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The 8 Steps Every Leader Must Master When Leading Change
Ikechukwu Okoh
September 22, 2025
In partnership with
THE LEADERSHIP PULSE
When leading a team, one of the toughest challenges you’ll face is change.
Changing a team’s mindset, breaking old habits, or navigating uncertainty is like trying to climb a mountain.
I witnessed this first-hand at Boulevard when we switched to new services.
The strategy seemed solid on paper.
But in reality, resistance, confusion, and hesitation held us back.
That’s when I turned to Kotter’s 8 Steps of Change.
It reminded me that change isn’t just about the plan but about the people.
Because people need clarity, trust, and consistent action to move forward.
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Strategy Deep Dive: Kotter’s 8 Steps of Change for Leaders
John Kotter’s model has been tried and tested across various industries.
You can apply it directly to your leadership in the following steps:
Create a Sense of Urgency → Show your team why change is crucial right now.
Build a Coalition for Change → Don’t go it alone; find allies who will push alongside you.
Form a Clear Vision for Success → Paint a picture of what success looks like.
Communicate the Vision → Keep repeating it until people can recite it back to you.
Empower Your Team to Act → Remove obstacles and give your team the green light to move forward.
Achieve Short-Term Wins → Celebrate progress to build momentum.
Maintain the momentum → Keep the pressure on even after initial victories.
Embed the Change in Your Culture → Make the change the new standard.
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The Leadership Change Action Plan
✔ Identify one change you’re leading right now.
✔ Map it against Kotter’s 8 steps.
✔ Pick the step where you feel weakest and act on it this week.
Ikechukwu’s Journal
Throughout my own journey, I’ve frequently underestimated the impact of communication on driving change.
I used to think that sharing the plan once would be sufficient.
However, people don’t follow plans; they follow a consistent and repeated vision.
When I began communicating daily, the resistance subsided and alignment increased.
Now, I firmly believe:
Change isn’t about pushing harder; it's about guiding more effectively.
What to do this week:
Name the change you’re leading right now.
Map it against Kotter’s 8 steps.
Strengthen the weakest step.
If this helped you, forward it to another leader navigating change.
Because leadership is about carrying others through the transition, not just the idea.
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Ikechukwu Okoh
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