Gooding Public Schools: Redskins No More Case Study Analysis

This case study analysis, titled "Redskins No More," examines the change resistance encountered by Gooding Public Schools when attempting to rename their athletic team. The assignment explores the dynamics of adaptive leadership, focusing on the actions of Scott Rogers and the school board in navigating community opposition rooted in tradition and racial sensitivity. It analyzes the tactics used to resist the change and evaluates the effectiveness of the school board's approach in creating a "holding environment" to integrate differing opinions. Furthermore, the analysis identifies key tenets of adaptive leadership, such as maintaining disciplined attention and giving work back to the people, as demonstrated in the case. The assignment also includes an action plan to improve change management, focusing on identifying discrimination, conducting seminars, and increasing engagement. The analysis is supported by an annotated bibliography of relevant academic sources.

Running head: Case Study Analysis – Redskins No More
Case Study Analysis – Redskins No More
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

1Case Study Analysis – Redskins No More
Case Study Analysis: Redskins No More
Change Resistance
The change that was introduced in the Gooding Public Schools was the transformation
of the name of the athletic team of the school. The athletic team of the school was named
Redskin since over the past fifty years, owing to the strong Native American culture
prevalent in the town. However, few of the members of the school as well as the local
community found the name to be an offensive racial slur. For this purpose, Scott Rogers, the
newly recruited member of the school board, along with members of the local community
proposed suggestions for the renaming of the athletic team, to be selected by the students of
the school.
However, the change of renaming the athletic team was avoided by several members
of the local community owing to a strong sense of tradition and nostalgia. Such resistance
from some of the members of the school board and local families resulted from the identity
and popularity of the Gooding’s athletic team Redskins. The tactics adopted by them to resist
the change of renaming the athletic team included strong opposition on a cultural and
traditional basis. Furthermore, it had also been argued that the name Redskins was not
considered to be offensive and had been widely accepted by the school members and local
communities for generations.
The efforts made by Scott Rogers as a member of the school board can be considered
to be adaptive leadership. The essential tenets of adaptive leadership includes the efforts of
the leaders to integrate the actions of the followers by helping them to adapt to the challenges
that may be faced by them (Northouse, 2018). Adaptive leadership further allows the leaders
to guide the followers to tactically face new circumstances and overcome the difficulties and
hardships that may arise in the process (Northouse, 2019). In this regard, it may be said that

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Scott Rogers organized and motivated the members of the school along with the local and
national communities to analyze the need to bring about the change of renaming the school
athletic groups, owing to growing feelings of racial slur and offense felt by certain
individuals.
The holding environment created by the school board was motivated towards the
integration of the interests of the different members having differences in opinions. The
purpose of adaptive leadership is the creation of an environment where the interests of the
different members of the community are integrated in spite of the challenges posed by
divisive forces (Drago-Severson & Blum-DeStefano, 2014). In this regard, the efforts made
by the board of the school aimed at discussing the importance of differing perspectives and
ideas, and finally incorporating the role of the student body to make the ultimate decision
regarding the renaming of their athletic group. Therefore, it can be said that the holding
environment created by the school board had been successful.
One of the most important functions of adaptive leadership is getting on the balcony
or trying to find a new perspective for change amidst challenging situations (Obolensky,
2017). An example that can be cited from the case study in this regard, is the effort of Scott
Rogers to bring the school board to a common consensus that if the existing name of the
school’s athletic team brings about a sense of discrimination or racial slur, it should be
changed in order to maintain a healthy environment in the school and promote the common
goal of providing quality education to the students. Furthermore, another important aspect of
adaptive leadership is maintaining disciplined attention, meaning that the leaders must ensure
that the followers are ready to adapt to proposed changes even if it causes changes in their
beliefs and values (Heifetz & Linsky, 2014). This process may cause disruption and
resistance from the followers that in turn may cause discrepancies in the process of
implementing the change. From the case study, it can be observed that Scott Rogers along

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with other members from the board of the school engaged in maintaining disciplined action
by incorporating the views and efforts of different members like the local communities,
student body and national community, to gain support in the change implementation process
and reduce resistance. Adaptive leadership also incorporates giving work back to the people,
thereby engaging the participation of the people in the change management process (Longo,
2017). For this purpose, the board of the school involved the views of the different members
of the authority in the decision making process. Additionally, the participation of the students
was also incorporated in the change implementation process due to which they were given the
opportunity to select the new name for their athletic team.
Low-status groups refer to the minority section who pose an unpopular opinion. In the
given case, the low-status group can be identified to be the local family who identified the
racial slur in the existing name of the Gooding athletic team, Redskins. The school board
tried to give voice to this minority group by considering their opinion and accordingly
seeking to protect their interests as well as the interests of the other individuals with similar
dissent for the racial overtones in the name of Redskins.
Action Plan
As observed in the case study, the change implementation procedure at Gooding
Public Schools received severe opposition from the local communities. The action plan that
can be suggested to the school and its board for improving the efficiency of change
management can be listed as follows:
 Identification of cases of discrimination: Scott Rogers along with the school board
can engage in the collection of feedback from the students regarding their views on
the present name of the athletic group and whether they have faced any discrimination
on the basis of their racial background. Such an evaluation will be able to provide a

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clear understanding on the extent of the problem and the urgency and need for change
implementation. The school board may also gather the feedback from the local
communities and evaluate their differing opinions on a qualitative basis.
 Conduction of seminars: The school board may also conduct seminars for the
students and their families to stress upon the ill effects of racial discrimination and
prejudice on the personal and professional development of the students. A clear
understanding on the ill impact of such racial prejudice highlighted through the name
of the athletic group would help in the reduction of resistance to its change.
 Increase of engagement of the school authorities: the board of the school can also
aim at the increase of participation of individuals and communities in the change
process by allotting tasks and responsibilities to them for the change management
process.
Annotated Bibliography
1. Billings, A. C., & Black, J. E. (2018). Mascot Nation: The Controversy Over Native
American Representations in Sports. University of Illinois Press.
In this book the authors have focused on how certain Native American mascots have
resulted in the rise of resentment among the media and local communities alike. Such use of
names of athletic teams have been considered to be insensitive and often racist. Elimination
of such racial elements would lead to an integration of communities thereby building a
cooperative and collaborative atmosphere.
2. Tjernberg, C., & Mattson, E. H. (2014). Inclusion in practice: a matter of school
culture. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 29(2), 247-256.
In this article, the authors have focused on the importance of the practice of inclusion
as an integral aspect of the culture of a school. Heterogeneous groups along with the

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inclusion of diversity within the scope of the institution not only helps in the personal and
professional development of the students but also helps in the overall development of the
institution.
3. Kiersch, C., & Peters, J. (2017). Leadership from the Inside Out: Student Leadership
Development within Authentic Leadership and Servant Leadership Frameworks.
Journal of Leadership Education, 16(1).
In this article, the authors have highlighted the role of servant leadership in bringing
about development in educational institutions. The purpose of imparting higher education
to students is to help them develop their personal as well as professional skills. The role
of servant leadership in this regard, is to enable the authorities to focus on the common
goal of providing quality education to the students instead of focusing on the interests of
the institution itself.
4. Khan, N. (2017). Adaptive or transactional leadership in current higher education: A
brief comparison. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed
Learning, 18(3).
In this article, the authors have focused on the importance and role of adaptive
leadership in educational institutions. Various external factors affect the efficient
functioning of the institutions. However, it is the role of the leaders of such institutions to
manage the challenges that may be faced by the internal and external stakeholders,
thereby protecting and integrating their interests.
5. Squires, V. L. (2015). Tackling Complex Educational Challenges Through Adaptive
Leadership. Antistasis, 5(1).
In this article the authors have focused on how adoption of adaptive leadership helps in
the efficient functioning of educational institutions. Such institutions may often be faced with
complex and ambiguous challenges due to the incorporation of changes. However, the

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adaptive skills and competencies of the leaders play an important role in tacking such
problems so as to improve communication and mediate conflicts.
6. Kershner, B., & McQuillan, P. J. (2016). Complex adaptive schools: Educational
leadership and school change. Complicity: An International Journal of Complexity
and Education, 13(1).
In this article the authors have focused on the importance of adaptive leadership and the
competencies of the school authorities in managing complex challenges. The scope of
adaptive leadership in educational institutions allows the development of an interdependent
network of individuals who participate in the evaluation of the complexities and relating
implications of challenges that may arise due to change processes. The distribution of
responsibility and authority thereby helps in integrating the interests of the various members
of the institution.
7. Arnold, N. W. (2015). Cultural competencies and supervision. Supervision: New
perspectives for theory and practice, 201.
In this article, the authors have focused on how culture affects the efficient functioning of
educational institutions. In this regard, an extensive knowledge about the importance of
cultural diversity and adaptive competencies of the leaders helps in the efficient conduction
of planning and instructional processes, thereby helping the institution to achieve its common
goal of imparting quality education to the students.

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References
Adaptive Leadership Chapter 11, Media Library.
Drago-Severson, E., & Blum-DeStefano, J. (2014). Leadership for transformational learning:
a developmental approach to supporting leaders’ thinking and practice. Journal of
Research on Leadership Education, 9(2), 113-141.
Heifetz, R. A., & Linsky, M. (2014). Adaptive Leadership: The Heifetz Collection (3 Items).
Harvard Business Review Press.
Longo, D. M. (2017). Growing adaptive leadership mindset (Doctoral dissertation, uga).
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.
Northouse, P. G. (2019). Introduction to leadership: Concepts and practice. SAGE
Publications, Incorporated.
Obolensky, N. (2017). Complex adaptive leadership: Embracing paradox and uncertainty.
Routledge.