Reading Log #2
In this week’s reading Kotter gets into the heart of his overall message, which is leading change. He first goes through the 8-step model of change in chapter 2 and then picks apart the first step on chapter 3. Cohens chapter further enhances the step of creating urgency and works in tandem with Kotter’s model. It provided some worksheets and surveys to organize thoughts and get proper feedback on change efforts. Overall, both pieces provide a great starting point for heading organizational changes. There is no surprise here, as the Heart of Change uses Kotter’s framework and further enhances it with guides and worksheets.
Kotter 's second chapter opens with an important message. The way things worked prior to
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Failing to create a clear vision was the number one reason for change failure for me, however, creating a sense of urgency is now the most important step of the creating major change process. When we did the case on the medical company in class we tacked the problems of that organization first, then offered solutions. You (instructor) had us do this because you felt that you cannot make proper suggestions without identifying the problems and I agree with this. Before you can set any goals or get people behind an idea you must identify the crisis or major opportunities so that people know what is wrong and understand that something needs to be fixed. This goes back to my personal recent work experience. last Friday we just had a meeting with the Senior Vice President where he discussed in detail some new technological changes we are going to make as a company and why they were important for the company and for us in our individual departments. What our Senior VP did was in line with Kotter’s model. He created a sense of urgency by reviewing the market with us and point out the shortfalls and opportunities. While explaining the information, he kept stopping to see if there were questions and answered them honestly and sincerely. I looked around the room to see how people were taking in the information and though there were some stiff faces there were a lot of
According to Michael Fullan (2016) in his book, The New Meaning of Educational Change, successful organizations that demonstrate change followed principled concepts of change. The reason for their success if that there is tangible proof of alignment in keeping components of actions. Fullan (2016) stated that successful change incorporates five factors. In this essay, three of the five factors will be discussed and an example of an organization using components of the change be revealed. Often when organization shave to go through the process of change it means either they have gone through change to repair broken areas or they are going through change as a reflective exercise before embarking on a larger scope of practice perhaps to expand into new growth within their organization. In either course, the larger concern is that organizations must embrace change and engage in meaningful constructed ways to promote the best growth with the fewest steps to reach accomplishment. A key decision factor to change is whether an organize will change because they adopt a model and see a better way or whether they want to save their resources. Fullan (2016) suggested that the reason for the change is largely to work is because, the organizations, “Define closing the gap as the overarching goal,” “Assume that lack of capacity is the initial problem and then work on it continuously,” and “Stay the course through continuity of good direction by leveraging leadership,” (Fullan, 2016,
Foreword by Spenser Johnson: One the surface, the story of this book appears to be a fable that is relatively easy to grasp, but it does subtly impart an invaluable lesson on change. The book covers John Kotter’s Eight Steps to bring about successful organizational change and can be equally useful for a high-school student as it is for a CEO of a multi-national organization.
Kotter’s 8-Step approach to transformational change begins with creating a sense of urgency. Creating a sense of urgency involves examining markets and competitive realities and identifying and discussing crises, potential crises, or major opportunities (Weiss, 2012). At its peak, Microsoft was at the forefront of computing technology. This position led to “overnight millionaires” that eventually skewed the perspective of the once eager employees. Long time executives ended up letting new employees handle everything while they waited for the next windfall. Instead of continuing a momentum of innovation, they [Microsoft] had allowed themselves to reach a plateau while the competition past them by. Innovation gave way to employees
Step 2 is forming a powerful guiding coalition. Leadership will have to be on board and on the same page in regards to the change. Kotter and Cohen reveal the core problems people face when leading change. Their main findings are that the central issue concerns not structure or systems but behavior and how to alter it (Farris, 2008). The success of the changes will depend on the ability of the managers to show their commitment to change and motivate the employees to do the same. Without any process to track the implementation, the change can also fail.
This course has taught me a lot in terms of initiating and managing change, and Kotter’s eight-stage process is a very useful approach when it comes to making changes within an organization. This course has helped me strengthen my skills in overcoming barriers that tend to get and make it difficult to
In your post you wrote ““It is very tiring and demanding to support change and it requires a leader who is able to confront the precedents and preserve against habits and norm of recognized behaviors. I agree, in my previous workplace, we experienced change so much everytime the nurses saw me coming around they would hide in the patient room. as a manger we would always have a new team huddle or initiative that require taking them away from patient care. Healthcare organizations must develop better strategies for timing of change initiatives. I was pondering where John Kotter framework of change would be on what initiate and what time is best for change. According to Mate and Rakover (2016), state changes should be to ‘eliminate daily hassles,
Communication – Talk about the change vision, if people have anxieties then address these openly and honestly. Tie in the vision to all areas of the business from training to performance reviews
You also must form a powerful coalition and create a vision for change. This begins with strong leadership and effective communication skills in order to communicate your vision. Another step in the process is to remove obstacle or barriers that may block or prevent change from happening. You must also motivate the team along the way by creating short term goals, building on change and anchoring the changes in corporate culture. Kotter put an emphasis on step one which is creating urgency for change. You must be convincing and open when presenting this change to your team to gain their support. It is important to give scenarios, show the benefits of making this change and the drawbacks of not making the change.
Consolidating gains and producing more change—Kotter (1996) stated that many change programs failed because the victory was declared too early. Companies should build trust to employees and customers through the success of short-term objectives and continue to work hard until the end of the strategy. In May 2011, BA
adopt before setting out on a change initiative. Kotter identifies the ‘‘analysis-thinkchange’’ mindset as the traditional method
John Kotter, the author of the well known book “Our Iceberg is Melting: Changing and Succeeding under Any Conditions “, taught for more than thirty years at Harvard Business School. Kotter could be considered an expert in the field of business with his many years of experience. After retiring from teaching, he then founded Kotter International and has spent his time assisting others in the area of implementing changes. He, like many others before him, observed the challenges that many businesses, organizations, and other institutions faced when trying to make changes. Over the years he observed that changes are not easily implemented or accepted because people in
Change happens in all aspects of life. Leaders view change as being good most of the time. An organization can’t move forward without change. This paper will discuss how leaders can use levels of change and the steps of Kotter’s change model to implement change. It will also give a Christian worldview as it pertains to the topics. Leader must learn the language to effectively communicate change. This will give managers an advantage and help demonstrate the vision for the future.
The third error is leaders lacking a vision. A successful transformation according to Kotter requires “a picture of the future that is relatively easy to communicate and appeals to customers, stockholders, and employees.” A vision clarifies the direction of the company and helps to create motivation. The fourth error is then undercommunicating the vision by a factor of ten. In other words, Kotter suggests leaders must use every opportunity possible to communicate the new vision and strategies to the entire organization. This is followed by the fifth error of leaders not removing obstacles to the new vision. Organizations should allow members to make changes to their areas of involvement. People need to be empowered in order to be part of the process (Kotter).
It is generally noted that Albert Einstein once said, “the measure of intelligence is the ability to change”. John Kotter embedded this mindset that continually adapting and evolving can lead to success within the novel Our Iceberg is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Condition. Kotter’s and Rathgeber structural organization allows change management to be introduced through a relatable fable highlighting the needed steps to properly manage a group dealing with change. Tone, approach, and mood management are amongst the areas defined as crucial in managing change and making it acceptable. Kotter also introduces what he defines as The Eight Step Process of Successful Change that are surrounded by the themes of Setting the stage, Deciding what to do, Making it happen, and Making it stick. This novel is the example of how to effectively manage change within an organization as well as individually.
When it comes to organizations, change is constantly occuring. Managers are accountable for preparing the business, in addition to helping the employees cope with the change. The purpose of this paper is to highlight an organization and to diagnose the need for change and present a plan to transform the company, using Kotter 's 8-Step Approach. The following topics will be covered in this paper, company overview, diagnosis, Kotter 's 8-Step Approach, and Conclusion.