Few of us are truly comfortable with change. But being comfortable won’t move your business forward.

Is your organization facing major change, such as an acquisition, merger or the loss of a key customer? Or do you plan to implement a new strategy that requires your employees to re-think the way they do business? If so, then you’re about to tackle one of the greatest challenges a business owner can face—one that defines the difference between good management and great leadership.

In his seminal book Leading Change (Harvard Business School Press, 1996), John P. Kotter outlines this process to help you effectively lead during a time of change:

Establish a Sense of Urgency. The first step is getting your staff or organization to understand that business as usual will no longer suffice. But overcoming years of habitual behavior may require shock therapy, such as:

• Setting performance targets so high they can’t be reached by the usual methods.
• Making employees accountable for targets beyond their immediate purview, such as sales or customer satisfaction.
• Giving more employees information about the company’s financial situation and market standing to demonstrate competitive weakness.
• Putting employees at every level in contact with dissatisfied stakeholders including customers, suppliers, shareholders, etc.
• Calling upon consultants or other outside sources of unbiased information and insight.

Create a Guiding Coalition. In addition to sharing your vision, this working group needs to straddle departmental boundaries and have the power to implement change.

Develop a Vision and Strategy. A strong vision helps your people cut through the clutter. According to Kotter, it should be imaginable, desirable, feasible, focused, flexible and communicable.

Communicate Your Vision. This is a key task, and you ought to use every outlet you have to get the word out. Be prepared to really act on your vision, too—be careful not to pay mere lip service to change.

Empower Employees. “Structure undermines vision,” says Kotter. It isolates employees from the customer and divides responsibility and resources. Instead, give lower-level employees the ability to create change themselves.

Generate Short-Term Wins. A vision creates a lofty goal for your organization to keep in mind, but without accessible, visible benchmark goals, it’s easy for your team to become discouraged or lose sight of the long-term objective.

Once the change process is in motion, don’t rest on your laurels. Kotter reminds leaders to consolidate gains and anchor new approaches into the corporate culture. These steps toward permanent change keep your effort from being eroded by inertia and habit. That way, you’ll stay on the road to a stronger organization.

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