Leading Change
I just finished reading the book “Leading Change” by John P Kotter. If you happen to be a part of a church or organization that is wanting to move forward, I highly recommend this read.
Here’s a quick snip-it of the 8 steps to Leading Change that John Kotter lays out.
1. Establish a sense of urgency.
2. Create a powerful guiding coalition.
3. Create a vision to direct the change effort.
4. Communicate the change vision.
5. Increase broad-based action.
6. Generate short-term successes.
7. Consolidate gains, and produce more change.
8. Anchor new approaches in the organization’s culture.
Truth is, every leader is going to bring change; it’s integral to your role as a leader. Knowing how to do it well is probably one
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.
Let’s face it, if you can’t influence, you cannot lead. But for transformational leadership, it’s not
Leaders change systems, structures and policies that have not yet been confronted. They hire, promote and develop employees who can implement the vision for change. In addition, they revitalise the process with a new round of projects or change agents.(Cengage Learning AUS, 2015)
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,
You have probably heard the saying “Change is hard.” This statement is true for organizations as well as for individuals.
Part 4: Be A Leader: How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment
Dr. John P. Kotter is a New York Times best-selling author, award winning business and management thought leader, business entrepreneur, inspirational speaker, and Harvard Professor. He is known for his great works on leadership and change. He owns a company, Kotter International. The ideas and works that he has produced has helped people around the world who would look to relocate from place to other or from one organization to other.
Put in place the structure for change, and continually check for barriers to it. Removing obstacles can empower the people you need to execute your vision, and it can help the change move forward.
I enjoyed reading your submission on this topic. Interesting enough, I chose this change model for my change intervention. The Kotter's eight steps of change incorporates all the strategies needed for effective implementation of a change intervention. I agree with you that we should set short term goals and in order to acknowledge these achievements there should be continuous monitoring. Kotter's model talk about forming a coalition, in your intervention who will be the core of your coalition? Thank you-
Change does not come from leaders but from inspired individuals. These inspired individuals foster change by identifying a need and creating a solution. Such people do not follow leaders, rather they innovate and carve their own path. Martin Luther King Jr., Lyndon Baines Johnson, and Nelson Mandela were individuals who changed our culture in significant and permanent ways. They each identified a problem and created a solution that in hindsight seems obvious but was completely radical and original at the time.
One of the most important concepts that I learned about during the Leading Change course is that leaders must take a deliberate approach to change. Leaders use this approach because it involves thorough planning and purpose-driven actions that lead to the desired end state rather than leave the fate of the organization to happenstance. One of the primary models that we learned about during Leading Change is John Kotter’s Eight-Stage Process (2012). This model offers an organizational change template that addresses both the people and the processes of an organization so that leaders can pursue change effectively.
Leadership and the Art of Change, gives an insightful look at how to lead change within an organization and most importantly do so with success. The author, Lee Roy Beach begins with a look at Wayne a young executive filled with desire to lead an organization on his own after several years of working closely with CEO’s. Wayne’s struggles are detailed by Beach as examples of how not to lead change in a struggling organization. In the end Wayne leaves the company for other opportunities knowing he had failed but not understanding how to correct his mistakes. This leads the reading into what Beach describes as leaders prime responsibilities in championing change.
It takes a strong leader to be able to make change without adverse effects, of course that does not mean there will be no bumps, but the bumps can be paved with the interjection of positivity and taking smaller bites.
Leaders need to see more deeply into why it is so hard for our organizations to change, even when there is a genuine, collective desire to do so. More than just seeing why, leaders need to learn how to take action effectively to help our organizations actually become what they need and want to be.
For change to happen, it helps if the whole association genuinely needs it. Develop a sentiment genuineness around the prerequisite for change. This may empower you to begin the hidden motivation to get things moving.