Transformational Leadership: Inspiring Positive Change

A guest blog by Dr. Renee Owen, based upon her teaching and her new book Becoming a Transformational Leader.

If you’re involved in school improvement, the following pattern is probably familiar: review the data, identify gaps, and write goals aimed at fixing what’s not working. Goals often sound like this: Increase third-grade reading proficiency by 3%.

Clear, but not very inspirational.

The challenge isn’t the data—it’s the framing. Deficit-based goals may be measurable, but they rarely create shared purpose or motivate people to engage fully. And without shared purpose, influence is limited.

A key factor in transformational leadership is influence and communication is one of the most effective ways to influence. In Part 1 of Transformational Leadership for Educators, I explored the role Conversations Worth Having plays. In Part 2, I share how to inspire positive change to effect school improvement by shifting your focus. 

Why Framing Matters for Change Leadership

Leadership influence doesn’t come from authority or plans alone. It comes from how leaders talk about challenges and possibilities. Everyday conversations shape whether people feel energized, defensive, or disconnected from change. This is where the Flipping technique from Conversations Worth Having becomes a powerful tool for educators stepping into leadership.

Flipping: Turn Problems into Opportunities by Reframing

I work with educators aspiring to become transformational leaders. Here’s how I flip a classic school problem: low attendance.

1. Name it (Clearly name the problem you don’t want): Low attendance.
2. Flip it (Name the positive opposite—the condition you do want): High attendance.

          This is far more motivating, but the last step is where transformation occurs.

3. Frame it (Articulate the deeper purpose behind that condition): A joyful, inclusive school where students want to be every day.

Now compare:

• Goal: Increase attendance by 5%.
• Vision: A school culture where every student is excited to be here learning, every day.

One measures improvement. The other inspires possibility and commitment.

What Educators Discover When They Create Positive Frames

When educators practice flipping together, technical goals become shared visions. The following examples were developed by emerging leaders from K-12 schools in my course.

In each case, reframing shifts the conversation from fixing problems to creating the school people want to be part of.

Why Positive Framing Matters

Positive framing doesn’t ignore reality or lower standards. It strengthens leadership influence by aligning data with purpose and language with values. It turns goals into inspirational visions.

For educators becoming leaders, this practice offers a way to influence change without sacrificing care, collaboration, or authenticity. School improvement plans become more than compliance documents—they become invitations to move forward together, inspired to create positive change.

If you’re an educator stepping into leadership, your greatest influence may not come from what you mandate—but from how you help others imagine what’s possible.

Shared by Renee Owen, EdD author of Becoming a Transformative Leader from the Inside Out. a guidebook written for school administrators to become influential change-leaders. Her book includes dozens of experiential learning activities she teaches in the Principal Administrative Licensure program at Southern Oregon University. The activities are designed to help emerging school leaders think differently about education leadership. One of the most effective activities is the flip and reframe technique she learned from Conversations Worth Having. This single activity helps new school leaders transform their perspective on how to do school improvement from deficit thinking to an inspirational, visionary approach.