Executive Summary
This report explains the role of management in forming a strong team in terms of its evolution and current state. As the contemporary models of leadership suggest, successful teams operate in a spirit of unity and shared vision instead of imperative assignments from the management. One of the key components of this work is introducing and institutionalizing change within organizations. It is suggested that Kotter’s eight-stage model is the optimal solution to the identified matters, as its detailed, practice-based framework can, indeed, create a favorable environment for lasting, sustained transformations in a positive direction. Special attention is devoted to the concept of follower motivation. Fear of indeterminacy is natural for people, which is why true leaders should seek to eliminate it by positive means rather than doubling negativity.
Introduction
The ideas of efficient leadership methods are prevalent in both expert communities and research areas of interest across different industries. Since the inception of business management as a discipline, theorists have been attempting to distinguish the key defining characteristics of a successful leader. While the variety of such theories has been large, the contemporary points of view align in one common aspect. A leader is determined by the ability to motivate and inspire their followers, allowing them to utilize the full potential of a team. In fact, the concept of a team is crucial in this regard, as even the most capable managers cannot function as independent units. Achievements are made by teams of professionals, whose skills and dedication form a productive synergy that yields positive results. In order to attain such an outcome, a leader is expected to possess certain properties that come to fruition through the lens of a current managerial structure. This paper aims to explain the benefits of applying John Kotter’s model to fulfill the key role of effective management in building a strong, functioning team.
Background
The ideas of teambuilding and effectiveness on their own are not a recent invention. As a matter of fact, multiple researchers have addressed this concept across the past centuries. Throughout this period, numerous theories have emerged, attempting to describe the complex process that surround building an effective team. At the earlier stages, models similar to the Trait theory prevailed in the expert community. As per this approach, effective leaders are virtually born with a specific set of defining qualities that can be applied in management (Mango, 2018). However, the professional environment grew to doubt this perspective, as it presented leadership as a certain static state rather than a dynamic process capable of change. Furthermore, it artificially narrowed the scope of management and training, depriving entire industries of effective leaders. Therefore, modern paradigms of management and related theories tend to emphasize the managerial agility and the ability to adapt to the particularities of a given situation.
Most of leadership and teambuilding theories rely on the understanding of a manager’s role in creating a fully functional, efficient team of dedicated professionals. In this area of knowledge, the evolution of the dominant philosophy has taken an interesting turn. Previously, the role of a manager within a team’s operations used to be perceived as a distant one. The leader remained detached from their followers, virtually serving as a separate entity. In most cases, the simplified role of a manager consisted of assigning objectives and controlling the results of their completions, often approach the authoritative domain (Mango, 2018). Under such circumstances, team members’ voices were barely heard and their personalities remained out of the equation. In fact, the very concept of a team was non-existent in this environment. As a result, a considerable gap was observed between leaders and followers.
Investigation
As the current age approached, the paradigm of the management role perception saw a major shift. New, currently dominant models seek to eliminate the identified gap by encouraging a higher level of connectivity between employees and their managers. In graphic terms, the idea is to abandon the view of management in teamwork as a pyramid with the leader on top. Instead, the contemporary perspective is to present a team as a circle of peers with different roles, talents, and points of view. In this shape, the manager is the center of the circle and its cornerstone. Being the key connective element, a leader is the point that accumulates the strength of the team, determining the direction in which the collective is moving. Therefore, the role of the manager is to identify, promote, and apply the strengths of the team, while helping it combat the weaknesses. Evidently, such a perspective implies a stronger bond between leaders and followers, as the desirable outcome is usually attained by the alignment of values and interests.
John Kotter’s Eight-Stage Model of Change
Within the considerable variety of management models and theories, a large portion is devoted to the ideas of change. Today, one of the prevalent models of leadership is title transformational leadership, referring to its theorized ability to enable and encourage quality long-term change. However, it is equally natural for people to avoid major transformations due to the associated uncertainty (Asbari, 2020). In this regard, managers require a solid framework that will help their team realize whether the projected changes are, indeed, warranted and desirable for the organization. In other words, the key is to attain shared motivation by inspiring the members of the team to adopt the proposed strategic vision. For this purpose, an efficient model of change adoption and adaptation is to be selected and introduced within the team. Its goal is to set in motion a sustained process that evolves from understanding the necessity of a change to completing all the steps of the transformation successfully.
It is proposed that John Kotter’s model of change is an optimal choice that reflects the complexity of the process in the contemporary environment. This paradigm consists of eight crucial steps, encompassing the entirety of the transformation progression for a team, as reflected in Figure 1. According to the creator himself, this model stems from nearly four decades of observations that focused on both successful and struggling leaders across different industries. One of the names envisaged by the Kotter is Leading Change, implying its heavy emphasis on managers as the core drivers of the process (Kotter Inc., 2022). Interestingly, serious attention is devoted to the preparation of a solid foundation, upon which change is performed. Kotter insists on creating a sense of urgency within the team, convincing the followers that, without transformations, further progress cannot be sustained. Then, a guiding coalition needs to be formed within the team to identify a certain active group, through which strategic vision will be relayed toward those still in doubt.
As far the active phase is concerned, one of the crucial points consists of achieving smaller, short-term victories. The purpose of this stage is genius in its simplicity, as it aims to show the team that they are moving in the right direction. In this case, the so-called “volunteer army” enlisted during previous phases may become role models for the rest of the team, inspiring others to follow the path. At the same time, it is equally important to retain the pace or “sustain acceleration”. Many teams become overwhelmed by the first success that still needs to be maintained in order to reach the final, eighth stage of Kotter’s model. It consists of instituting change, meaning that the success should become the new norm, systemizing the transformations and making them the reality of the organization (Kotter Inc., 2022). The value of the system is in its detailed nature, outlining the entirety of the change process. Furthermore, it relies on the best practices from different industries, reflecting the experience of the leaders who have managed to instill long-term change in their respective organizations.
Model Introduction and Control Methods
Evidently, as efficient as the model on its own is, it needs to be implemented correctly and in light of the particular organization’s environment. First of all, the leader in charge of transformations should ensure that they comprehend the key ideas of Kotter’s theory. Next, as suggested by the model, a group of volunteers should be enlisted. The situation in which the entire team operates on the basis of perfect alignment of perspectives is desirable but rarely plausible. More realistically, there will always be the follower with better rapport in regard to the manager and those who are more distant. For the first stage, the leader will rely on the former group to set the process in motion and move toward first victories. Then, as the situation develops itself, the share of doubtful followers who join the process will serve as the primary indicator of success. Importantly, motivation should remain transformation, meaning that the leader should morally encourage those who follow them rather than punish those who refrain.
Conclusions
Overall, Kotter’s model of change reflects the role of a manager in creating a successful team today. Its eight-stage framework embodies the barriers to institutionalized transformations within teams, as well as the key checkpoints to attain. Most importantly, it provides solid guidelines for the managers who seek to ensure the sustained growth of their organizations. The model relies on the industry’s best practices of different industries, as well as decades of experience. When implementing it, it is important to prepare a transparent, fair system of motivation based on positive values. Avoiding change is natural, which is why those who hesitate to join at first should not be ostracized. Instead, it is imperative to nurture genuine motivation by providing the followers with positive role models and inspire them.
References
Asbari, M. (2020). Is transformational leadership suitable for future organizational needs? International Journal of Social Policy and Law, 1(1), 51-55. Web.
Kotter Inc. (n.d.). The 8-step process for leading change. Web.
Mango, E. (2018). Rethinking leadership theories. Open Journal of Leadership, 7(1).