John Kotter in his book Leading Change identifies 8 steps to transform an organization:
1. Establishing a sense of urgency
2. Forming a powerful guiding coalition
3. Creating a vision
4. Communicating the vision
5. Empowering others to act on the vision
6. Planning for and creating short term wins
7. Consolidating improvements and producing still more change
8. Institutionalizing (anchoring) new approaches 1
Kotter cites anchoring or institutionalizing the change as an important aspect of ensuring the change ‘sticks.’
For example, an organization determines employee development is a key performance indicator to its success.
Managers within the organization want to develop employees but a the same time feel as though development takes time away from production, sales, and service, so it is often given low priority. Anchoring employee development change initiative may require making it a part of a manager’s annual performance objective. Conducting performance reviews and clearly identifying development needs and methods of development, associated timelines and measures of success are written into the manager’s annual performance plan. The manager’s performance is reviewed quarterly or bi-annually against the performance plan and rewarded either in an annual raise or incentive when the plan is achieved.
This is one way to ensure the change is ‘anchored.’
Consider your reply to M4A1 and the recommendations you made regarding an improved performance management culture within your organization. How would you ensure the change, based on your recommendations is anchored?
Describe the organizational change initiative and how the organization would anchor the change so that it is sustained.
