Leading Bold Change ™

We often get enquiries about “Leading Bold Change ™”… a workshop we delivered for five years under license to Kotter International. We became well known for delivering this programme which is based on the work of John Kotter and in particular his book, “Our Iceberg is Melting”, which Kotter co-authored with Holger Rathgeber. Unfortunately, at the end of 2014, Kotter International decided they would no longer be supporting the Leading Bold Change ™ programme through third-party training providers.

Leading Bold Change ™ was an interactive workshop experience that taught leaders at all levels to drive change through the practical application of Kotter’s proven principles for effective change. The experience connected the heart of those who must embrace and lead change today with the mindset necessary to ensure future success. The outcome was the development of change leadership skills and capabilities.

A new programme: “Leading Change”

With Leading Bold Change ™ no longer available to our clients, we decided to develop our own alternative workshop called “Leading Change” which builds on our extensive experience of delivering Leading Bold Change ™. We still encourage delegates to read Our Iceberg is Melting as a backdrop for the workshop. This simple fable has profound lessons for all those working and living in an ever-changing world.

Based on Kotter’s famous 8-step model of change, Our Iceberg Is Melting is a simple tale of a colony of penguins facing a dilemma. Their home is gradually falling apart but many in the colony choose to ignore the problem or deny it is as serious as is claimed. Contained within the story and the characters is a powerful message about the fear of change and how to motivate people to face the future and take action.

Kotter’s 8-steps

Our extensive knowledge and experience of training managers and leaders to use Kotter’s 8-step model means that we have built the following key elements into the Leading Change programme:

An emphasis on application of the Kotter model to a “real-world” issue affecting the delegates so they actually apply it to a change they are dealing with.
Helping delegates to see Kotter’s model as a set of leadership principles rather than a change management process that can be followed with a “tick box” mentality. This means that delegates have to realise that the principles are context specific and no two managers, leaders or organisations will apply them in the same way.
Understanding the importance of the psychology of influence and that humans make decisions primarily based on emotional rather than rational considerations. We reference tools such as William Bridges’ Transitions model and David Rock’s SCARF model to encourage reflection on why and how people resist change.

If you would like to talk to us about how you can use Leading Change in your organisation, email us at infor@flintspark.co.uk or call 0191 2404050