Kotter's Just 8 Steps Analysis

Changing in Just 8 Steps

The Kotter’s 8-step change model will be applied to help implement the eight aspects of the epistemic culture. The 8-step model was chosen because it provides a straight forward guide to implementing change:

‘The eight-step model is presented in action points arranged in a practical sequence. The model is intuitive and relatively easy to accept since it is based on Kotter’s real-life experiences and is well presented with examples.’ (Appelbaum et al 2012)

As the model may appear to be linear and top-down focussed (Appelbaum et al 2012), it will be used in conjunction with Senge’s (1999) fifth discipline resource in’ The Dance of Change’ (Todnem, 2005; Dopson et al., 2008; Graetz and Smith, 2010). The preventive measure
The senior leadership within the organisation will have to develop the narrative to champion the cause – the need for change. This narrative will have to be appealing and convincing for the staffs to want it (Kotter and Cohen 2002). This is akin to that spark in an ignition engine that provides the inertia to the entire change process. When people are engaged and convinced, the effort to change will not be borne by that single man at the top but multiplied several-fold within the organisation. Different behaviours will emerge at this stage. People will feel complacent, immobilise, defiant and pessimistic (ibid) and these may result in challenges such as ‘not enough time’, ‘no help’, ‘not relevant’, and ‘walking the talk’ (Senge 1999). At this stage, communication to convince the leaders of the various levels and the masses will be crucial. Kotter (1996) had suggested that 75% of the management overall needs to be convinced to ensure that the change can be
This ‘compelling image of the future’ is ‘a map of what could be and, more important, what a leader wants the future to be’ (Ancona et al 2007). The vision needs to be inspiring and yet clear enough to guide decision making by the staffs (Kotter 1999). Kotter (1996) shared on the characteristics of an effective vision; imaginable, desirable, feasible, focused, flexible and communicable. To create a vision to encapsulate all these characteristic is not an overnight task and will require a few iteration process. The leader will have to enlist the guiding coalition to use both the head and heart for this process (ibid). Sense making from quality and quantity analysis is required to make the vision a strategic one - ‘provides logic and a first level of detail to show how a vision can be accomplished’ (ibid). Concurrently, lots of dreaming is needed to make the vision a bold one (ibid; Ancona et al 2007). Strong team dynamics, urgency and clear communication is needed to make this step a success (Kotter