Leading change with the Kotter model
PLUS a bonus podcast for paid subscribers this week!
Welcome back to Lead with Intention! If you’re just joining us, I’m so glad you’re here.
Every week, I share coaching advice to help you thrive in your career and accelerate your development as a leader. With more than 20 years’ corporate experience, and now as a qualified leadership coach, I blend real-world experience with established coaching models, to help you get ahead WITHOUT losing who you are in the process.
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You join us in Part Three of a new mini-series on Leading Change (Without Losing Your Sanity).
Read Part One and Part Two here.
It’s pretty obvious why we’re talking about this kind of stuff now, you only need to take a peek outside your window most days to see that we are IN FLUX.
And change can be hard. Especially if you’re senior, and stepping up to lead at work. You may well find yourself being asked to lead change. And not knowing how.
Or leading it, and finding it tough to keep going. Or even, leading change and being affected by that change yourself. (It happens and it happened to me.)
So this series will help you find your groove as a leader of change (and help you look after yourself during the process.)
Today we are diving into one of my favourite models to reference and use in leading change.
The KOTTER Model
Have you heard of it? I learnt about Kotter whilst on an executive leadership programme in the NHS (National Health Service) in England. And I immediately gravitated towards its clear structure, focus on narrative (I’m a comms specialist and a storyteller after all) and its core message that you are never leading change alone. (That was like music to my ears, as a nervous first time leader, facing some pretty significant organisational change - more on that in the podcast episode today for paid subscribers.)
The model has evolved over the years, but I still use it, teach it and coach it whenever someone comes to me, struggling under the weight of having to lead change for the first time. Here it is - in a nutshell.
Image credit: BA Theories
The beautiful thing about the Kotter model is that it is also a CYCLE of change.
And that’s really helpful thinking - change is rarely (if ever) linear and usually doesn’t have a defined finish or end point, but leads to ongoing evolution and (hopefully) more positive change and improvement.
Here’s how to think about the Kotter model in real-life, for your organisation or any change you are being asked to lead.