Changing situations throughout the world affect all organizations in business today. Therefore, most organizations acknowledge the need to experience change and transformation in order to survive. The key challenges companies face are due to the advancements in technology, the social environment caused by globalization, the pace of competition, and the demands regarding customer expectations. It is difficult to overcome the obstacles involved with change despite all the articles, books, and publications devoted to the topic. People are naturally resistant to fundamental changes and often intimidated by the process; the old traditional patterns and methods are no longer effective. “Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail” is an article written by John P. Kotter in the Harvard Business Review, which outlines eight critical factors to help leaders successfully transform a business. Since leading requires the ability to influence other people to reach a goal, the leadership needs to take steps to cope with a new, more challenging global market environment. Kotter emphasizes the mistakes corporations make when implementing change and why those efforts create failure; therefore, it is essential that leaders learn to apply change effectively in order for it to be beneficial in the long-term (Kotter). The first error leaders make is not establishing a sense of urgency. Communicating change typically begins when people begin to notice vulnerability in the organization; it usually prompts some type of action that is needed. Individuals or groups begin to examine the market and the competitive realities of the circumstances trying to identify a potential crisis or any major threats or opportunities. Kotter states that 75 percent... ... middle of paper ... ...ges with general statements that I recognize from my own experiences with leadership. It is very frustrating to be told about a new idea without any type of explanation for the change. I recognize that leading change is incredibly difficult and Kotter seems to understand the structure of organizational change. If leaders will follow his guidelines and recommendations for their organizations, they can improve business and become significantly better companies. Works Cited Kotter, John P. “Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail.” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 85 Issue 1, 96-103. Jan. 2007. Web. 05 August 2011. .
Leaders benefit from building a team to create and implement change, this is a key theme in the Kotter model of change. This teambuilding engages employees throughout the process. Allowing employees to be a part of the change process gives them the opportunity and trust to be creative moving toward the future (Cochrane, 2002). Leaders can create opportunity for employees and leaders to dialogue about the change, which can help troubleshoot the process. Leaders who engage employees throughout the organization from various levels of the organization will receive perspectives from the entire organization helping them make better-informed decisions. Employees want to be allowed the opportunity to help an organization they believe in, in a way that enhances the
Maurer shares four biggest mistakes leaders make when it comes to change: Mistake 1: Assume that understanding equals support and
In today’s ever changing world people must adapt to change. If an organization wants to be successful or remain successful they must embrace change. This book helps us identify why people succeed and or fail at large scale change. A lot of companies have a problem with integrating change, The Heart of Change, outlines ways a company can integrate change. The text book Ivanceich’s Organizational Behavior and Kotter and Cohen’s The Heart of Change outlines how change can be a good thing within an organization. The Heart of Change introduces its readers to eight steps the authors feel are important in introducing a large scale organizational change. Today’s organizations have to deal with leadership change, change in the economy,
Tichy, N. M., & Ulrich, D. O. (2003). The Leadership Challenge-A Call for the Transformational Leader. In
Achieving organizational change that produces real results is not just a managerial challenge; it is also a cognitive challenge. As Peter Senge stated in an article on leadership "deep organizational change requires a change in people. Redrawing the lines and boxes in your org chart without addressing the way people within the organization interact may be like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic" (1996). Leaders find it easier to address tasks rather than the complex dynamics of human interactions. The outcome of which is a focus on the short-term and local not the longer-term and global results from change.
Change is a double-edged sword (Fullan, 2001). Change is a word that might inspire or put fear into people. Leadership is challenging when it comes to dealing with change and how individuals react within the organization to the change. Marzano, McNulty, and Waters (2005) discuss two orders of change in their book School Leadership that Works; first and second. Fullan (2001) also adds to the discussion in his book Leading in a Culture of Change, with regard to understanding change. In Change Leadership, Keagan and Wagner (2006) discuss many factors of change and the systematic approach to change. Change affects people in different ways. Leaders need to be able to respond to the individuals throughout the change process.
In this time of transition and uncertainty, research suggests that transformational leadership is highly effective (Straight, 2006). Leadership research has drifted from emphasis on the competence of leaders to “manage change” to the ability to “transform” organizations. Transformational leaders have attributes and behaviors needed to successfully motivate and empower employees. According to Bernard Bass (1990), transformational leadership occurs when a leader transforms, or changes, his or her followers in three important ways that together result in followers trusting the leader, performing behaviors that contribute to the achievement of organizational goals, and being motivated to perform at a high level. Transformational leaders can achieve greater performance by stimulating innovative ways of thinking and transforming follower’s beliefs and aspirations. Maxwell (Maxwell, 2007) articulates that most of the time, influence is more important than formal power or authority. I agree with him. Influence is very important in organizational and co...
We need to embrace change by having an individual take a leadership role. There can be more than one leader, but at least one person has to realize change is needed for the better and success of others. Another way to embrace change is by bringing the ...
Change is something that is necessary for the survival of a company, but can sometimes be difficult to instate. That is what is discussed in the book A Sense of Urgency by John Kotter. The central theme of this book is leadership, and how it is required to initiate change.
According to Yoder-Wise (2015), a leader can be defined as, “an individual who works with others to develop a clear vision of the preferred future and to make that vision happen” (p 35). As employees, we often have our own ideal of a good leader, which may be influenced by experiences and perception of workplace norms. While one’s opinion of an effective leader may vary, there are several recognized leadership theories. The following will focus on the transformational leadership approach.
Kotter, JP 1995, Leading change: why transformation efforts fail. In Harvard Business Review on Change, Harvard Business School Press, Boston.
Kotter, J. P. (2007). ‘Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail’. Harvard Business Review, January: 96-103.
Change in an organization occurs when an organization identifies an area of where necessary change must be undertaken, examines it thoroughly and adapts to it. This may lead to gaps where employees may not adapt to a certain change and therefore it is important that an organization takes into considerati...
In every business offered by any organizations, it is very important to ensure that the customers will always satisfied with services provided. People nowadays are looking for the new technologies, new markets, new ideas and also new inventions. Thus the organization must always keep up with the current changes in demand to ensure that their services are still relevant to the customers. The changes of demand also called as an evolution and to achieve these, the organizations are advised to have a process that we called as “Business Transformation” (“Business Transformation: The Importance of Change,” 2014).
The idea of change is the most constant factor in business today and organisational change therefore plays a crucial role in this highly dynamic environment. It is defined as a company that is going through a transformation and is in a progressive step towards improving their existing capabilities. Organisational change is important as managers need to continue to commit and deliver today but must also think of changes that lie ahead tomorrow. This is a difficult task because management systems are design, and people are rewarded for stability. These two main factors will be discussed with reasons as to why organisational change is necessary for survival, but on the other hand why it is difficult to accomplish.