Beyond the Wall of Resistance

Change is a constant in education today. To survive, public school leaders must know how to adapt. But adaption is impossible if every great idea is destroyed by resistance before it gets off the ground.

That's why Rick Maurer's Beyond the Wall of Resistance: Unconventional Strategies That Build Support for Change is so valuable to school superintendents. Maurer, author of two earlier books on change in the workplace, has been affiliated with the University of Maryland and the Center for Creative Leadership.

With references ranging from Machiavelli to Woody Allen, his book offers an in-depth exploration of the underlying reasons people resist change. He describes eight ways employees demonstrate resistance and shows how leaders most often react unproductively.

Maurer has identified a series of unconventional strategies designed to work with resisters. Listening to those affected, allowing input into the change process, and helping them to buy in are crucial to the manager's success. He concludes with five unconventional "touchstones" for leaders: maintain clear focus, embrace resistance, respect those who resist, relax, and join with the resistance.

(Beyond the Wall of Resistance: Unconventional Strategies That Build Support for Change, by Rick Maurer, Bard Books, 5275 McCormick Mountain Drive, Austin, Texas 78734, 1996, 208 pp. with index, $24.95 hardcover)

COPYRIGHT 1996 American Association of School Administrators
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group