45 pages • 1 hour read
John P. KotterLeading Change
Nonfiction | Reference/Text Book | Adult | Published in 1988A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1: “The Change Problem and Its Solution”
Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary: “Transforming Organizations: Why Firms Fail”
Kotter begins by emphasizing the need for change, noting experts’ predictions of how the professional world will continue to increase in volatility. Change is difficult to enact, though, and Kotter provides eight common errors he has seen in attempts at organizational change. First, complacency can create a kind of inertia, leaving employees more inclined to maintain their current traditions rather than adapt to a new methodology or organizational structure. Second, change requires a strong coalition of leaders, all of whom need to be dedicated to enacting change at all levels of organization, yet leadership often is lacking or fails to reach certain levels. Third, change cannot occur without strong vision, yet many organizations exhaust too much effort on details without clarifying their broader goals. Fourth, organizations often fail to communicate their vision accurately. Fifth, many organizations allow obstacles to hinder change, rather than confronting obstacles outright. Sixth, companies fail to reinforce short-term wins, never celebrating the steps toward change. Seventh, businesses tend to declare victory at the first sign of success, which often leads to temporary change, after which employees quickly return to tradition. Eighth, even when change is initially successful, businesses may fail to instill the new practices and ideology into company culture; this particular error can lead to employees misdirecting their perception of the change, resulting in a failure to sustain long-term improvement. Kotter concludes that the solution to these errors lies in understanding why organizations resist change and how good leadership can overcome these barriers.
Part 1, Chapter 2 Summary: “Successful Change and the Force That Drives It”
Kotter describes how advances in technology and an increased rate of globalization are forcing organizations to enact change. Change is necessary not only to remain competitive and maintain quality but also to capitalize on larger markets with fewer barriers. To address the eight errors from Chapter 1, Kotter presents his eight-stage process: 1. Establish a sense of urgency, 2. Create the guiding coalition, 3. Develop a vision and strategy, 4. Communicate the change vision, 5. Empower broad-based action, 6. Generate short-term wins, 7. Consolidate gains and produce more change, and 8. Anchor new approaches in the culture. Kotter emphasizes that many organizations enact only some of these stages; it’s common for companies to skip earlier stages, like the “defrost” stages, or neglect later, grounding stages. Change emerges through multiple projects over a long period of time. That process requires sequencing, following the eight stages in the correct order to keep the organization on track.
Kotter introduces the difference between managing and leading as a fundamental issue in organizations trying to enact change. Managers, according to Kotter, maintain the current state of the organization, focusing on daily or weekly systems, budgets, and bureaucracy. Leaders, in contrast, think in terms of years. Leaders motivate and inspire employees, aligning their organization with the goals of a desired change. Kotter acknowledges the importance of managers. However, he notes that too many managers and too few leaders make it impossible to create meaningful change.
Part 1 Analysis
Kotter accomplishes two tasks in the opening of the text: establishing the need for organizational change and offering a solution to the pitfalls of such changes. In the first chapter, Kotter outlines eight common errors made during attempts at organizational change. These eight errors serve to highlight the need for guidance, which Kotter then offers in the form of the eight-stage process. Kotter does not use citations in the text. Instead, as he explicitly states, these errors and solutions are based on his personal experiences. Accordingly, he references hypothetical managers and draws on conversations with unnamed professionals. That said, this work is built out of Kotter’s previous publications, which are more technical and academic in nature. The diagrams used in these chapters, for example, are sourced from his prior books, and the conclusions he draws depend on insights gleaned from what he has seen “over the past two decades” (31).
Kotter’s experience, in turn, is directly related to his eight-stage process. He frames his discussions with other professionals in terms of this process: “I recently asked the top twelve officers in a division of a large manufacturing firm to assess where they were in their change process” (23). The responses are given in terms of what percent of the eight stages was completed at the time of the discussion, indicating that Kotter actively shares his method with real firms. Such real-world tests and evidence reinforce the applicability of Kotter’s methods, lending credibility to the book and enforcing the practical value of the process.
The need for change comes from two fronts in Kotter’s view: technological change and globalization. His explanation of why change is needed, combined with the eight errors, creates a dynamic that drives demand for Kotter’s expertise. By building this sense of urgency in tandem with establishing his credibility, Kotter entices readers. His outlook is not grim, however. Kotter emphasizes that the need for change is not necessarily a bad thing: There are “both more hazards and more opportunities for everyone, forcing firms to make dramatic improvements” (18). These circumstances provide both a penalty for stagnation and an incentive for progress. By defining the contemporary situation as one in which his advice saves the reader from pain and leads them to rewards, Kotter is organizing the book to keep readers engaged.
The eight errors and corresponding eight stages of change highlight both The Nature and Challenges of Change and The Importance of Vision and Direction, with most errors relating directly to one or both themes. Inertia, or complacency, for example, is a challenge to change that exists in all organizations, though Kotter notes that it may vary in its intensity. When Kotter comments that employees may “feel disempowered by huge obstacles in their paths” (10), complacency is one contributing obstacle, as it is difficult to push for change when most other employees appear content with the current functioning of the organization. Vision is one method for overcoming this inertia. By establishing a clear vision, companies are “helping to direct, align, and inspire actions on the part of large numbers of people” (7). Notably, all eight errors can be sorted into issues of inertia and issues of vision, marking these two components as critical within the work of enacting changes. The vision needs to be focused and supported to overcome inertia and spark excitement and determination among employees and managers alike. In turn, a key element in inspiring momentum lies in The Difference Between Leadership and Management. Kotter emphasizes that leadership is crucial to enact change, while management is necessary to keep an organization functioning. Management keeps “a complicated system of people and technology running smoothly” (25), but it is not naturally inclined toward innovation. Leadership, in contrast, “defines what the future should look like” (25), focusing on the innovative thinking needed to envision attainable and productive change.
