How many teams have we put together over the years to help us lead the change process only to realize several months later that nothing happened that was sustainable? In John Kotter’s excellent book on Leading Change he gives four key characteristics that must be in place for the team to be successful.
- Position power: Are enough key players on board, especially the main line managers, so that those left out cannot easily block progress?
- Expertise: Are the various points of view- in terms of discipline, work experience etc.- relevant to the task at hand adequately represented so that informed, intelligent decisions will be made?
- Credibility: Does the group have enough people with good reputations in the firm so that its pronouncements will be taken seriously by other employees?
- Leadership: Does the group include enough proven leaders to be able to drive the change process?
When I have been responsible for leading major change initiatives all of these types of people must be involved. The other important dynamic is that you must avoid people who will try to take over the group and lead by positional power and the other extreme of individuals who will not engage and confront the brutal facts with their active participation.
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