10 Change Management Models Explained in 10 Minutes

Main Ideas & Lessons Conveyed

• Change management models act as guides/instructions that help leaders successfully lead change.
• The video presents these models as generally falling into two categories:
  • Process-focused models: emphasize the steps/process of implementing change.
  • People-focused models: emphasize the human response to change (individuals and/or emotional transitions).
• Organizations must continuously change to avoid stagnation and loss of competitiveness. Leaders therefore should ask:
  • How can I ensure my change initiative is successful?
• A key takeaway is flexibility:
  • You can combine elements from different models to fit your circumstances.

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Methodologies / Instructions Presented

Process-Focused Models

1) Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model (John P. Kotter)

• Origin: First described by John P. Kotter in a 1995 Harvard Business Review article.
• Three broad phases:
  1. Create a climate for change
     • Build a shared understanding of:
       • What change you want to make
       • Why you want to make it
  2. Engage and enable the organization
     • Engage teams so they are:
       • Empowered
       • Enthusiastic about affecting change
  3. Implement and sustain
     • After early wins, build momentum and fully embed the change in the organization.

2) Lewin’s Change Model: Unfreeze → Change → Refreeze (Kurt Lewin)

• Note/claim in video: The video states there is evidence that Lewin may not have developed the specific three-step model as commonly presented, and that it emerged after his death.
• Three steps:
  1. Unfreeze the status quo
     • Create the desire to want to change the current situation.
  2. Implement necessary changes
     • Put the changes into action.
  3. Refreeze into the new normal
     • Solidify the new ways of working as standard.

3) PDCA Cycle / Deming Cycle

• Purpose: Continuous improvement of products, services, and organizational processes.
• Used repeatedly as a four-stage cycle:
  1. Plan
     • Identify and understand issues.
     • Generate solutions.
     • Choose the best solution.
  2. Do
     • Implement the solution on a small scale / trial basis.
  3. Check
     • Evaluate results to see whether they match expectations.
  4. Act
     • If performance is as hoped, roll out the solution more fully.
• Then repeat to continue improving.

4) McKinsey’s 7S Framework

• Not purely process-focused: includes both people and process elements.
• Purpose: A strategic planning tool to help an organization understand whether it is set up in a way that supports achieving its objectives.
• Organizational design context (as described):
  • Managers previously emphasized structure, but as organizations became larger/complex, coordination became equally important or more important than structure.
• Key diagram concepts (as described):
  • Interconnectedness: all areas affect one another—changing one area affects all others.
  • No hierarchy: all areas are treated as equally important (same size; no “top”).
  • Hard vs. soft areas:
    • Hard areas: easier for management to influence (e.g., processes, strategy).
    • Soft areas: more influenced by organizational culture (described as “woolly”).
  • Shared values at the center:
    • The model positions shared values as central to all elements.

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People-Focused Models

5) ADKAR Model of Change

• Focus: Individual-level change.
  • The video contrasts this with many models that target the organizational level first.
• Premise: People in the organization must change before the organization can change.
• Acronym with five sequential steps:
  • The video emphasizes five steps a person must work through in order, where each step builds on the previous step (the subtitles do not specify the step names themselves).

6) Nudge Theory

• Core idea: People can be encouraged to make better choices without coercion or restricting freedom of choice.
• Mechanism:
  • Uses behavioral biases to nudge people toward a desired behavior.
• Illustrative example described:
  • A visual/text “triangle” example shows that people often notice only part of the text on first reading due to mental shortcuts rather than reflective thinking.
  • Lesson drawn: cognitive biases exist in everyone, and nudges can leverage them to promote action.

7) Satir Change Model

• Purpose: Helps people cope with major unexpected change.
• Background: Originally designed for family therapy, but applies to organizational change coping.
• Core conviction:
  • Things can improve, but it takes time, and things often get worse before they get better.
• Diagram interpretation described:
  • Performance can oscillate within bounds (curve is not a thin straight line).
• Stated structure:
  • The model has five stages (the subtitles mention “five stages” but do not list the stage names).

8) Bridges Transition Model

• Purpose: Helps organizations manage the human side of change.
• Structure: Three stages:
  1. Ending, losing, and letting go
     • People say goodbye to the old ways.
  2. Neutral zone
     • In-between period: old is gone, but new isn’t fully arrived.
  3. New beginning
     • People begin engaging with a new future, but it remains uncertain/confusing.

9) Change Curve

• Purpose: Explains how people emotionally experience major disruptive change.
• Function as a rule of thumb:
  • Provides guidance for how people emotionally handle change.
• Origin/use described:
  • Originally used to model how people come to terms with a terminal illness.
• Manager takeaway:
  • Knowledge of the curve helps managers interact more effectively with those undergoing change.

10) Moore’s Three Levels of Resistance

• Core idea: People resist change to protect themselves from harm.
• Three levels:
  1. Level 1: “I don’t get it”
     • People lack the facts and figures needed to understand why change is necessary.
  2. Level 2: “I don’t like it”
     • People have an emotional response; they struggle to accept new ideas due to being in fight-or-flight mode.
  3. Level 3: “I don’t like you”
     • Resistance isn’t about understanding or liking the change, but rather lack of trust in the change deliverers’ ability to deliver.

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Overall Concluding Summary (As Presented)

• Each model provides guidelines for leading successful change.
• Two main categories exist:
  • Process-focused models
  • People-focused models
• Leaders can combine elements of multiple models to fit the situation.

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Speakers / Sources Featured

• John P. Kotter
  • Referenced for the Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model
  • Mentioned as describing it in a 1995 Harvard Business Review article
• Kurt Lewin
  • Referenced for Lewin’s change model