8 steps for success change management

Change management is an extremely important topic, especially in the current scenario when we talk about transformation and innovation in industry or any other organization. In the face of crises and threats, it's crucial to have a plan to overcome the threat/crisis and adapt to a new reality. However, it's very common to find that many companies are unprepared and don't know how to implement these changes and achieve success through new objectives. Therefore, John Kotter created eight steps for implementing effective change management within organizations. In this article, we'll discuss these steps and, through examples, understand how you can apply them in your industry. The eight steps are: 1. Establishing a sense of urgency. Establishing a sense of urgency isn't easy, as it doesn't happen one-off; it's based on a process closely linked to the organization's leadership. In many cases, everyone knows the problem and the path to solve it, but what's often missing is someone taking the initiative to drive the change. Whether the urgency is due to an external factor or not, we've noticed that the main obstacle to the process is often conformity, the belief that there's no need to change because things are working today. The scenario we see today isn't necessarily the same as it will be tomorrow, and since things don't happen overnight, understanding the need for change, modernization, and the urgency of this change is crucial. Interestingly, some companies hire specialists to not only properly assess the real need for change, but also to help foster a sense of urgency. This way, it's not just something internally perceived, but also something third parties can see and alert us to. 2. Create a coalition. Once this sense of urgency is established, the second step is to create a team to drive these changes. The team's size can range from a small group to a group of over 30 people, depending on the company's size. Essentially, here we're talking about both leadership and sharing and disseminating the idea that change is needed. So, for example, in a manufacturing plant, there's no point in production taking an initiative if other areas don't share this desire for change and embrace it. In this sense, what works very well is to work with matrix structures, where we have functions on one axis, and other areas, such as operational excellence, working cross-functionally. This allows us to have a group of people more focused on disseminating these changes across the various areas within the industry. 3. Define a vision. So, once we have an established sense of urgency, as well as the coalition—that is, the group of people who will drive these changes—it's time to define a vision. This vision needs to be simple, something that everyone can understand and become engaged with in a matter of minutes, so that this change can be implemented. At this point, we see many companies sometimes working too hard on a project and goal focus, engaging in micromanagement, and becoming uncoordinated with the macro vision/objective, resulting in a lack of preparation for these changes because they're focused on more specific points. So, in this step, it's important to step away from the playbook and observe the steps necessary to achieve the ultimate goal. 4. Communicate the Vision. This step essentially focuses on achieving this information/vision with as many people as possible so that everyone is aware of the objective and can help promote this change. Some examples we've observed within our projects, which were crucial to their success mes include executive-level project leaders, at key moments, being there to communicate why the project was starting, what action was being taken, and its importance to the sector/organization. The mes becomes important when a project in a specific area also affects another area. It's therefore necessary to establish this communication in a solid and clear manner to ensure good engagement and for both areas to understand the project's importance to the whole. An interesting point to emphasize is that communication isn't based solely on speeches, lectures, and newsletters; it also involves actions, setting an example. 5. Remove Obstacles. The fifth step is to eliminate resistance. During this process, you'll certainly encounter some resistance, some stemming from knowledge issues and others from conflicting objectives. As mentioned previously, our main focus is the comfort and inertia of leaving things as they are. After all, we find a way to get by in our daily routine. The most gentle way to eliminate these barriers is through empowerment, through training and knowledge sharing. In other words, communication is the primary tool for eliminating many barriers, although it often ends up not being sufficient, as these changes can have significant impacts on adjacent areas, requiring more detailed work to understand how to overcome them, and often requiring direct support from leadership. 6. Create short-term wins. This sixth step consists of creating an ongoing plan of small wins, and this way, we can maintain that urgency to change from the first step in small, continuous steps. In other words, if there are several gains throughout the process, the team doesn't have to wait long to see the results, which reduces the likelihood of demotivation. Bringing this to a more industrial-oriented perspective on software implementation and new technologies, even though the projects are large and require more traditional project management methodologies, the more we can incorporate agile methodologies and involve people from the impacted areas in testing and simulations, the better. 7. Consolidate achievements and maintain the pace of change . The penultimate point is to consolidate gains and maintain momentum. So, basically, the goal here is to ensure that the achievements we've made so far are not lost and are optimized over time. The key here is to work with solid, well-controlled indicators and continuously monitor them to understand that these actions are not part of a single project with a beginning, middle, and end; they are part of an ongoing optimization process. Something quite clear in software implementation processes is that, after a while, teams sometimes disband, or there's a shift in focus. This can lead to demobilization, something we want to avoid. To achieve this, these teams need to recognize that changes are continuous and results come more in the medium and long term. To achieve this, motivation needs to remain stable and be feedback-driven. 8. Incorporate change into the organizational culture. The eighth point is precisely the idea of ​​incorporating this change into the organizational culture. Companies must therefore incorporate the notion of constant change and updating within their organizational culture. This integration ranges from reflecting on lessons learned and communicating how these actions occurred, to how these changes are being applied to the company's day-to-day operations. Furthermore, it's also important to reflect on succession issues, both for executives and for the areas managing the projects, so that these changes and new mindset are transmitted naturally and consistently, avoiding discontinuity. We see that change is established in organizational culture when it no longer depends on a specific person. Watch the full content: [embed]https://youtu.be/9RWQToZd0Ds[/embed][noptin-form id=2822]