Nuance

Michael Fullan, Order of Canada, is the former Dean of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, and Professor Emeritus of the University of Toronto. He is co-leader of the New Pedagogies for Deep Learning global initiative. Michael served as Premier Dalton McGuinty’s Special Policy Adviser in Ontario from 2003-2013. He received the Order of Canada (OC) in December 2012 and holds five honorary doctorates from universities around the world. His ‘interim autobiography,’ Surreal Change, covers his pre-Covid-19 era to 2018. Michael and his colleagues are now working diligently on field-based comprehensive system change in several countries. Under the umbrella of what they call the ‘humanity paradigm’ —equitable-equal deep change that integrates local (school and community), middle (district/regional), and centre (policy) entities. Michael’s latest books are: Spirit Work and the Science of Collaboration (with Mark Edwards, 2022), The Principal 2.0 (2023), The Drivers (with Joanne Quinn, 2023), and The New Meaning of Educational Change, 6th Edition (2025).For more information on books, articles, videos, podcasts please go to: www.michaelfullan.ca

• Introduction: Making the World Go RoundChapter 1. The Nature and Need for NuanceNuance: A Subtle Difference in or Shade of Meaning, Expression, or SoundSurfacers vs. NuancersLeonardo da Vinci: The Patron Saint of NuanceNuance: Never More Needed Than NowThe Nature of Nuanced LeadershipThe Nuanced Leadership FrameworkChapter 2. Jointly Determined Change: Be Right at the End of the MeetingThe Prevalence of Bad LeadershipJoint DeterminationCase Example One: The Problem of Declining Levels of Principal Well-BeingCase Example Two: Districtwide Transformation to “Deep Learning”Case Example Three: School TurnaroundCase Example Four: Turning Around Persistently Failing SchoolsIntegrative LeadershipChapter 3. Adaptability: Learn and Lead in Equal MeasureCase Example Five: Rescuing Education From TechnologyCase Example Six: The Toronto District School BoardCase Example Seven: Shattering InequityCase Example Eight: Global Initiative in Deep LearningAdaptabilityChapter 4. Culture-Based Accountability: Trust and InteractThe Fruitless Pursuit of Top-Down AccountabilityIngredients of Culture-Based Accountability1. Use the Group to Change the Group2. Precision Over Prescription3. Feedback: Collaboration, Candor, and Autonomy4. Trust and Interact vs. Trust but Verify5. See the Forest and the Trees6. Accountability as CultureExamples of Natural Accountability Linked to ResultsCase Example Nine: Strengthening Whole System AccountabilityCase Example Ten: Integrating Accountability and ImprovementCulture CountsChapter 5. Nuanced Leaders and the WorldMore MacroLearners and Change Agents: Attack Inequity and Thrive on Every LevelBeing and Becoming a Nuanced LeaderReferencesIndexAcknowledgmentsAbout the Author

Nuance is Fullan at his impressive best—enabling leaders to see what was under their nose with sharp action-oriented clarity. Contexts—of people, time, and place—are such key factors in managing change and here he uncovers the subtlety of "nuance," which is the essential bedfellow of "judgment" without which disaster will threaten any leader. Wise system leaders will buy a copy for all their school leaders and keep a copy for themselves.