Kotter’s 8 Steps of Change, part 2

‹ Kotter’s 8 Steps of Change, part 1 | Kotter’s 8 Steps of Change, part 3 ›

This is the second part of my series of posts on Kotter’s model of change. In part 1 I examined the first three steps, which are all about creating a climate for change: increasing urgency, building the guiding team, and getting the vision right. This time I look at ways to engage and enable the organisation. That is, communicating for buy-in, empowering action, and creating short-term wins.

Eight Steps of Change

Engaging and enabling the whole organisation

Kotter’s 8-step model of change is about showing people a truth that influences their feelings. We’ve seen how a sense of urgency moves people to action and helps us pull together a guiding team that can go on to prepare a clear and simple vision of the future. Communicating the vision and strategy comes next.

Communicate for buy-in – Large change initiatives tend to generate lots of information. Unfortunately the message about the change is often lost and people fail to see why the change is needed. They don’t buy into the idea and start resisting our efforts; we create the wrong emotional response.

Deeds speak volumes

Kotter uses some stories (mini case studies) to illustrate how communicating for buy-in can work. Moreover, we also learn what does not work:

Fear and Anger

• Under-communicating – the goal of organisational change is to get as many people as possible on-side, i.e. working toward the same goal. Information must be relevant and come with the opportunity to ask questions.
• Pushing information – good communication isn’t simply about data transfer. Change inevitably leads to conflict. Accordingly, open and honest dialogue is essential.
• Not walking the talk – Kotter says “Deeds speak volumes.” When there’s a gap between words and deeds the destructive force of cynicism grows. Change is undermined. Therefore our behaviour must be consistent with the vision.

We need to keep communication simple and to the point and above all understand the mood before conveying our message and addressing people’s anxieties, distrust, or anger. And finally, we must clean up communication channels so that important messages are highly visible and understood.

Empower action – Or rather remove barriers! One of the biggest barriers to change is the disempowering manager. People often get the message about change and want to do something about it. But they can’t do anything because their boss is an impossible obstacle (see Resistance Is Futile.) What do we do?

1. Send the manager on a short training course
2. Do nothing
3. Confront the issue
4. Sack them

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Moved to Action

Another cause of disempowerment concerns the organisation; it’s structure, policies and processes. These can bind the hands of those who want to make the vision a reality. I recall a colleague leaving employment. In his farewell speech he said “You’re a great bunch of people… but you could do so much more.” He saw the crippling effect bureaucracy had on the organisation.

Unfortunately, organisational culture – especially those that are used to incremental change or failed change – leads to the greatest barrier of all: the mind. Disempowered people are programmed to learn what can and can’t be achieved. They internalise a belief that they are incapable of achieving change; their feelings hold them back.

Thus, we need to tackle these barriers head on! As with all aspects of Kotter’s model the answer is in showing people why change is needed. Disempowering bosses should be given new jobs or roles that clearly show them the need for change. Build optimism and self-confidence using inspirational stories from the workforce. Recognise and reward achievement. Use feedback to help people make better decisions (read the story Making Movies on the Factory Floor.) And make use of people who have change experience as they will boost confidence. However, make sure they are credible and can convey success stories. Otherwise, consultants will be ignored and new recruits squashed by your organisation’s culture.

Create short-term wins – large scale change needs momentum, a sense of achievement, and optimism. Therefore, it is essential that results are achieved quickly.

…with so much going on at once, you run the danger of getting nothing done very fast. People wonder where you’re leading them–and whether or not you’re taking the right approach.

Short-term wins serve four important purposes:

1. Provide us with feedback about the validity of our vision and strategies.
2. Give those working hard to achieve the vision recognition and encouragement.
3. Build faith in the change effort – attracting those who are not actively involved.
4. Take away power from cynics.

We must avoid starting too many projects at once since this ultimately leads to chaos and is unlikely to provide an early win. Instead look for the low hanging fruit – wins that can be achieved cheaply and easily – and make these as visible as possible.

‹ Kotter’s 8 Steps of Change, part 1 | Kotter’s 8 Steps of Change, part 3 ›

Images: Kotter, John P. and Cohen, Dan S. The Heart of Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2002, lbarringtonbush/ Flickr, and www.edufiend.com/ Flickr.

Related articles

• Kotter’s 8 Steps of Change, part 1 (martinwebster.eu)
• Dealing With Change (rdkahn.com)