Kotter's Leading Change: 8-Step Framework Explained

Introduction: Why Change Demands Leadership

Change is scary. Change means deviating from what seemed to work so well before. The word "change" strikes fear in the heart of every careful and cautious person involved in middle management. Yet change is also a vital and necessary part of modern business life, and ultimately a manager must adapt or perish when cast adrift on the inevitable sea of organizational transformation. A manager must not only endure change but weather it well. A manager must realize his or her own personal excellence and bring the organization to new levels of performance — in short, a manager must evolve into a leader.

Kotter's Eight Steps for Leading Change

In his 1996 management classic Leading Change, John P. Kotter outlines eight crucial steps for facilitating change acceptance within an organization. First, a manager-turned-leader must fight against initial resistance by raising the energy levels of all members of the organization. Kotter calls this increasing the sense of urgency. Rather than using fear, the manager should seek to make the reasons for the needed change seem important, immediate, real, and relevant — inspiring people to want to participate in the necessary changes.

Second, and flowing from the idea that inspiring urgency is essential, a managerial leader must create a team or coalition filled with persons of strong emotional, leadership, and skill-based expertise to implement the change. Third, the leader must build a guiding team for the change that possesses the right level of emotional commitment and the correct mix of skills. A good coalition is not composed entirely of managers, technical people, or born leaders, but rather a necessary mix of persons and personalities suited to achieve the goals. To inspire this team, leaders must cultivate a genuine sense of vision, and there must be some form of leader on every team.

Fourth, a clear and concise vision and mission statement is essential, accompanied by a step-by-step strategy. This vision must be both creative and technically astute in order to truly inspire persons on the change team and throughout the organization. Although a team has been carefully assembled, communication remains essential at every level of the organization — so that people believe in the need for change and understand its implications. Communication also prevents people from feeling left out, which itself generates resistance.

Fifth, in terms of overall leadership, it is important to empower action by removing real-world obstacles, and to acknowledge the progress and contributions of those engaged in the change process. As a kind of corollary, the sixth principle holds that creating short-term goals — concrete incentives for implementing various stages of change — is a more psychologically astute approach than speaking only of distant achievements. This must be carefully balanced with the principle of never letting up. Thus, seventh, short-term goals must not become an excuse for stalling; the pressure to change must be sustained, and future goals must always be kept in view.

Finally, once the change has been achieved, a leader must make it permanent — not only through reinforcement of new processes but also through promoting new change leaders. In other words, it is the follow-through that matters: do not simply rest on your laurels.

It is evident in these principles that, for Kotter, change is not a numbers-based formula or merely a matter of choosing best practices. It also requires getting the right people to enforce new changes and employing psychological strategies of motivation, as well as reinforcing the purpose of change over the long term. Leadership — inspiring others to fulfill a shared vision — is key, rather than mere management, which amounts to passing orders along. Many can manage, but few can lead.

Why Change Fails: Kotter's Negative Principles

Why doesn't change work? Kotter answers this crucial question as well. In a series of negative principles that mirror his positive ones, Kotter argues that one reason change efforts fail is that the change process is made too complex — either too many unwieldy steps are included, or the manager's vision is not articulated clearly. Second, failing to build a successful coalition of the right people who work well together emotionally is another common reason for failure. Third, understanding what constitutes a clear vision can elude many capable but uninspired managers. Can the vision be summed up in a single sentence rather than a lengthy document?

Fourth, and similarly, failing to communicate the vision to all members of the organization is a frequent reason for failure. Fifth, allowing negative individuals and organizational roadblocks to obstruct forward progress can block change entirely. Sixth, not planning short-term wins to maintain motivation — and seventh, declaring victory on long-term goals too soon — can both hamper change. Finally, neglecting the crucial follow-up can cause the entire change process to unravel.

Conclusion: Leadership as Personal Transformation

From a psychological and motivational standpoint, however, this "accept no excuses" orientation is valuable for a leader. Ultimately, a leader cannot control the environment; he or she can only control his or her decisions and the manner in which change is implemented. Paradoxically, part of this decision-making process for a good manager involves understanding how other people think and function — which in turn helps a manager motivate both themselves and the people they lead more effectively.

Kotter also stresses, repeatedly, the need for truly creative change and genuine concern for the ideas and solutions of others. A leader takes risks that may challenge conventional wisdom about change management, but a leader is not an island. A leader must transcend his or her own comfort zone, and help others transcend theirs as well. A leader must change from within before he or she can hope to inspire change in others — before he or she can encourage others to implement lasting transformation.

Kotter, John P. (1996). Leading Change. Cambridge: Harvard Business School Press.