Getting to 'go': How organizational leaders approach planning for self-directed work teams in State Cooperative Extension Systems

Public education institutions are under increasing pressure to operate more efficiently, effectively, and with impact. State Cooperative Extension Systems, which include campus- and field-based operations, are experimenting with administrative innovations. An innovation receiving contemporary attention in Extension systems, the self-directed work team (SDWT), holds promise for better connecting campus and field, and making it possible to provide end-users with better quality information and educational programs.; The purpose of this research, which was undertaken in the constructivist tradition, is to explore organizational dynamics associated with getting to the decision point of adopting SDWTs in three statewide Extension organizations. Data were collected through personal interviews conducted with administrators (and others) who were involved actively in the decision to adopt SDWTs in their respective statewide organization.; Findings suggest that administrators were attracted to SDWTs for common reasons (e.g., serving clientele). Change managers considered SDWTs to be an effective venue through which collegiality among Extension professionals could be improved, and through which better Extension education programs could be produced. Change managers also believed that SDWTs represented a good 'fit' with the values they associated with their organizations.; Each organization's adoption process reflected unique and sometimes multiple theoretical models of organizational change. However, administrators' theories-in-use about change, leadership, organizations and Extension, which differed across study sites, tended to be more useful in explaining change processes and outcomes than did change models gleaned from the literature. A participatory approach to the change process was observed across all organizations studied. However, each organization differed markedly in how that approach was operationalized.; The processes used to introduce teams reflected the unique cultural attributes of each Extension organization. For one organization, the adoption of self-directed teams reflected a preference for organization-wide dialogue and reflection as the primary means through which change might emerge. For another, the adoption process reflected strong organizational values around shared leadership. And for another organization, the adoption of teams unfolded as planned change. In each case, change managers understood the difficulty of making changes to their organization's culture and chose to concentrate change strategy on changing systems rather than culture. In each case, the decision entertained was how to adopt teams rather than whether or not to adopt teams.