Introduction
Change may involve making minor adjustments, creating new procedures, developing new plans, or working on broad initiatives. For leaders, times of broad changes or innovations require the most resilience, creativity, and foresight. During times of change, there can be disruption throughout the entire institution, with employees experiencing uncertainty, frustration, and a lack of direction. As a leader, you must be ready to step in and use your abilities to influence, empathize, and support to lead your entire institution into the future. You must be able to create partnerships, gain allies, and garner support, as these initiatives often involve many departments working in concert. Are you prepared to lead an entire institution through a large-scale innovative change?
Someone responsible for leading an institution is expected to develop well-informed, well-researched opinions, statements, and recommendations. Leaders must use critical-thinking skills based on sound logic and reasoning. It is also possible for leaders to rely on their own creativity while developing a vision, creating initiatives, or being involved in projects. However, unstructured thinking often seems to defy logic and careful consideration, which is why many leaders do not allow themselves to think in this manner. Imagine the possibilities and new ideas that could surface if you allow the creative part of your mind to act. Is it possible the use of creativity in leadership can transform an institution? Does creativity play a role in leading change initiatives? What do you imagine it is like to hold responsibility for guiding an institution every day? Would you be able to envision new ideas and possibilities to sustain and imagine the future of this institution?
Leading carries the weight and responsibility of making the right decisions, but this does not mean leading is done alone. Creativity is about imagining new ideas and possibilities, finding new solutions in unique ways, and being open to possibilities not considered before. Do you, as a leader, have enough imagination to think in such an unrestricted way? Some leaders can do so, depending on their industry, yet within the field of education there is often a mental constraint of policies and procedures. This constraint goes back to what you learned about mental models and learning to break free of long-held beliefs and thought patterns. Perhaps it takes engaging with others to bring out creative ideas. Whatever it takes, becoming a more creative leader is certain to transform how you lead through both small- and large-scale organizational changes.
Overview
Your proposal was well received and you have been asked to consider how you might scale it for a larger rollout. You recognize there may be some challenges with doing this, so you are approaching this work with care. In this assessment you will create an addendum to your proposal, addressing scalability and discussing creativity as an essential leadership trait:
Add a section to your proposal in which you attempt to create a shared vision for scaling your proposal for a larger implementation. You do not need to resubmit the whole proposal, just this section.
Describe your view of creativity as an essential leadership trait to improve the proposal and its presentation.
Instructions
Scalability
Add a 24 page section to your proposal in which you:
Identify an opportunity for scaling your proposed innovation and/or technology. Describe what this scaling would look like.
Describe the first steps you would take toward scaling your innovation, using systems thinking.
Identify and describe the requirements of a large-scale initiative for your institution, based on professional and scholarly literature.
Include technical requirements, infrastructure, and resources (including possible human resources).
Describe the potential challenges for implementing this large-scale initiative.
Is there a scale framework you can use to help plan this initiative?
What are the potential benefits, risks, and costs for implementation of this initiative?
Use systems thinking to build your case. How does systems thinking help you? What pushback and questions might you get? Who are your allies? How can you collaborate with them?
Creativity
Include a one-page discussion of creativity as an essential leadership trait, based upon professional and scholarly literature, addressing the following:
How can creativity be deployed to transform an institution?
How does creativity play a role in leading change initiatives?
How can a creative approach to leadership complement a purely logical approach?
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