Lessons from the Tertiary Sector (Fullan 1999)
Fullan notes that here there has been greater governmental intervention than in higher education (so far) but some of the key lessons may nonetheless apply to HE as well:
Lesson 1. You can't mandate what matters (the more complex the change the less you can force it).
Lesson 2. Change is a journey not a blueprint (change is non-linear, loaded with uncertainty and excitement and sometimes perverse).
Lesson 3. Problems are our friends (problems are inevitable and you can't learn without them).
Lesson 4. Vision and strategic planning come later (premature visions and planning blind).
Lesson 5. Individualism and collectivism must have equal power (there are no one-sided solutions to isolation and group think).
Lesson 6. Neither centralisation nor decentralisation work (both top-down and bottom-up strategies are necessary).
Lesson 7. Connection with the wider environment is critical for success (the best organisations learn externally as well as internally).
Lesson 8. Every person is a change agent (change is too important to leave to experts, personal mind-set and mastery is the ultimate protection).
