Harrington writes that models can help practitioners decide what to study. He goes on to say that it is frequent that consultants will see issues and frame them differently than the clients. Creating a model is a visual way of showing how the issues can be addressed that all parties can look at and discuss. The use of a model is a great way to break down a lot of information into bite-sized pieces. (p. 15)

When going through a change things can become unwieldy and chaotic which is why a model is important, it helps to keep people grounded and on track with what’s happening. A model provides a roadmap from start to finish. An example of a model that is used to move change along is Kotter’s model which provides eight overarching steps needed for a successful change.

Kotter’s model provides a cohesive workflow to get from point A to Z and the many steps in between.

The eight steps are noted below

Thomsen 2013

I was struck by the steps of the first step, Establishing a Sense of Urgency which states the following should be accomplished:

• Express the need for change.
• Show the risks if change does not happen.
• Get a good discussion going on about how to make change and what needs to be changed to get people talking and thinking.
• Get outside perspectives to add merit to the need for change.

This first step provides strong suggestions for what should go into an initial communication plan, or even before that, could be used for the basis for a proposal when working through the contracting phase.

One model can’t be used for all change efforts. Harrington notes that when you try to use the same model for different situations, the challenges and issues that are critical to clients may not be reflected in the model. Creating models that come from the study of each and every unique organization will provide tools and steps unique to that organization (p. 15).

References
Harrison, M. (2004). Diagnosing organizations: Methods, models, and processes (applied social research
methods) (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Thomsen, S. [Steven Thomsen]. (2013, February 17). Kotter’s 8 Step Organizational Change Model FC [Video File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/LxtF4OXzhyI