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Tool 4 · Define

Change scan: Kotter's eight steps

Where does your change stand? Answer three statements per step. The scan points to the earliest step that is not yet in place, because in Kotter's model every step builds on the one before.

Kotter’s change model
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Creating a climate for change

1Create a sense of urgency

Everyone the change affects can explain why it is needed now.
We have shared facts that show the need: complaints, figures, what customers really want.
There is more sense of urgency than of "things are going fine as they are".

2Build a guiding coalition

There is a team driving the change, with enough influence and credibility.
That team comes from several levels and departments, not just from management.
Its members visibly put time into it; it is not a side job next to the regular work.

3Form a strategic vision

We can explain in one minute how things will be better, for the customer and for the employee.
The vision says what changes and also what does not change.
There is a realistic plan with steps to get there.

Engaging the whole organisation

4Enlist a volunteer army

The vision is repeated more often than you think is necessary, through several channels.
Managers themselves do what they ask of others.
People dare to voice concerns and criticism without it being held against them.

5Enable action by removing barriers

Barriers in systems, rules and structures are actively removed.
People get time, training and room to do things differently.
Those who work against the change are called on it.

6Generate short-term wins

A visible result is planned within a few weeks or months.
Wins are measured and shared, not just felt.
Those who contribute are recognised and thanked for it.

Implementing and sustaining

7Sustain acceleration

After the first win, the next step has started straight away.
Old habits that creep back are named and discussed.
The number of people taking part is still growing.

8Institute change

The new way of working is written into work instructions, meetings and systems.
New colleagues learn the new way of working from day one.
We regularly show how the change contributes to the results.

Kotter's eight steps

John Kotter observed leaders and organisations going through change for over forty years, and distilled eight steps from it. The most important insight is not in the steps themselves but in their order: whoever starts instituting the change while nobody feels the urgency institutes nothing.

  1. Creating a climate for change: create a sense of urgency, build a guiding coalition, form a strategic vision.
  2. Engaging the whole organisation: enlist a volunteer army, enable action by removing barriers, generate short-term wins.
  3. Implementing and sustaining: sustain acceleration, and institute change.

How to use the scan

  • Fill it in honestly, preferably together with the guiding coalition. Disagreement about a statement is a result in itself.
  • Share the outcome with the people you want to involve in the change, for example at the kick-off. The e-book advises not to keep Kotter's model to yourself.
  • Repeat the scan every few months. The earliest weak step shifts as the change progresses.

More about the model and a practical example are in the knowledge-base article on Kotter's change model.

All tools Kotter's change model in the knowledge base