What the Experts Say About the Human Side of Change
There is a lot of advice out there for anyone who is looking to lead change successfully. The bad news is that it would take years to read every book and article. The good news is that you don’t have to! While there are wonderful nuggets, examples, and explanations in just about any book or article, I have found that the guidance from the experts tends to reinforce and support several tenets. While John Kotter lists eight steps, Scott Anthony shares six factors, and Rick Maurer groups his approach into four stages – the experts tend to agree on several core truths. Successful change requires a sense of urgency, focus around a vision, alignment across stakeholders, constant communication, and dedication to maintaining momentum. Leading change may not be as complicated as we think. Maybe we simply don’t slow down enough to address the essentials.
Eight Steps for Successful Large-Scale Change
(From John Kotter, Leading Change).
- Increase Urgency
- Build the Guiding Team
- Get the Vision Right
- Communicate for buy-in
- Empower Action
- Create Short-term Wins
- Don’t Let Up
- Make Change Stick
Driver’s of Change
(Posted by Scott Anthony on the HBR blog in April after he interviewed the heads of Dow Corning, Eastman Kodak, and Procter & Gamble)
• The need for a crisis or some kind of “burning platform” to motivate transformational change
• A clear vision and strategy … that allows room for iteration
• A recognition that transformation is a multi-year journey
• A need to put the customer or consumer in the center of the transformation equation
• The critical importance of demonstrating to skeptics that different actions can lead to different results
• The need to over-communicate to employees, customers, stakeholders, and shareholders
Four Major Stages of Change
(Rick Maurer’s Change without Migraines™ approach)
- Making a Case for Change
- Getting Started on the Right Foot by Aligning
- Keeping the Change Alive
- Getting Things Back on Track
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