Rosabeth Moss Kanter’s Management Theory Explained

Kanter’s management theory explained

Kanter has written extensively about change management. Her management theory provides a framework for fostering positive change in an organization and is based on Kanter’s belief that an organization’s operations and its leaders’ actions play integral roles in employees’ attitudes and behaviors.

The theory proposes that employees exhibit different behaviors based on whether certain structural supports exist. To ensure workers have positive experiences and are open to changes in the workplace, Kanter encourages organizational leaders to follow her six keys:

1. Show up.
2. Speak up.
3. Look up.
4. Team up.
5. Never give up.
6. Lift others up.

How to implement Kanter’s six keys for leading positive change

Kanter’s six keys are guidelines for how business owners and managers should behave to foster positive change and win employee support. Here’s how to implement each of the six keys:

1. Show up.

Kanter argues that leaders who want to make a positive change in their organization must be present. Managers should attend more meetings rather than hiding in the background and make themselves visible to their teams. A strong presence in the office and in front of your staff builds their trust in you and gives workers the confidence to approach you with new ideas and suggestions. An increased presence also gives managers the opportunity to witness workplace morale firsthand.

2. Speak up.

Kanter’s positive change theory states that managers should share information from the top down so everyone is aware of the business’s goals. Spreading knowledge and sharing ideas will lead to empowerment, innovation and collaboration among staff. Be transparent with workers about updates to policies and any other potential changes. Your team will feel more valued when they hear about changes directly from their supervisors — instead of reading about them in an email or hearing them secondhand from a co-worker.

When you make company decisions, discuss your process and encourage your team to do the same. Lead discussions with the entire organization about potential changes and ask for feedback. Employees may offer perspectives or advice you hadn’t considered. Ask team members questions instead of just doing what you think is in their best interest; also, reframe issues to give everyone new perspectives.

3. Look up.

As a business owner or leader, you have to focus on your many daily responsibilities. In addition to overseeing a team, managers must ensure they meet specific goals and metrics to support their supervisors. All of this work can make it difficult to actively maintain a strong company culture.

To implement a positive change within a team and the business at large, managers must take a step back to get a big-picture view of their staff and workflows. Then, they need to decide on the type of positive change that will boost their team’s morale and make team members receptive to any restructuring. Leaders should have a higher vision of what their team can achieve and share those objectives with their team members. 

These conversations will show employees the value of their work and how it helps achieve the business’s overarching goals. When team members’ perspectives are taken into account, employees are more motivated; this leads to increased productivity and bigger profits.

4. Team up.

At the heart of Kanter’s management theory is the idea that people derive power from alliances they form with superiors, peers and subordinates. Sometimes, achievement depends on how well you exert your leadership influence on others. To improve manager-employee relationships, encourage more collaboration among your team, including yourself. Build partnerships in which workers solve problems together; also, invite team members to engage in discussions with you and to give their points of view on managerial issues you’re facing.

This collaboration also means making connections outside the office. Set up social events for your team members to get to know one another personally — not just in terms of the work they do. Team-building activities, like a scavenger hunt or happy hour, can go a long way in forging new friendships and partnerships with your staff. When team members enjoy working with each other, it improves employee engagement.

>> Learn More: Ways to Create a Happy and Motivated Workplace

5. Never give up.

For business owners to successfully lead a company and managers to execute change properly, they must be resilient in the face of adversity. It’s easy for leaders to encourage communication and create a positive work environment when everything is going well. But when challenges arise, the strongest managers maintain that “never give up” perspective; they persist until the job is complete, regardless of the circumstances.

Change often takes longer than you anticipate, and, during the process, it can be hard to discern accomplishments from failures. Be flexible in your approach. Resilience will trickle down to your team members, making them mentally stronger and more motivated. Everyone on the team will feel accomplished after seeing the success that resulted from their persistence and fortitude. Empowering your staff in this way can also help prevent employee burnout and reduce turnover.

6. Lift others up.

Kanter defines “support” as receiving feedback from peers and management. She contends that staff who feel supported by management will have a greater stake in the organization, and in turn, will be happier and more productive than those who do not.

It may seem obvious that company leaders should encourage their staffers, but many fail to do so. If you give employees goals, you should invest in training and resources to help them achieve them; also, recognize their work — perhaps with a discretionary bonus. Kanter’s theory proposes that team members who feel they have reasonable workloads, exert some control over their work and are rewarded for their contributions will be more engaged.

Regularly share employee success stories with the larger organization. Employees who deserve that credit will feel valued, proud and inspired; those who hear this praise will admire their co-workers and feel motivated to achieve the same type of success and recognition.

Kanter’s Law explained

Kanter’s Law states that “anything can look like a failure in the middle” and that “pushing through this challenging mid-point is the only path to success” — a concept that has become fundamental to understanding organizational change and project management. As Kanter explains in her writings, she “hold[s] this truth so dear — and have shared it publically with so many students and executives — that it has come to be called Kanter’s Law.”

This principle recognizes that during the implementation phase of any significant change initiative, progress often appears to stall or even regress. An initiative may seem like a failure initially because problems tempt employees to give up, forget the effort and move on to the next opportunity. There are unexpected obstacles and delays in any change process, and stopping too soon is, by definition, failure.

In business settings, Kanter’s Law helps leaders understand that the challenging middle phase of projects — where enthusiasm has waned but results aren’t yet visible — is normal and expected. Kanter says, “The answer to the inevitable problems of the messy, miserable middles of anything new or innovative is to persist and persevere.” Leaders who understand this principle can better support their teams through difficult transitions, maintain momentum during setbacks and ultimately achieve successful outcomes by pushing through the natural challenges that occur in the middle of change processes.

Kanter’s influence on organizational behavior

Kanter is best known for her work on change management and innovation. Much of her success is due to a combination of rigorous research, practical experience and her ability to write clearly and concretely, using many illustrative examples. Her work has fundamentally shaped the field of organizational behavior, building upon traditional management theories while introducing groundbreaking concepts that have become cornerstones of modern management practice.

Kanter is recognized as a pioneer of empowerment and change management, having coined and popularized key management terms that are now standard in business vocabulary. Her concept of “empowerment” — the idea that giving employees greater authority and responsibility enhances both individual and organizational performance — has become a central tenet of modern management philosophy. Similarly, her systematic approach to change management has provided frameworks that organizations worldwide continue to use today.

How Kanter’s management theory applies to small businesses

Entrepreneurs and small business owners should always look to implement and maintain a positive work environment. This is especially important for new businesses, as they need to establish a company culture and create a set of values to motivate their employees as well as themselves. If staff members don’t have a positive sense of the business and its mission, they are unlikely to perform to the best of their abilities — and the company will falter. Kanter’s six keys provide a framework for preventing this.

Kanter’s theory of structural empowerment focuses on strengthening the organization at large rather than the individual. Her beliefs align with the adage, “A rising tide lifts all boats.” If a company has a positive culture and is successful, its employees will feel empowered to perform at the highest level and be more receptive to change. By employing Kanter’s keys in their everyday operations and practicing the resiliency behind Kanter’s Law, business leaders can fuel their company to success.

Validation of Kanter’s law and management theory

Kanter’s theories, particularly her structural empowerment framework, have been extensively tested and validated through peer-reviewed research, especially within healthcare organizations. For example, academic research dating back to the 1990s has systematically examined Kanter’s structural theory of organizational behavior in nursing populations, providing substantial evidence supporting her proposals.

Recent research has further validated Kanter’s empowerment theory. A study published in the Journal of Nursing Scholarship in 2023 identified five distinct profiles of structural empowerment among healthcare employees: Low Empowerment, High Information, Normative, High Empowerment and Moderately High Empowerment. Those in the High Empowerment group felt more positive emotions at work, provided better quality care to patients and experienced fewer negative emotions like stress or frustration, confirming that when healthcare workers feel highly empowered at work, they perform better and feel better. These results could translate into other workplace settings when decreased work pressure, increased peer connection, support from supervisors and staff autonomy are implemented.

Kanter’s seminal works and recognition

Kanter’s 1977 book Men and Women of the Corporation won the C. Wright Mills Award for the best book on social issues and is often called a classic. This landmark work offers insight into the individual and organizational factors that promote success or perpetuate disadvantage, and established Kanter as a leading voice in understanding workplace dynamics and gender equity in corporate settings.

The Change Masters: Innovation for Productivity in the American Corporation, published in 1983, further cemented Kanter’s reputation as a management theorist. The book was named one of the most influential business books of the 20th century by the Financial Times. This work examined how American corporations could adapt and innovate to remain competitive, providing practical frameworks for managing organizational transformation that remain relevant today.

As the former chief editor of Harvard Business Review, Kanter has authored numerous influential articles that have shaped management thinking. Her article “How Great Companies Think Differently” received second place in the 2011 McKinsey Awards, demonstrating her continued influence on contemporary business thought.

Kanter has received 24 honorary doctoral degrees and numerous leadership awards and prizes for her books and articles. In 2001, she received the Academy of Management’s Distinguished Career Award for her scholarly contributions to management knowledge. Today, the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award is given in her honor by the Center for Families at Purdue University and the Center for Work and Family at Boston College; it recognizes excellence in work-family research.

Alternatives to Kanter’s management theory

Building on Kanter’s foundation, other management theories further explore organizational behavior, leadership styles and strategic decision-making. While widely applicable, management theories may have different effectiveness in various organizational contexts. For this reason, it’s essential to study and test multiple frameworks to determine the best practices for your business. We recommend considering the Follett, Mintzberg, Taylor and Weber management theories in addition to Kanter’s.

Follett management theory

The Follett management theory emphasizes the importance of human relations and psychology in collaboration for organizational success. Mary Parker Follett advocated for a management approach where power is shared and employees are involved in decision-making processes.

Follett introduced concepts such as conflict resolution through integration and the importance of informal processes. She also proposed that management should facilitate cooperation and coordination to achieve organizational goals. Her management philosophy supports small businesses and employee-first models by integrating successful employee engagement strategies into overall business goals.

Mintzberg’s management theory

Since its introduction in the early 1970s, Henry Mintzberg’s theory has significantly influenced business management by providing a framework for defining managerial roles and responsibilities, enhancing decision-making structures and building trust within organizations.

For small businesses practicing this theory, starting with an entrepreneurial model where decision-making is centralized among the founders has proven effective. As a business grows, it becomes necessary to expand the leadership team to tackle increasing responsibilities and streamline workflows to maintain efficiency. Mintzberg also argued that regardless of individual differences, every manager should strive to master and practice the interpersonal, informational and decision-making roles essential to effective management.

Taylor’s management theory

Frederick Taylor’s management theory, which is geared toward improving industrial efficiency by simplifying tasks, is an older concept that continues to influence modern management practices. This theory promotes rewarding employees for increased productivity, with a pro-employee stance that aligns with contemporary emphasis on work-life balance and healthy work environments.

Over the years, Taylor’s method has been criticized for potentially reducing the importance of certain roles and not providing adequate opportunities for creative employees to grow within an organization. However, when implemented correctly, Taylor’s scientific management can significantly improve efficiency, making it a valuable asset for many businesses.

Weber’s management theory

Max Weber’s management theory stresses strict rules and a clear power hierarchy to achieve efficiency; advancement is based on merit rather than personal relationships. Weber’s theory also encourages only hiring employees who possess specific skill sets to ensure organizational success.

When organizations properly apply Weber’s theory, everyone is treated equally; work responsibilities are assigned based on expertise. This approach encourages the development of standardized operating procedures (SOPs) and documentation to streamline processes. It can also enhance employee morale. When applying Weber’s theory, it’s advised to avoid rule-bound pitfalls such as excessive paperwork and reduced transparency.