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The Kotter change model: 8 steps to accelerating change
By Martin Cole
The video below (from Flixabout.com), details John Kotter’s change model. This is perhaps one of the best known models for organisational change.
Kotter’s model aims to give organisations a road map to follow when they seek to bring about major change.
The difficulty I have with the model is that, if applied rigidly, it is too linear and fails to account for the complexity of the modern organisational environment.
Nevertheless, its focus on vision and communications is powerful and whilst, in many ways, the steps in Kotter’s change model are not easy to accomplish, it does provide a framework around which organisations can direct their efforts.
TRANSCRIPT
John P Kotter’s 8 stage process for creating major change is one of the most widely recognized models for change management. John Kotter is a retired Harvard Business School professor of leadership. Kotter is also a co-founder of Kotter International based in Seattle and Boston.
Kotter’s article about the eight stage process for leading change was originally published in the spring of 1995 in the Harvard Business Review. This article previewed Kotter’s 1996 book: “Leading Change”.
Professor Kotter has proven over his years of research that following the eight step process for leading change will help organisations succeed in an ever-changing world.
In general the model consists of three main phases. These phases cover eight individual steps. They are sometimes also called stages.
In phase one, which covers the first three steps, it is about creating a climate for change and getting a shared understanding of the difficult assignment which lies ahead of the organisation.
In Phase two, which covers the steps four through six, it is about engaging the employees in the process and enabling the employees to affect change in the organization.
In Phase three, which covers the last two steps of the eight steps, it is about implementing and sustaining change in the organisation now.
We shall review each of the eight steps individually. We start at the top of the model and then we go down through the model one step at a time. Each step is necessary when you want to transform your organization.
To give your transformation effort the best chance of succeeding you have to take the right actions at each stage and avoid common pitfalls.
The first step is establishing a sense of urgency. Actions needed in this stage:
In this stage executives sometimes underestimate how hard it can be to drive people out of their comfort zones. Management can also become paralysed by risks. A transformation of the organisation requires leadership from executives.
Step 2 is forming a powerful guiding coalition. Actions needed in this stage:
A major transformation generally demands activity outside of formal boundaries.
Expectations and protocol pitfalls in this stage:
No matter how capable or dedicated the members of the team are, groups without strong line leadership never achieve the power that is required to change the organisation.
Step 3 is creating a vision.
Actions needed in this stage:
Pitfalls in this stage include presenting a vision that’s too complicated or too vague to be communicated in five minutes. If you can’t communicate the vision to someone in five minutes or less – and get a reaction that signifies both understanding and interest – you are not done.
Step 4 is communicating the vision.
Actions needed in this stage:
Executives have to walk the talk professionally and privately.
Pitfalls in this stage:
Step five is empowering others to act on the vision.
Actions needed in this stage:
Pitfalls in this stage:
Step 6 is planning for and creating short-term wins.
Actions needed in this stage:
Pitfalls in this stage:
Short-term wins rarely simply happen.
Step 7 is consolidating improvements and producing still more change.
Actions needed in this stage:
Pitfalls in this stage:
Ironically it is often a combination of change initiators and change resistors that creates the premature victory celebration. In their enthusiasm over a clear sign of progress, the initiators go overboard allowing resistors to convince troops that the war has been won.
The useful changes that have been introduced slowly disappear if nobody is pushing the change forward.
Step 8 is institutionalising new approaches. Actions needed in this stage:
Pitfalls in this stage:
Now we shall review an example of the use of the eight steps model with a manufacturer of high pressure valves.
The founder of the company, who was an ingenious engineer died a long time ago. Today the company is a major player in the industry and they are still living by the mantra of the founder: we deliver solutions before the customer knows he has a problem.
In recent years the company has had problems. The company has lost market share and they have made losses in the last two years. The new CEO wants to address the problem by using Kotter’s eight step process.
To solve the problem the new CEO has established a sense of urgency. His message is clear – the existence of the company is threatened. To back this message he also makes it public in the Start magazine that the company has lost an important customer.
In step two, the CEO forms a powerful guiding coalition with himself as leader. He knows he has to assemble 20 to 50 important persons from the organisation with shared commitment and enough power to lead the change effort.
He knows that a major transformation generally demands activity outside of formal boundaries, expectations and protocol. Therefore he hires consultants from Kotter international and invites a key customer to participate in the coalition.
A market survey shows that the company’s brand reputation is high but the products have become too expensive and the products contain too much indifferent functionality.
In step 3, the guiding coalition has to creative vision that is relatively easy to communicate and appeals to both the internal and external stakeholders. The coalition wants to change the old mantra into a vision centralised around the customer.
The new vision is: we invent jointly with our lead customers. the team also has to develop strategies for the realisation of the vision.
In step four the guiding coalition has to communicate the vision to the employees of the organisation and external stakeholders. All the members of the coalition have to communicate the same message anywhere and everywhere.
The CEO and other executives have to visit customers and participate in fairs where customers come. Instead of tech fairs, they also have to prioritise the marketing and sales department. Executives have to walk the talk externally as well as internally.
In step 5 the coalition encourages executives as well as employees from different departments to get in contact with customers.
The top management changes the rules about contacting and working together with customers. Before, it was only the key Account Manager who had contact with the customer. Now the rules are changed, employees from the logistics department, R&D department and other departments are encouraged to contact their counterparty in the customer organisation.
The company is shifting from key account management to diamond collaboration with the customer. The role of the key account manager is totally changed. Management will have to layoff those who resist the change vision.
In Step six the guiding coalition has to announce some short-term wins.
The CEO goes public with a new product developed jointly with one of the lead customers. The product development phase only took 12 months which is twice as fast as normal. The materials of the new product are recyclable and the production costs are cut by 30%. This is due to the fact that all departments have optimised together in partnership with the customer.
The CEO publicly recognises and rewards the employees who have contributed to the success with the strategy of developing new products together with the customer.
In step 7 the guiding coalition must use the increased credibility from the win in step 6 to change other conditions undermining the vision.
Their next battle to win is to integrate their value chain with lead customers and share big data. Some executives do not want this openness with the customers. They will try to stall further developments in this direction. Therefore, the guiding coalition has to reinvigorate the change process again and again. They have to win a lot of battles before the war is won.
In the eighth and last step, leaders must create new social norms and shared values consistent with the changes.
They have to promote people into leadership positions who personify the new approach. They must want to work together with customers. They have to see them as allies.
The company has reached the vision when leaders and employees do not behave differently in terms of whether it is a colleague or a partner from a customer they are working together with.
The war is won. Now it is time for a new vision and a new beginning at step 1.
Let us now consider a criticism of the model:
In conclusion, the model gives you an overview of the different steps in a change process in an organisation. It shows there is a logical path through a change process and what conditions to consider during that process.
I'm Martin Cole. I am a UK qualified lawyer, a leader within the financial services regulatory and compliance sector and an organisational and executive coach. I have an Master of Science (M.Sc). in coaching psychology and am certified as a coach by the Institute of Executive Coaching and Leadership. I also have a Bachelor of Laws (LLB (Hons.)) and was admitted as a barrister by the Inner Temple (now non-practising). I have lived and worked in London and Sydney and now live near Edinburgh in Scotland with my wife and two daughters. I support Crystal Palace FC, have wide ranging musical tastes (especially Jazz, Blues and Soul) and oppose mediocrity, selfishness and organisations that fail to value their people.
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