their own resistance by engaging them in a research project - which faculty members are highly trained to execute. Offering to help with a publication or conference presentation would sweeten the pot for tenure-track faculty.
Final Thoughts
Each conversation you have with a reluctant or resistant faculty member lights a candle that makes the next steps in their adoption journey visible. Engaging in conversation is as easy as picking one of the conversation starters above, and letting the conversation flow. You'll bring them along to adoption eventually - just keep at it!
Check out the rest of the Change Management Basics articles: