Kotter’s Eight Step Plan for Implementing Change

 

John Kotter, whom we studied earlier when we talked about the difference between managers and leaders, embellished Lewin’s three step model into a more detailed eight step model.

Kotter studied all of the places where failures could occur in Lewin’s model. Kotter recognized that several things needed to be added in:

• a sense of urgency around change
• a coalition for managing the change
• a communicated vision for the change
• the removal of obstacles to accomplishing change
• the continued pursuit of change in spite of apparent victory
• an anchoring of the changes into the organization’s culture

His revised eight steps of change are as follows:

Kotter expanded Lewin’s “unfreezing” step with his first four recommendations. His steps five, six, and seven correspond with Lewin’s “movement” stage and step eight is parallel with the “refreezing” process.