Change Agents at Work: Brokering Boundaries

Change agents, in any capacity and environment, play a pivotal role in moving new knowledge and ideas forward. Their role is complex and requires an array of skills that allows productivity and relationship building. This book investigates the change agent role within one large-scale educational initiative, providing an in-depth examination of the entry skills brought to the role, how skills develop over time, and their influence as boundary brokers across all levels of the initiative.This work has implications for any agency with the responsibility of hiring and creating a positive environment for change. It provides insights into the variety of strength profiles that change agents possess, and how constellations of strengths in a group may support one another. The conclusions also shed light on how the skills of change agents may be developed over time in ways that include attention to ongoing, multi-level professional development, support during destabilizing events, ongoing emotional and cognitive support, and using questioning as a powerful tool. Agencies with change agent hiring and support responsibilities will be able to use this information to craft job postings and to design short- and long-term support structures.