List and describe five of Kotter’s eight steps to implement change in an organization.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Establish a sense of urgency (continued) – Kotter (1995) believes 75% of the organization’s leadership must believe change is urgently needed for the process to succeed.

Form a powerful guiding coalition – Organizations require a critical mass of key leaders, including the executive director/CEO to actively support the change initiative.

Create the vision – It must also be simple and clear enough to communicate in 5 minutes or less.

Communicating the vision – Frequently communicating the new vision sets the rhythm and pace of the transformation. Transformation is about changing hearts and minds.

Empowering others to act on the vision – Change impacts more than leaders anticipate. Even as we say to others, “come join the new effort,” we must be prepared to embrace employees who respond in different ways.

Planning for, creating, and celebrating short-term wins – No one can sustain the effort for a marathon race without training for shorter distances first. It is those moments that keep employee motivation soaring and pressing toward the marathon goal.

Consolidating improvements and not declaring victory too soon – Because change takes years, leadership may change, outside influences may evolve, client needs may shift, and employees become tired and bored. As a leader it is tempting to declare victory as soon as the first improvement measure is noted. When there are several years of improvement victories, then the leadership can evaluate for step 8, and possibly declare a victory.

Institutionalizing change – Anchoring change is like establishing a new habit. Time, practice, feedback, measurement, and commitment are all key to the process. Establishing a new habit becomes a “normal” habit when it is a behavior that does not require intention and thought.