John P. Kotter's 1996 Book Leading Change

¶ … John P. Kotter's Leading Change Businesses of all types and sizes are in constant need of solid leadership in an increasingly globalized and competitive marketplace. One authority that has provided seminal guidance in organizational leadership is Dr. John P. Kotter, Professor of Leadership at Harvard Business School. This paper provides a critical analysis of the leadership viewpoints expounded in Kotter's text, Leading Change (1996).

A discussion concerning the major themes, concepts, and contexts of leadership as they pertain to management, policy, and decision making is followed by a summary of the research and important findings concerning Leading Change in the conclusion. Review and Discussion Leading Changes is comprised of three main parts. Section one of the text addresses the change problem and its solution and the second section, the main part of the text, describes Kotter's eight-stage process for dynamic and positive change.

Finally, section three of the text discusses the significant implications of change for the businesses competing in the 21st century (Lester, 2007). It is difficult to ague with Kotter's main points that people do not like change and steps must be taken to ensure that corporate goals are established and a path to reach them are established. Indeed, organizational behaviorists consistently caution that change can be a painful and lengthy affair that consumes inordinate amounts of scarce resources.

Identifying ways to improve the change process therefore represents a valuable contribution to business practice today. This point is made by Lester who advises, "[Kotter's] powerful process for creating major reform makes a unique contribution to better understanding renovation leadership" (2007, p. 113). The eight steps to successful organizational change described by Kotter are as follows: 1. Establishing a Sense of Urgency. Examining current realities and identifying crises, potential crises, or major opportunities for improvement. 2. Creating the Guiding Coalition.

Putting together a group with enough influence to lead the change and getting the group to work together as a team. 3. Developing a Vision. Creating a vision to help direct the change effort and formulating strategies for achieving that vision. 4. Communicating the Change Vision. Constantly communicating the new vision, strategies, and behavior expected within the organization. 5. Empowering Broad-Based Action. Getting rid of obstacles that prevent change, reshaping systems or structures that undermine the change vision, and encouraging risk taking and nontraditional ideas, activities, and actions. 6. Generating Short-Term Wins.

Planning for visible improvements in performance as well as 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 do not fit together and do not meet the transformation vision. Recognizing people who can implement the change vision and reinvigorate the entire process. 8. Anchoring New Approaches in the Culture. Encouraging more and better leadership as well as more effective management.

Articulating the connection between new behaviors and organizational success and ensuring the succession of continued leadership development (Lester, 2007, p. 113). With respect to the final step in the change process, Ecklund (2006) emphasizes that securing the benefits of successful change is not as straightforward as it might first appear. Indeed, the organizational culture itself must also be changed to embrace the successful changes and ensure that progress is not lost to complacency. As Ecklund points out, "Behavior drives culture. To change culture, [the organization must change behavior" (p. 72).

This point is also made by Kotter who reports, "Culture is not something that you manipulate easily. Attempts to grab it and twist it into a new shape never work because you can't grab it" (cited in Ecklund, 2007, p. 73). In order to consolidate and secure the benefits of change, then, the organization's culture must also be changed.

In this regard, Kotter points out that, "Culture changes only after you have successfully altered people's actions, after the new behavior produces some group benefit for a period of time" (cited in Ecklund, 2007, p. 73). These eight steps are well-known today and widely recognized as the path to successful leadership, but these steps were not articulated and codified until Dr. Kotter's Leading Change was published. In this regard, Lester concludes that, "In Leading Change, Dr. Kotter provides us with a detailed road map that highlights potential dangers.