Kotter's 8 Steps Leading Change

John P. Kotter

LEADING CHANGE

Dr. V. R. Kesava Ram (P.T.) August 8, 2012

Why firms fail…common errors
# 1: allowing too much complacency
# 2: failing to create a sufficiently powerful
guiding coalition
# 3: underestimating the power of vision
# 4: under communicating the vision
# 5: permitting obstacles to block the new vision
# 6: failing to create shot term wins
# 7: declaring victory too soon
# 8: neglecting to anchor changes firmly in the
corporate culture

Consequences

 New strategies aren’t implemented well
 Acquisitions don’t achieve expected
synergies
 Reengineering takes too long and costs too
much
 Downsizing doesn’t get costs under control
 Quality programs don’t deliver hoped-for
results


Economic and social forces
driving change
 Technological
 International economic integration
 Maturation of markets in developed countries
 Fall of communist and socialist regimes
 Globalization of markets and competition
 More competition and increased speed with
Bigger markets and fewer barriers


More large scale change in
organizations
 Reengineering
 Restructuring
 Quality programs
 Mergers and acquisitions
 Strategic change
 Cultural change


THE EIGHT-STAGE PROCESS OF
CREATING MAJOR CHANGE


1. Establishing a sense of
urgency
 Examining the market and competitive
realities

 Identifying and discussing crises, potential
crises or major opportunities


2. Creating the guiding
coalition
 Putting together a group with enough power
to lead the change

 Getting the group work together like a team


3. Developing a vision and
strategy
 Creating a vision to help direct the change
effort

 Developing strategies for achieving that
vision


4. Communicating the change
vision
 Using every vehicle possible to constantly
communicate the new vision and strategies

 Having the guiding coalition role model the
behavior expected of employees


5. Empowering broad based
action
 Getting rid of obstacles

 Changing systems or structures that
undermine the change vision

 Encouraging risk taking and nontraditional
ideas, activities, and actions


6. Generating short term
wins
 Planning for visible improvements in
performance or wins
 Creating those wins
 Visibly recognizing and rewarding people
who made the wins possible


7. Consolidating gains and
producing more change
 Using increased credibility to change all
systems structures and policies that don’t fit
together and don’t fit the transformation
vision
 Hiring promoting and developing people who
can implement the change vision
 Reinvigorating the process with new projects
themes, and change agents


8. Anchoring new approaches
in the culture
 Creating better performance through
customer and productivity oriented behavior
more and better leadership and more
effective management
 Articulating the connections between new
behaviors and organizational success
 Developing means to ensure leadership
development and succession


Leadership

 Establishing direction
 Aligning people
 Motivating and inspiring
 Producing change


Complacency

 The absence of major and visible crisis
 Too many visible resources
 Low overall performance standards
 Narrow functional goals
 Wrong performance indexes
 Insufficient feedback
 Kill the messenger of bad news, low candor, low
confrontation culture
 Denial
 Too much happy talk from senior management


Effective guiding coalition

 Position power
 Expertise
 Credibility
 Leadership


Building a coalition that
make change happen
 Find the right people

 Create trust

 Develop common goal


Relationship between V-S-P-B

vision
LEADERSHIP
strategies

plans
MANAGEMENT
budgets


Characteristics of an
effective vision
 Imaginable
 Desirable
 Feasible
 Focused
 Flexible
 Communicable


Creating an effective vision

 First draft
 Role of the guiding coalition
 Importance of teamwork
 Role of the head and the heart
 Messiness of the process
 Time frame
 End product


Key elements of the effective
communication of vision
 Simplicity
 Metaphor
 Analogy and example
 Multiple forms
 Repetition
 Leadership by example
 Explanation of seeming inconsistencies
 Give and take

Barriers to empowerment

 Formal structures
 Lack of needed skills to action
 Obstructing personnel and information
systems
 Bosses discourage actions for the new vision


Empowering people to effect
change
 Communicate a sensible vision to employees
 Make structures compatible with the vision
 Provide the training employees need
 Align information and personnel systems to
the vision
 Confront supervisors who undercut needed
change


Role of short term wins

 Provide evidence that sacrifices are worth it
 Reward change agents with a pat on the back
 Help fine tune vision and strategies
 Undermine cynics and self serving resisters
 Keep bosses on board
 Build momentum


Why culture is powerful

1. Because individuals are selected and
indoctrinated so well
2. Because the culture exerts itself through the
actions of hundreds or thousands of people
3. Because all of this happen without much
conscious intent and thus is difficult to
challenge or even discuss


Anchoring change in culture

 Comes last, not first
 Depends on results
 Requires lot of talk
 May involve turnover
 Makes decisions on succession crucial


Twenty first century
organization
Structure:
i. Non bureaucratic
ii. Limited to fewer levels
iii. Management leads and employees manage
iv. Policies and procedures with minimal
internal interdependence needed to serve
customers


Systems:
i. Many performance information systems
ii. Distribute performance data widely
iii. Offer management training and support
systems to many people


Culture:
i. Externally oriented
ii. Empowering
iii. Quick to make decisions
iv. Open and candid
v. More risk tolerant


The relationship of lifelong learning, leadership
skills and the capacity to succeed in future

Personal history
 Inborn capabilities
 Childhood experiences
 Job and educational experiences
Competitive drive
 Level of standards
 Desire to do well
 Self confidence in competitive situations

Life long learning
 Willingness to seek new challenges
 Willingness to reflect honestly on successes
and failures
Skills and abilities
 Knowledge
 Leadership skills
 Other skills


Competitive capacity

 Capability of dealing with an increasingly
competitive and fast moving economic
environment


Mental habits that support life
long learning
 Risk taking- willingness to push oneself out of
comfort zones
 Humble self reflection- honest assessment of
successes and failures especially the latter
 Solicitation of opinions- aggressive collection
of information and ideas from others
 Careful listening- propensity to listen to
others
 Openness to new ideas- willingness to view
life with an open mind

Kotter's 8 Steps Leading Change

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