John Kotter, in his book “Leading Change,” defined a process leaders can use to manage change effectively. The first step is get executive endorsement of any changes. Then, leaders can begin to form teams and build a vision for enabling the change. Once the change activities have been defined and clearly articulated, leaders need to communicate what will happen to the affected employees. By rewarding those who adapt to the new policies and procedures, leaders can motivate other people to follow them and overcome objections and barriers to change. Finally, Kotter recommends identifying short-term projects and capitalizing on the lessons learned on small efforts before implementing wide-scale reforms. People need time to adjust to new situations. By allowing employees to adapt to unfamiliar circumstances at their own pace, leaders can help these workers transition to new conditions that benefit both the employee and the company as a whole.
