Steps to Successful Change

Change is an enduring aspect of life, yet it can often be challenging to persuade a group of individuals to embrace it and actively support it. To ensure a successful change initiative, a change leader must actively secure the commitment of those affected by the change and offer them a clear understanding of the purpose behind the change.

John Kotter, in his book “Our Iceberg is Melting,” discusses the steps to follow for successful change, which are as follows:

1. Create a sense of urgency: Help others see the need to change and the importance of action right away.
2. Pull together the guiding team: Make sure that there is a powerful group of people who are guiding the change and have credibility, leadership skills, communication skills, authority, and analytical skills.
3. Develop change vision and strategy: Help others visualize how the future will look and how the future can be made a reality.
4. Communication for understanding and buy in: Helps others understand and accept the vision and strategy.
5. Empower others to act: Empower people who buy in and want to make the vision a reality.
6. Produce short-term wins: Set some short term goals so that success can be seen quickly, to be able to convince the people who are against the vision of change. 
7. Don’t give up: Be relentless after your first success and continue working towards the strategy of change until it becomes reality.
8. Create a new culture: Stick to the new way of working, until it becomes a habit and people are ready to replace the old traditions.