Final answer:
The eighth and final step in Kotter's 8-step process for leading change is 'Institutionalize the change'. This step involves integrating the change into the organization's culture and processes to ensure that it becomes a sustained and long-lasting transformation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The eighth and final step in Kotter's 8-step process for leading change is Institutionalize the change. This step involves integrating the change into the organization's culture and processes to ensure that it becomes a sustained and long-lasting transformation.
By institutionalizing the change, it becomes embedded in the organization's systems, policies, and practices, enabling it to become part of the everyday way of doing things. This step is crucial for the change to remain effective and to prevent the organization from reverting back to old ways of working.
For example, if a company implements a new customer service initiative, institutionalizing the change would involve updating training programs, performance evaluations, and reward systems to align with the new customer service focus, and ensuring that employees at all levels understand and embrace the new approach as the norm.