John Kotters 8-Step Change Process Professor John Kotter was named by BusinessWeek magazine, in a poll of US managers, as The

Number 1 leadership and change guru. His 8-Step Change Process is widely used for transformational top-down change initiatives by large organizations. In the most successful change efforts, leaders move through eight complicated stages, says Professor Kotter, in which they 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. create a sense of urgency put together a strong enough team to direct the process create an appropriate vision communicate that vision broadly empower employees to act on the vision produce sufficient short-term results to give their efforts credibility and to disempower the cynics 7. build momentum and use that momentum to tackle tougher change problems and 8. anchor the new behaviour in the organisational culture Each of these actions takes time. Step 1. alone, pushing up the level of urgency, may take months in a complacent organisation of any size. Formulating an appropriate vision or strategy may be done in weeks. But, it often requires 12 or even 24 months. People do create the appearance of successful change, both more quickly and more easily (through an acquisition, for example). But appearances deceive. Heres a graphical representation of Kotters 8-step change model, with notes on each step. If you subscribe to Kotters model, it may be useful to print off and share with your people to help them lead major change with you
1. Establish a sense of urgency
Articulate a powerful rationale and business case for change

Continually articulate the connections between the new way of working and corporate success. Weave new corporate style / culture into leadership development and succession planning

8.
Institutionalise changes

2. Form a powerful coalition

Assemble a team with enough power & influence in the organisation to lead the change effort

Use credibility to change policies & procedures that dont fit vision. Recruit and promote employees who can implement vision

7. Consolidate improvements

Kotters 8 Steps for Managing Change

3. Create a vision

Create a compelling vision of the future to guide the direction of the change

6. Plan for and Create shortPlan visible quick-wins. Implement and recognise term wins
and reward employees involved

5. Empower others

4. Communicate the vision

Use every possible vehicle to communicate the vision. Role-model new behaviours

Remove obstacles to the change. Change systems, or structures that undermine the vision