Kotter Change Model
Competitive imperatives of market forces and customer demands in today’s environment have led to the emergence of less hierarchical and more flexible organisations (Doyle, 2001). In working towards this paradigm shift, a distinction and clarification of the relationship between leadership and management in the change process needs to be addressed. According to Caldwell (2003), change leaders are executives or senior managers at the very top of the organisation who envision, initiate or sponsor strategic change of far-reaching or transformational nature by challenging the status quo, communicating a vision that employees believe in, and empowering them to act. In contrast, change managers are usually middle level managers and functional specialists who carry forward and build support for change within business units and key functions ("Leadership & Management," 2009). The two roles although different are complimentary for successful change as it demands a process that is driven by leadership and supported by management (Kotter, 1997). Although it is acknowledged that management is used to support a successful change process, this essay however, is only focused at addressing leadership in an organisation through the 8 general lessons that John Kotter has developed in his eight-step model of leading a planned change and how it can be effectively applied in the dynamic environment of today.
Leading a change initiative is one of the most difficult tasks a leader can face. It is face with tremendous risk and opportunities. For most leaders, managing this change initiative is a crucial role but the responsibilities can widely vary depending on the type of change pursued (Beatty & Lee, 1992). The vast majority of leaders today adopt a planned change approach to large-scale organisational change. In many circumstances, they apply a linear, step by step planned process in implementing the major change. Victor, Greg and Neil (2004) explains that planned change models offer a
Leading a change initiative is one of the most difficult tasks a leader can face. It is face with tremendous risk and opportunities. For most leaders, managing this change initiative is a crucial role but the responsibilities can widely vary depending on the type of change pursued (Beatty & Lee, 1992). The vast majority of leaders today adopt a planned change approach to large-scale organisational change. In many circumstances, they apply a linear, step by step planned process in implementing the major change. Victor, Greg and Neil (2004) explains that planned change models offer a
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