John Kotter, a professor at Harvard Business School, came up with the 8-step process for managing change as a way to help organizations handle and implement change well. The eight steps are:
- Establish a sense of urgency. Kotter says that for change efforts to be successful, stakeholders need to feel a sense of urgency. This can be done by pointing out the risks of not changing and the possible benefits of doing so.
- Create a powerful coalition: Build a strong alliance by putting together a group of people with the skills and power to lead the change effort and share the goal for change.
- Develop a vision and strategy: Develop a vision and a plan: Come up with a clear picture of the future and a plan for getting there. This should be shared with all parties so that everyone knows where the change is going.
- Communicate the vision: Communicate the goal. Make sure everyone is aware of the change and knows what they need to do by sharing the vision and plan through multiple channels.
- Empower others to act on the vision: Give others the power to act on the goal by giving them the tools and help they need to make the change happen.
- Create short-term wins: Celebrate small successes along the way to keep people inspired and focused on reaching the general goal.
- Consolidate gains and produce more change: Gains should be kept and more changes should be made: Build on the early wins to keep the energy going and keep making changes that support the goal.
- Anchor new approaches in the organization’s culture: Anchor new ideas in the organization’s way of doing things: Align the organization’s processes, policies, and practices with the new vision. This will help the new ideas become part of the organization’s culture.
By using these eight steps, organizations can lead change well and get the results they want.
