How Can Kotters Model for Leading Change Assist Leaders to Implement Successful Change - Essay Example

How Can Kotter’s Model for Leading Change Assist Leaders to Implement Successful Change? Abstract John P. Kotter, who is Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership at Harvard Business School, presented a model for leading change in 1996. This model for leading change distilled some keen observations that were derived from studying the manner in which change had been implemented in a large number of organisations. John Kotter’s model for leading change attempts to describe how a leader can go about bringing successful change within an organisation. Change is something that is considered to be inevitable in all organisations and the pace of change in the past decade has been extremely rapid, as changing market situations due to globalisation and rapid change in technology have forced businesses to respond by bringing about change in order to align their organisation to the business realities. Although, in the present age, organisations need to embrace change rapidly and successfully in response to a rapidly changing business environment, it has been observed that many attempts to bring about change, or to re-engineer business processes ends up in failure. Because successful change is important for the future of organisations and the bottom line, therefore, it is worth investigating how organisational leaders can lead positive change within their organisations. This essay presents a discussion of Professor John Kotter’s model for leading change and how this model can assist leaders implement successful change within their organisations. Contents Introduction 4 John Kotter’s Model for Leading Change in Organisations 6 Change Management Processes that Illustrate Kotter’s Model for Leading Change 11 Conclusion 13 Bibliography / References 15 List of Tables and Figures Figure 1: Role of Leaders and its Influence on Organisational Culture 5 Figure 2 – Importance of having a Vision in Bringing about Change 8 Introduction Change is something that is inevitable in nearly all business organisations because as time passes, the market, business environment and technology changes and a firm has to respond to its changing environment in order to function effectively as well as competitively (INSEAD, 2003, Pp. 8 – 11). Change is a rather broad term that encompasses restructuring, transformation, innovation, planning, re-orientation and a myriad of other terms (Sorge, 1997, Pp. 524 – 541). The pace and degree of change in the contemporary business environment over the past decade has been extremely fast and this fast pace of change is not showing any signs of slowing down. Thus, it is necessary for change to be brought about within organisations so that these organisations are able to continue to operate in an optimal manner within a changed environment. However, it is important that change in organisations be well thought out and brought about with care, because change that is introduced often fails to bring about the desired results and the results of bringing about change often turn out to be different from what had been envisaged. It has been estimated that about 70 % of all efforts to “re-engineer” business processes in the recent past have been failures (Coutts, 2000, Pp. 1). A failure to sustain change has been noticed to occur repeatedly despite the allocation of significant resources to bring about change and the considerable efforts that had been devoted towards planning for change. Despite the uncertainty associated with bringing about change within organisations, organisations have to change and change has to be implemented if businesses are to avoid having to face a crisis as a result of their failure to change in a rapidly changing business environment. Because of the importance of implementing change successfully in organisations, much has been written about change management and many talented individuals have devoted their lives to studying change in organisations. John P. Kotter, who is Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership at Harvard Business School, is one of such individuals who have made it their business to study change initiatives in business organisations (JohnKotter.Com, 2006, “Biography”) and (Warner, 1998, Pp. 366 – 369). John is the author of several best selling books on leadership and change, including The Heart of Change (2002), John P. Kotter on What Leaders Really Do (1999), Matsushita Leadership (1997), Leading Change (1996), The New Rules (1995), Corporate Culture and Performance (1992), A Force for Change (1990), The Leadership Factor (1988), Power and Influence (1985) and The General Managers (1982). John Kotter considers leaders to be important for bringing about change in organisations and he has presented a model for leading change that is based on his extensive study of change in organisations. The influence of leaders on organisational culture is illustrated in Figure 1, and as leaders they are well placed to bring about change in organisations. Kotter’s model for change has the capacity for guiding organisational leaders in the management of change that is considered to be appropriate for an organisation (Rose, 2002, Pp. 1). Change invariably involves unfreezing the present level of performance or nature of activities, moving to a new level of performance or ways of doing things and finally freezing the organisation at the new level of performance or way of carrying on with the organisational mission. John Kotter has presented a number of important requirements in his model, which if appropriately considered, have a greater potential to bring about constructive and desirable change, successfully. Kotter’s model for leading change ought to be considered carefully by an organisational leader, who has the intention of bringing about or leading change in an organisation. Figure 1: Role of Leaders and its Influence on Organisational Culture (Densten, 2002, Pp. 15) This essay takes a look at Professor John Kotter’s model for change and the eight steps that he has recommended to effective leaders for transforming their organisations. The next section of the essay presents a discussion of John Kotter’s model and his steps for bringing about change in an organisation. John Kotter’s Model for Leading Change in Organisations In his book Leading Change, John P. Kotter has emphasised the need to have quality leadership for success in the implementation of change within organisations (Jeffress, 2003, Pp. 2 - 10). According to John Kotter, only leaders can see through the layers of an organisation and motivate people to change their negative behaviour. A leader has to lead change and not just manage change. John Kotter has recommended a model for change that is an eight – stage process model which has been designed to prevent and mitigate the problems associated with bringing about change within organisations (Kotter, 1998, Pp. 1). John Kotter’s eight stages for implementing change are the following (Coutts, 2000, Pp. 1): Establishing a Sense of Urgency: The need to bring about change within an organisation usually begins with the realisation that the organisation is not in tune with the market and competitive realities. However, despite the realisation that change is necessary, many organisations do not succeed in bringing about a motivation and action for change. It is important for leaders to identify and discuss with others within the organisation why change has to take place, any opportunities that are associated with change, possible crisis and any impending crisis if change is not initiated. Thus, it is required that other members of an organisation be informed that change is necessary for organisational success and attempts be made to move people out of their comfort zones in order to motivate them to act in order to bring about change. Opportunities that are associated with an organisational change are not going to be available for ever and it is important that change should be initiated quickly if the benefits are to be reaped (INSEAD, 2003, Pp. 12 – 14). Creating a Guiding Coalition: If the need for change within an organisation has been identified, then the impending change has to be discussed with others and a team which has agreed about the need for change along with the manner in which change ought to be initiated needs to be assembled. This team will be the guiding coalition that will bring about change within the organisation and its members will usually consist of the senior organisational managers. The nature of change will have to be discussed with the team and an agreement about what change ought to take place and the manner in which this change will have to be hammered out so that a consensus exist within the team. Discussing change in a team not only brings about new perspectives on change, but this also presents an opportunity to discuss any dangers associated with change and the best methodology for bringing about change (INSEAD, 2003, Pp. 14 – 15). Developing a Vision and a Strategy: It is important for a leader and his change management team to develop a vision for the future of an organisation and a picture has to emerge about what an organisation will be after the process of change has been completed. The vision should be sufficiently concise so that it can be readily communicated to others briefly. The vision helps in determining what change is necessary and how this change should be brought about (INSEAD, 2003, Pp. 31 – 33). Figure 2 – Importance of having a Vision in Bringing about Change (Kotter, 1998, “Managing Multiple Timelines”) Communicating a Vision for Change: Once a vision for change has been hammered out by the organisational leader and members of the change management team, this vision should then be communicated to others within the organisation using every possible channel of communication. Obviously, it may be necessary to restrict the information that is sent out to some organisational member, but it helps if as many people as possible within an organisation are told what change is necessary and what is hoped to be achieved by bringing about change. Communicating the vision for change helps in gaining support from others, identifying any resistance to change and in the establishment of a common mind set which will not resist change when it actually does take place (INSEAD, 2003, Pp. 34 – 35). Empowering other employees for Broad – Based Action: After it has been decided what change is required to be made and a vision for the future has been established, it is necessary to empower people within an organisation to actually bring about the desired change. People within an organisation need time, money, access to organisational resources and empowerment if they are to be in a position to bring about change. Organisational structures within an organisation may hinder any change and entrenched attitudes in human resources that are employed by an organisation can be the greatest barriers for any change which may be desirable. Sometimes, people within an organisation will just not accept a new vision that is for the benefit for the organisation as a whole and if this is the case, then it may be necessary to remove the people who are a hindrance to change. The four most important ingredients that can bring about constructive change within organisations are structures, skills, systems and supervisors. Thus, it is important to ensure that an organisation in which change is being contemplated has adequate structures, skills, systems and supervisors for the vision that is being contemplated. It may be necessary to bring in better supervisors, enhance the skill base, improve systems and enhance organisational structures in order to realise a vision for change. Generating Short – Term Wins: When change is being brought about in an organisation, it is important for the people within an organisation, who have the potential to act as the greatest barrier to change, to see that the change that is being brought about is likely to enhance the organisation and make a positive difference to them. Thus, it is important to present the visible benefits of change early, so that those who are involved and affected by change can see that something positive is being undertaken. This is likely to persuade them to lend their support to the change process. Thus, as far as possible, complex and long – term change should be broken up in such a manner that improvements are visible in the early stages of the change process. In addition to improvements being visible, it is also important to reward those people within an organisation who have contributed to bringing about positive change by putting in their hard work and ingenuity. The organisation as a whole and those who deal with it should have a positive mental outlook about the change that is being brought about and this can most effectively be developed by concrete and practical demonstrations of the positive impact of change. Consolidating Gains and generating more Change: The organisational spirit is likely to be considerably enhanced as a result of any demonstrated advantages of change that has been presented by the short – terms win situations which were previously discussed. A leader and the change management team should, therefore, use the enhanced credibility that they have to bring about deeper and more meaningful change to organisational systems, structures, and policies so that they are in line with the new vision for the organisation. Once a majority of employees have a sense of confidence about what is being implemented, they are likely to be more willing to assist with any plans for change that organisational leaders may have. The greatest impediment to change, or resistance to change by the corporate employees, will then have disappeared. Sometimes change that has been brought about in organisational culture can reverse itself if victory is declared too soon. Thus, corporate leaders and managers have to keep monitoring the situation in order to see if what had been envisioned is still in place and efforts should continue for the reinforcement of any changes that had been implemented (INSEAD, 2003, Pp. 36 – 38). Anchoring New Approaches in Culture: It is important that the change that has been brought about in an organisation and which has proven itself to be a success should be deeply inculcated into the values and culture of the organisation so that a reversal to the status quo that had existed prior to bringing about change is unlikely. Leaders should articulate the link between the success enjoyed by the changed organisation and the change that had been brought about. Leaders should also try to make adequate arrangements to groom new leaders so that the organisation can continue to function smoothly when the existing leaders have departed or taken on a less active role. Appointing a new manager is a certain way of bringing about change relatively quickly without the leader getting too deeply involved. However, the leader is still responsible for the appointment and has to ensure that the new appointee is the type of manager that will brig about positive and desirable change. Leadership is not about getting too deeply involved in planning, budgeting, managing, organising or solving problems. The function of a leader is to establishing the direction that an organisation should take, to align the organisation with its goals and the environment, motivate and inspire people and to ensure that selected people within the organisation are groomed to become new leaders and top managers so that the organisation can continue to function in the absence of the existing leadership. Change Management Processes that Illustrate Kotter’s Model for Leading Change Change occurs in nearly all organisations and no situation can be considered to be permanent. Examples of organisational change processes that are illustrative of Kotter’s model for leading change are presented in (O’Sullivan, 2000, Pp. 2 – 20) and (Jeffress, 2003, Pp. 48 - 55). Whereas, O’Sullivan presents a discussion related to bringing about change in the manufacturing industry, Jeffress presents a discussion related to bringing about change in a fighting unit of the army. A discussion about change management in manufacturing has emphasised a certain level of urgency in bringing about change in the design of manufacturing systems due to the danger that competitors may take advantage of any delays and an emphasis is said to be required in terms of group management, strategic planning, empowerment, process engineering and lifelong learning (O’Sullivan, 2000, Pp. 10– 14). An intranet that is capable of disseminating information rapidly through the manufacturing teams has also been emphasised and this along with the previously mentioned factors that have been considered as being important in change management for manufacturing are very much in line with Kotter’s model for leading change. Change that was introduced by General Ridgway in the United States Eighth Army during the time of the Korean War highlights the manner in which change should be introduced in accordance with Kotter’s model for leading change (Jeffress, 2003, Pp. 48 - 55). An impending sense of urgency was certainly in Ridgway’s mind, because when he assumed command of the Eighth Army, it had been performing very poorly against the Chinese and North Korean forces in the Korean Peninsula. Without this sense of urgency, the whole of the Eighth Army could have been wiped out and US forces could have suffered an irreversible defeat. General Ridgway had been empowered by his commander, General MacArthur to do whatever General Ridgway thought was appropriate in order to fix the Eighth Army. In order to improve the situation that had existed, General Ridgway toured units of the Eighth Army, assessed the situation and brought other able commanders into his team that was to change the performance of the Eighth Army. Commanders and their senior staff officers who had not been performing were quickly replaced, because this was the quickest way of bringing about change. Ridgway’s vision and strategy was forcefully described to the Eighth Army and senior commanders were required to spend time on the front line with troops. The Eighth Army was urgently trained in night fighting and commanders were ordered to make full use of all available firepower in any engagement with the enemy. Soldier’s were motivated, inspired and looked after with hot meals, cold weather clothing, heaters and tents. Ridgway promised all soldiers of the Eighth Army that they had an opportunity to beat a “world menace”. He also promised that he was going to do all that could be done for the Eighth Army and Ridgway’s ideas as well as vision was communicated to every member of the Eighth Army using all means that were available. Initial successes with aggressive patrolling on the defensive fall – back line resulted in some successes in engagements with the enemy. These were highlighted and converted into greater successes as a general offensive, Operation Thunderbolt, was launched. Ultimately, the Chinese and the North Korean forces were forced to withdraw to the thirty - eighth parallel and Ridgway was to succeed MacArthur as commander of the United States Military’s Far East Command. General Ridgway had been following what Kotter’s model for leading change had prescribed. There are many other examples that can be cited from change management literature about the usefulness of Kotter’s model for leading change and the credibility of a leader is also considered to be important in bringing about successful change in organisations (Gradwell, 2004, Pp. 12 – 60). Conclusion It can be concluded from the previous discussion that John Kotter’s model for leading change is the result of the distilling of keen observations associated with efforts to bring about change in organisations. Leaders who are contemplating change in their organisations will do well to keep in mind the eight points associated with bringing about change that have been mentioned in Kotter’s model for leading change, so that there is a greater probability for positive change in their organisation after the change process. Bibliography / References 1. Blagg, Deborah and Young, Susan. 2001. What Makes a Good Leader? Harvard Business School. Retrieved: October 13, 2006. 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