In August 2002, Melody Johnson, deputy chief of Providence, Rhode Island, school district, was hastily appointed acting chief, after the resignation of his predecessor and close colleague Diana Lam. Lam and Johnson were together started in the last three years, an ambitious reform agenda for the modernization of inefficient system. Despite some improvement, however, Johnson knew that there remains considerable resistance to change, as evidenced by, inter alia, by a bitter dispute recently settled a contract with the teachers of the system. This case describes the problem facing Melody Johnson, as it seeks to obtain the rank-and-file support for reform in the immediate months after his appointment as chief in her own right. It focuses on the specific steps that it felt to receive this support, without prejudice to the reforms, including, radically, the day that classes will be canceled, so that she and others could be considered exercise of power in general. This public event guide is intended to highlight the selection and methods of "adaptive management", as described by Kennedy School professor Ronald Heifetz, "Leadership without easy answers" (Belknap Press, September 1994). See also the case № 1690,0. HKS Case Number 1689.0 "Hide
by Susan Rosengrant, Dean Williams, 14 pages. Publication Date: April 1, 2003. Prod. #: HKS084-PDF-ENG
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