John Kotter’s Change Management Model
As I wrote earlier, digital transformation involves changing the operations of the entire enterprise. That change becomes possible through a combination of implemented technologies and redesigned business processes. Unfortunately, every change meets enormous employee resistance — a phenomenon that the Digital Leaders of Business Club and I recently discussed at the International Technology Congress.
Various approaches can minimise that resistance. One is ADKAR, which I have already written about.
Today I want to discuss another approach: John Kotter’s change management.
This model puts the need for change first. When the choice is between leaving everything as it is and undertaking transformation, the former is considered unacceptable. The model itself has eight steps. The first is defining the need for, and urgency of, change. People need to understand that the current state cannot remain.
The second stage is creating a leadership coalition. Ideally, it should include representatives of the overwhelming majority of departments, so that together they can resolve emerging issues and communicate decisions to their colleagues.
Third is creating a clear, understandable vision of the future. Every employee must clearly understand the goal towards which digital transformation is leading.
The fourth step is to communicate the new vision to everyone and continually involve employees in discussions of the changes ahead. This stage changes people’s attitude to change: they stop being afraid of it.
Fifth is removing obstacles. Kotter believes that all barriers that could impede transformation should be identified and removed.
The sixth stage is quick wins. Successful scenarios made possible by the implemented changes must be demonstrated early on.
Seventh is scaling. The experience gained should be extended to other departments, with new processes launched and subsequent waves of change generated and implemented.
The final stage coincides with the final stage of ADKAR: reinforcement. All changes made must become normal practice for the enterprise. That means they must be set out in rules, procedures and standards. The transformation that has taken place must become part of the corporate culture.
John Kotter’s model is considered suitable for implementing large-scale change in companies, whereas ADKAR is intended for local transformations.
