Market Acknowledged Organizational Change Management Models

This phrase by Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, makes it clear that organizational change is a constant challenge.

Does managing change entail risks?

Yes, but this can’t be an excuse not to innovate, to change the organization whenever necessary.

In a world of constant technological, cultural, economic and political evolution, the emergence of new regional powers and the recent change of command in one of the most powerful nations in the world only indicate one direction: one must prepare for change.

In this post, we’ll present two more organizational change management models and show you how to employ them in your business.

Take a look at each of the different methodologies, study the links in more detail. Then, see which one best fits your organization’s culture.

2 organizational change management models

The 8 steps change model

John Kotter, Harvard emeritus professor, surveyed over 100 companies going through a process of internal redefinition. He then created this 8-step model of organizational change management:

1. Establish a sense of urgency: If the change takes a while to implement, the scenario could change before it’s implemented. All stakeholders must understand the strategic motives of the change and its urgency.
2. Build a powerful alliance: Establish change managers, influencers with great persuasive power over teams.
3. Develop a vision and strategy: Create the vision of after the company realizes this change and the strategies involved in this process.
4. Share the vision: Define communication channels and make vision and strategy clear to everyone. Change always brings fear and only information can bring more confidence to the teams.
5. Remove obstacles and empower those involved: cultural, technological, and capacity-building resistances must be addressed and those engaged in the process valued.
6. Plan and create short-term goals: With each small victory, the organization will feel that it’s on the right track, which motivates teams.
7. Consolidate your gains: As small wins prove to be positive results for the organization, deepen the changes to make them even more effective.
8. Anchor your achievements in organizational culture: The process does not end with the end of a timeline. This is just the beginning of a job for the company to absorb the changes as part of its DNA. Hence, this is an even greater challenge.

The change management model in Kotter’s organizations is one of the most revered.

See the image below the graphic representation of the Kotter’s change model.

A final thought..

You can access this link to download an e-book with more detailed information about it: Kotter’s change management steps.

See also: Change Management: Kotter’s 8 Steps

The Bridges transition model

William Bridges developed his organizational change management model by considering that this type of process simply occurs without the participation of people.

A transition already involves people and, consequently, psychological elements, that evolve in three phases:

1. Final: The moment you realize that things as they were before are over. One must understand what has changed and what losses each one will have with this change and with the new reality.
2. Neutral Zone: At this stage people feel a bit lost and aimless. Then, their motivation drops and anxiety increases. So, make sure people understand that this is a natural phase of the process and that it must be gradually overcome.
3. The Resumption: People realize the purpose of the change and begin to accept it. Communicate and disseminate how the organization will look in the future. Then, little by little, everyone will understand the benefits gained from the new framework.

It’s interesting to note that Bridge’s organizational change management model (or transition management) is more pragmatic.

Therefore, its approach goes beyond process modeling to focus on the follow-up and support of the psychological side of the company to gradually absorb the transition, more organically and less traumatic.

See also: Business process change? Understand how to change them faultlessly

You find the book in Amazon using the link below:

Do you know any other change management model?

What is your favorite book of all time on change management? Leave a comment here and share your experience with our readers.