FOUNDATIONS OF CHANGE + DRIVING TRUE URGENCY

Today, we expect leaders at all levels of an organization to deliver results under conditions of increasing change and uncertainty. This highly interactive course is built on Kotter’s decades of research and newest book, Change: How Organizations Achieve Hard-to-Imagine Results in Uncertain and Volatile Times. During the course, you will learn about the three elements of the emerging science of change: Human nature and our response to threats and opportunities, the impact of the design of modern organizations on change, and leading change research.  You will explore, in depth, how to apply effective strategies, principles, and tactics to lead change – regardless of where you sit within your organization. You will also learn how to take immediate action to drive true urgency.

SEIZING LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Leadership and management are often defined in similar terms, even though they require significantly different behaviors. Leadership is regarded by many as purely positional. With this mindset, few employees get the opportunity to build their leadership skills, contributing to underperformance. In Seizing Leadership Opportunities (in a Management World), you will learn how to drive change by increasing your leadership behaviors, while balancing the perspectives and practices of a manager. You will learn the specific leadership skills necessary to motivate change – engaging both peoples’ hearts and minds – and practice how to identify and act on your leadership opportunities.

This program is based on decades of research and writing by Dr. John Kotter on the difference between leadership and management.

Buy-in: Advancing Your Idea

So, you believe in a good idea. You’re convinced it is needed badly and needed now. But you can’t make it happen on your own. You need support to implement it and make things better. You present the plan, and you present it well. Then, along with thoughtful issues being raised, come the confounding questions, inane comments, and verbal bullets – either directly at you or, even worse, behind your back. What do you do? The method for gaining buy-in taught in Buy-In: Advancing Your Idea or Initiative is counterintuitive. You learn the advantages of walking into the fray, showing respect for all, and applying well-prepared tactics to build the support – even advocacy – necessary to launch and deliver on your innovation.

This program is based on Dr. John Kotter and Lorne A. Whitehead’s best-selling book, Buy-In.

Power of Influence

How do you bridge the “power gap” – exercising the power and influence you need to get things done through others when your responsibilities exceed your formal authority? Dr. Kotter has been studying the effect of power and influence in business for 40 years. He shared his findings in one of the most popular classes in the history of Harvard Business School. Power of Influence converts the research and teachings into a learning experience designed to equip participants with the influence skills that are central to leading today – navigating relationships up, down and across the organization.

This program is based on John Kotter’s book, Power and Influence: Beyond Formal Authority.

Leading Wins

What are wins? Wins are the molecules of results. They’re the proof of progress. Some wins are big, some are small – all wins are motivators. Highly successful teams intentionally capture and share wins as a core component of their daily work. But how many teams are truly highly successful? In Leading Wins, you learn a framework to build and lead teams who discover and generate wins, reducing resistance to change efforts. Doing so creates a culture where people are excited to show up, communicate their successes, and celebrate the power of their collective impact.

This program is based on Dr. Kotter’s decades of research on short-term wins and Kotter’s direct work with hundreds of organizations navigating change.

CHANGE LEADER INTENSIVE PROGRAM

Bridging the gap from theory to application, Kotter’s 4-day Change Leader Intensive Program helps leaders create the conditions for successful change and supports their on-the-job efforts to successfully effect change. This multi-day program, led by a Kotter master practitioner, deepens understanding of how organizations can more effectively lead through change. The program includes customized content connected to business strategy and incorporates change content from our suite of standard courses. Below is an overview of the program content: 

The Science of Change

Participants will learn about the rates and causes of failure for change in organizations and explore the essential elements of successful change. Kotter’s research-based 8 Accelerators for Successful Change and 4 critical Leadership Principles will be explored in depth. Participants will learn implementation practices and explore cultural change tactics for use in executing change in organizations. 

Driving True Urgency

We discuss Complacency vs. False Urgency vs. True Urgency, how to distinguish between the three, and how to handle each situation. Participants will learn four tactics to increase and drive true urgency. Groups work on an action plan to generate true urgency that addresses their real-life change. They will explore the strategies behind discovering leadership opportunities in a world bogged down by management. Finally, participants learn how to help colleagues shift from theory to application and practice using pragmatic tools to lead and support change.

Buy-in and Advancing Ideas

Participants will receive an overview of why Buy-in is important to any successful change initiative. They will practice dealing with challenges they will likely encounter when trying to gain buy-in for the change or idea. Each group will be provided with scenarios to work through and create a plan to deal with particular challenges.

Leading Wins

Focusing on the right opportunities/wins is critical to any successful change. Participants will get instruction and practice with celebrating wins and generating a virtuous circle that leads to successful results. Using a case study, small groups will be tasked with identifying and proposing “wins” they would promote – how will these wins contribute to the overall opportunity for the business case?

Practicing high-impact internal consulting (e.g., measurement and rapid prototyping)

The cohort will spend this time augmenting their change roadmap individually and in groups. They will explore pivots on real-time change challenges through case studies and real-life scenarios.

As a result of this experience, participants will: 

• Develop a working knowledge of and hands-on experience with Kotter Change Leadership methodologies and frameworks
• Understand the role of leaders in supporting organizations through change 
• Learn tools and techniques for developing and maintaining deep organizational engagement in driving and accelerating a desired change
• Learn techniques for generating, sharing, and celebrating wins to build momentum for new ways of working
• Be prepared to immediately put their new knowledge and skills to work in their organization