essay change management

Effective Change Management Essay

Managing change in organizations: strategies for success.

Change is one of the business practices that play a significant role in every organization. Change plays a pivotal role in determining the success of an organization. This is more so in the contemporary business world where the level of competition has increased significantly. The ability of a certain organization to handle change effectively has been the main driver in developing its competitiveness.

However, change is usually faced by a number of complications. This is because change is usually faced by a high level of rejection from the people who are affected by such change. This follows the reason that change involves altering the daily arrangements and procedures of carrying out different operations. For instance, change can lead to reduction in operational costs.

As a result, an organization can be able to under price their competitors. Change can also help in improving the quality of products and services produced. Again, this contributes in developing competitiveness.

In this case, the change affects the employees. This involves the increment in the working hours followed by a slight increment in salary. This change can easily be welcomed by some but to others it is highly rejected. This change was driven by an increase in the demand after getting a new contract that was to begin in a couple of months.

Change Management Plan and the Outcome Analysis

As already noted, change is usually faced by a number of obstacles that tends to threaten its performance. In order to have an effective change process, it is therefore advisable to have a good plan that will promote change in an organization. As already noted, this change is likely to affect a number of activities in the organization. Therefore, it is necessary to have a good plan in order to overcome these obstacles.

The human resource managers have an important role in facilitating change in an organization. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the human resource activities are driven towards change. According to Wilson (2005), human resource is the main agent of change in an organization. In a firm, both human and non human resources are of great significance for high performance.

Although there are other non human equipments like machines, their effectiveness is significantly determined by the human resources. Human forces are the one that directs the production process and hence are major determinant of their effectiveness.

This implies that it is important to take into consideration the human resources while promoting change within an organization. It is the role of the human resource to ensure that any barriers to organizational change are overcome in order to promote change.

The outcome of this change process yielded positive results. Although there was some resistance at the beginning of the change project, it was finally successful. Every employee was cooperative and the expected results were achieved.

The success of this project can be attributed to a number of factors. To start with, employees were coached on the benefit of the change process (both to them and to the organization). This helped the employees to realize the need for the proposed change. This cultivated cooperation among the employees in realizing change.

Another strategy that contributed to the success of the change process is integration of employees in the change process. Employees were given a chance to contribute to the project. This developed a sense of ownership among the employees. Employees felt that they are valued and that they are part of this change. Therefore, there was an incentive for cooperation.

Strategy Recommendations for Effective Change For Short-Term, Small-Scale, Long-Term, and Large-Scale Change Management Projects

As already noted, it is important for every organization to have effective strategies in order to realize a successful change process; there is need to have effective change strategies for short-term, long-term, and large-scale change management projects.

The design of the change project must be made in such a way that it addresses the appropriate changes within an organization ( Cummings and Worley 2005). The general population in an organization should be considered as part of the change process. Everyone’s idea should be treated with respect.

In order for the change process to be effective, it is advisable for the managers to have plan to the change. This may require the firm to carry out restructuring, making necessary innovation among other things.

It is important to note that each member in an organization should be treated with respect and every person’s idea should be respected (Armenakis & Harris 1993). The managers should also have a deep personal conviction in order to fully support the proposed strategies.

Motivation is another important factor which can significantly improve the effectiveness of a change management project. When employees are motivated, they will become more committed to their respective duties because they believe that their hard work is recognized. When their efforts are recognized, employees will get a sense of identity with an organization.

They will have a feeling of identification with the organization. They will somehow have a sense of ownership to an organization. Consequently, they will be committed to meet the organizational goals. Motivated employees will therefore tend to embrace change as they will believe that this change will bring about improvement in the organization, which they have already identified with (Jansen, 2004).

An organization has a wide range of change approaches that it can apply in its change process. These approaches play a significant role in managing change in change projects. One of the main approaches that can be used to manage change is top down- directive approach (Yazdani 2011). This is an approach where we have an autocratic boss who is responsible for making important decisions affecting change in an organization.

His or her decision is the one that determines the course of actions taken. This implies that there is no room for open discussions since he is the only individual to decide. Therefore, there is no transparency in this method. However, this method is usually faster since there is no time wasted in conducting decisions. Another approach is the action centered method.

This is a method where various solutions to a certain problem are tested to get the best. Therefore, this method is based on trial and error system. This method is good as it help an organization to achieve its optimum possible points. However, this approach suffers from the fact that it consumes a lot of time.

There are forces that drive change in an organization. These forces play a significant role in facilitating the effectiveness of the change process in an organization. These forces are of great importance in driving change in an organization. There are two categories of change which promotes change within an organization.

These include external and internal factors. One of the factors that are necessary in organizational change is the organization’s urge to change. It is also important for an organization to have a belief that the business can perform better than what it is doing in the present.

Therefore, it will be determined to embrace change within an organization. In some cases, an organization may be faced by much inefficiency that increases their operational costs (Ghiselli 1972). In this case, a need to improve the level of efficiency in an organization increases the need for organizational change.

Change is also driven by the need for reorganization in order to have increased efficiency. Some of the external drivers to change include the uncertainty of economic situations and therefore a need to have preparation for such uncertainties (Carzo and Yanouzas 1969).

In the contemporary market, consumers need for quality services and quality products is increasing. This forces organizations to adopt change. High level of competition is also a major motivation to change in order to retain competitiveness.

According to Varelas (2005), even minor changes in an organization does not always invite embrace from employees; it requires necessary concentration from the human resources. Any attempt by the management to make changes is likely to nurture anxiety among the employees. Even a slight change can cause a great complication in an organization (Wallerstein 1993).

This is because different people have varying levels of sensitivity to changes. Some people are very sensitive even to slight changes. Therefore, it is necessary to have good planning of any changes in an organization in order to avoid such inadequacies.

It is also important to explain to employees how the new changes will look like. Employees need to be informed about the impacts of changes in an organization. It is also necessary to inform employees on how they will benefit from these changes. This will reduce the chances of rejection hence promoting the success of an organization.

Another way through which changes can be promoted in an organization is through motivation (Meier and Loewenbein 2003). Motivation can be defined as the set of reasons which affects one’s decisions to engage themselves in particular behaviors. When employees are motivated, they will become more committed to their respective duties because they believe that their hard work is recognized.

They will be motivated to work harder in order to maximize the returns of an organization. When their efforts are recognized, employees will get a sense of identity with an organization. They will somehow have sense of ownership to an organization. Consequently, they will be committed to meet the organizational goals. In the long run, the organization’s profitability will increase from the increased employee productivity.

Therefore, when employees are motivated, they will be ready to embrace any change which they believe will contribute to the improvement in the organization’s performance (Jansen, 2004).

In conclusion, this discussion has clearly shown that change is a critical process in every organization. Change process is usually faced with rejection because it involves several changes, which affect the normal arrangements in an organization. It may also involve slight changes in the organization’s culture. Therefore, there is need to have effective change projects in order to promote change process in an organization.

Reference List

Armenakis, A. & Harris, S. (1993). Creating Readiness for Organizational Change. Human Relations June 1993 46: 681-703.

Carzo, R. and Yanouzas, J. Effects of Flat and Tall Organization Structure. Administrative Science Quarterly , Vol . 14, No. 2, Laboratory Studies of Experimental Organizations, 1969, pp. 178-191.

Ghiselli, E. Leadership and Managerial Success In Tall and Flat Organization Structures. Pemonnei. Psychology, 1972, 25, 617-624.

Cummings, T. and Worley, C. (2005). Organization Development and Change. Mason, OH: InfoTrac College.

Jansen, K. (2004). From Persistence to Pursuit: A Longitudinal Examination of Momentum during the Early Stages of Strategic Change. Organization Science; 15: 276-294.

Meier, H. and Loewenbein, O. 2003. Changing Roles in the Organisation of Companies; Demographics and Project Management Demand Hybrid Skills. ISSN 1392-1142, Sisteminian Tyrimai: 2003.28.

Varelas, E. (2005). Driving Organizational Change . Retrieved from http://archive.boston.com/jobs/hire_authority/110705.shtml

Wallerstein, N. (1993). Empowerment and health: The theory and practice of community change. Community Dev J 28 (3): 218-227.

Wilson, J. (2005). Human Resource Development: Learning & Training For Individuals & Organizations . London: Kogan Page Publishers.

Yazdani, B. et al. (2011). Factors affecting the Empowerment of Employees (An Empirical Study): European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 20, Number 2.

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1. IvyPanda . "Effective Change Management." May 22, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/management-organizational-change-essay/.

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Change Management, Essay Example

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We live in an increasingly competitive world because globalization has increased trade between countries, opened more markets to the market players, and human and capital resources have become more mobile than they were in the past. Thus, it has become even more important to successfully manage change so that organizations continue to learn and evolve in order to remain competitive and maintain profitability. Different change process theories have been proposed over the last few decades such as Lewin’s Change Management Model, ADKAR Model for Change Management (ADKAR), and Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model.

Lewin’s Change Management Model proposes that change be bought in three steps which have been called Unfreeze, Change , and Refreeze in the model. The first step is Unfreeze which means that the organization should challenge the existing culture and work practices and prepare everyone for an impending change. The management also explains why a change has become inevitable and how it will benefit the organization and all the stakeholders involved in order to secure everyone’s support. The second step is Change where the actual steps are taken to implement change and new behaviors and work practices are adopted. The third step and the final step is Refreeze when people have started embracing the changes. Thus, it is time to establish the new changes as the norm (MindTools).

ADKAR is a goal-oriented change management model. ADKAR breaks down the change process into multiple steps and the results are evaluated at the completion of each step to determine whether the stated objectives were achieved or not. The benefit of ADKAR is that it helps to identify specific factors that may be working against the overall change process and address those specific factors. ADKAR model is composed of two dimensions which are Business dimension of change and People dimension of change. Business dimension of change includes elements such as business need or opportunity, project definition, business solution, proposed processes and systems, and implementation of the solution. People dimension of change includes elements such as awareness of the need to change, desire to participate, knowledge of the final form of change, ability to implement the change, and reinforcement to keep the change in place (Prosci).

Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model as the name suggests, consists of 8 steps which are establishing a sense of urgency, creating the guiding coalition, developing a chance vision, communicating the vision for buy-in, empowering broad-based action, generating short term wins, never letting up, and Incorporating changes into the culture(Kotter International). In short, Kotter’s model provides a step by step guidance to implement change and is more specific than other models which is not surprising since it is relatively new. Thus, it has the added benefit of taking into account the challenges being faced by most organizations in their quest to introduce flexibility. The model introduces a step-by-step guidance to successfully pave the way for a flexible culture within the organization.

People usually resist change because it means learning new skills and doing things different from what they are used to. Some fear their performance will be negatively affected. People are also interested in as to how the changes may impact them and behave accordingly. Because change is often adapting to new way of doing things, the fear of unknown also results in resistance (Peter Barron Stark Companies). If the change is expected to make the organization lean, some people would oppose it especially if it means loss of power and authority. The paste experience may also result in opposition especially if the previous experience resulted in disappointing outcomes. Some think that because the organization seems to be doing fine, there is no reason for change. Moreover, change always carries some risk and different people have different attitude towards risk. The people may also resist change if they feel the decisions are being imposed on them without taking into account their concerns and opinions.

The managers/leaders can take several steps in order to secure the support of the subordinates and other stakeholders. First of all, the management should communicate to the stakeholders as to why the change is being implemented. People are more likely to support change if they can see the relationship between the desired change as well as the organizations’ overall objectives. Second, the management should involve subordinates in the discussions and seek their opinions/feedback. When people feel their opinions are being listened to, they will be more willing to cooperate.

The management should communicate how the change will impact/benefit the subordinates in order to ease their concerns as well as make them aware of the benefits that will flow to them from the change. The management may also tie a portion of the employees’ overall compensation plan to the progress in organizational change. This will give the employees an incentive to contribute towards the success of the overall change process. The management should also take efforts to keep the employees informed of the progress because this will help build trust between the management and the subordinates. Some employees may be skeptical of their ability to adapt to change so the management should provide training wherever needed in order to help employees feel comfortable in the new working environment.

Kotter International. (n.d.). The 8-Step Process for Leading Change . Retrieved September 28, 2011, from http://www.kotterinternational.com/kotterprinciples/changesteps

MindTools. (n.d.). Lewin’s Change Management Model . Retrieved September 28, 2011, from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_94.htm

Peter Barron Stark Companies. (n.d.). Why Employees Resist Change . Retrieved September 28, 2011, from http://www.peterstark.com/why-employees-resist-change/

Prosci. (n.d.). “ADKAR” – a model for change management . Retrieved September 28, 2011, from http://www.change-management.com/tutorial-adkar-overview.htm

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Change Management: From Theory to Practice

Jeffrey phillips.

1 University Libraries, Florida State University, 116 Honors Way, Tallahassee, FL 32306 USA

James D. Klein

2 Department of Educational Psychology & Learning Systems, College of Education, Florida State University, Stone Building-3205F, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4453 USA

This article presents a set of change management strategies found across several models and frameworks and identifies how frequently change management practitioners implement these strategies in practice. We searched the literature to identify 15 common strategies found in 16 different change management models and frameworks. We also created a questionnaire based on the literature and distributed it to change management practitioners. Findings suggest that strategies related to communication, stakeholder involvement, encouragement, organizational culture, vision, and mission should be used when implementing organizational change.

Organizations must change to survive. There are many approaches to influence change; these differences require change managers to consider various strategies that increase acceptance and reduce barriers. A change manager is responsible for planning, developing, leading, evaluating, assessing, supporting, and sustaining a change implementation. Change management consists of models and strategies to help employees accept new organizational developments.

Change management practitioners and academic researchers view organizational change differently (Hughes, 2007 ; Pollack & Pollack, 2015 ). Saka ( 2003 ) states, “there is a gap between what the rational-linear change management approach prescribes and what change agents do” (p. 483). This disconnect may make it difficult to determine the suitability and appropriateness of using different techniques to promote change (Pollack & Pollack, 2015 ). Hughes ( 2007 ) thinks that practitioners and academics may have trouble communicating because they use different terms. Whereas academics use the terms, models, theories, and concepts, practitioners use tools and techniques. A tool is a stand-alone application, and a technique is an integrated approach (Dale & McQuater, 1998 ). Hughes ( 2007 ) expresses that classifying change management tools and techniques can help academics identify what practitioners do in the field and evaluate the effectiveness of practitioners’ implementations.

There is little empirical evidence that supports a preferred change management model (Hallencreutz & Turner, 2011 ). However, there are many similar strategies found across change management models (Raineri, 2011 ). Bamford and Forrester’s ( 2003 ) case study showed that “[change] managers in a company generally ignored the popular change literature” (p. 560). The authors followed Pettigrew’s ( 1987 ) suggestions that change managers should not use abstract theories; instead, they should relate change theories to the context of the change. Neves’ ( 2009 ) exploratory factor analysis of employees experiencing the implementation of a new performance appraisal system at a public university suggested that (a) change appropriateness (if the employee felt the change was beneficial to the organization) was positively related with affective commitment (how much the employee liked their job), and (b) affective commitment mediated the relationship between change appropriateness and individual change (how much the employee shifted to the new system). It is unlikely that there is a universal change management approach that works in all settings (Saka, 2003 ). Because change is chaotic, one specific model or framework may not be useful in multiple contexts (Buchanan & Boddy, 1992 ; Pettigrew & Whipp, 1991 ). This requires change managers to consider various approaches for different implementations (Pettigrew, 1987 ). Change managers may face uncertainties that cannot be addressed by a planned sequence of steps (Carnall, 2007 ; Pettigrew & Whipp, 1991 ). Different stakeholders within an organization may complete steps at different times (Pollack & Pollack, 2015 ). Although there may not be one perspective change management approach, many models and frameworks consist of similar change management strategies.

Anderson and Ackerman Anderson ( 2001 ) discuss the differences between change frameworks and change process models. They state that a change framework identifies topics that are relevant to the change and explains the procedures that organizations should acknowledge during the change. However, the framework does not provide details about how to accomplish the steps of the change or the sequence in which the change manager should perform the steps. Additionally, Anderson and Ackerman Anderson ( 2001 ) explain that change process models describe what actions are necessary to accomplish the change and the order in which to facilitate the actions. Whereas frameworks may identify variables or theories required to promote change, models focus on the specific processes that lead to change. Based on the literature, we define a change strategy as a process or action from a model or framework. Multiple models and frameworks contain similar strategies. Change managers use models and frameworks contextually; some change management strategies may be used across numerous models and frameworks.

The purpose of this article is to present a common set of change management strategies found across numerous models and frameworks and identify how frequently change management practitioners implement these common strategies in practice. We also compare current practice with models and frameworks from the literature. Some change management models and frameworks have been around for decades and others are more recent. This comparison may assist practitioners and theorists to consider different strategies that fall outside a specific model.

Common Strategies in the Change Management Literature

We examined highly-cited publications ( n  > 1000 citations) from the last 20 years, business websites, and university websites to select organizational change management models and frameworks. First, we searched two indexes—Google Scholar and Web of Science’s Social Science Citation Index. We used the following keywords in both indexes: “change management” OR “organizational change” OR “organizational development” AND (models or frameworks). Additionally, we used the same search terms in a Google search to identify models mentioned on university and business websites. This helped us identify change management models that had less presence in popular research. We only included models and frameworks from our search results that were mentioned on multiple websites. We reached saturation when multiple publications stopped identifying new models and frameworks.

After we identified the models and frameworks, we analyzed the original publications by the authors to identify observable strategies included in the models and frameworks. We coded the strategies by comparing new strategies with our previously coded strategies, and we combined similar strategies or created a new strategy. Our list of strategies was not exhaustive, but we included the most common strategies found in the publications. Finally, we omitted publications that did not provide details about the change management strategies. Although many of these publications were highly cited and identified change implementation processes or phases, the authors did not identify a specific strategy.

Table ​ Table1 1 shows the 16 models and frameworks that we analyzed and the 15 common strategies that we identified from this analysis. Ackerman-Anderson and Anderson ( 2001 ) believe that it is important for process models to consider organizational imperatives as well as human dynamics and needs. Therefore, the list of strategies considers organizational imperatives such as create a vision for the change that aligns with the organization’s mission and strategies regarding human dynamics and needs such as listen to employees’ concerns about the change. We have presented the strategies in order of how frequently the strategies appear in the models and frameworks. Table ​ Table1 1 only includes strategies found in at least six of the models or frameworks.

Common strategies in the change management literature

A = ADKAR (Hiatt, 2006 ); AA = Ackerman Anderson and Anderson ( 2001 ); B = Bridges ( 1991 ); BB = Buchanan and Boddy ( 1992 ); BH = Beckhard and Harris ( 1987 ); C = Carnall ( 2007 ); CW = Cummings and Worley ( 1993 ); FB = French and Bell ( 1999 ); GE = GE CAP model (Neri et al., 2008 ; Polk, 2011 ); K = Kotter ( 2012 ); KSJ = Kanter et al. ( 1992 ); L = Lewin’s Three-step model (Bakari et al., 2017 ; Lewin, 1951 ); LK = Luecke ( 2003 ); M = McKinsey’s 7-S framework (Cox et al., 2019 ; Waterman et al., 1980 ); N = Nadler and Tushman ( 1997 ); PW = Pettigrew and Whipp (1993)

Strategies Used by Change Managers

We developed an online questionnaire to determine how frequently change managers used the strategies identified in our review of the literature. The Qualtrics-hosted survey consisted of 28 questions including sliding-scale, multiple-choice, and Likert-type items. Demographic questions focused on (a) how long the participant had been involved in the practice of change management, (b) how many change projects the participant had led, (c) the types of industries in which the participant led change implementations, (d) what percentage of job responsibilities involved working as a change manager and a project manager, and (e) where the participant learned to conduct change management. Twenty-one Likert-type items asked how often the participant used the strategies identified by our review of common change management models and frameworks. Participants could select never, sometimes, most of the time, and always. The Cronbach’s Alpha of the Likert-scale questions was 0.86.

The procedures for the questionnaire followed the steps suggested by Gall et al. ( 2003 ). The first steps were to define the research objectives, select the sample, and design the questionnaire format. The fourth step was to pretest the questionnaire. We conducted cognitive laboratory interviews by sending the questionnaire and interview questions to one person who was in the field of change management, one person who was in the field of performance improvement, and one person who was in the field of survey development (Fowler, 2014 ). We met with the reviewers through Zoom to evaluate the questionnaire by asking them to read the directions and each item for clarity. Then, reviewers were directed to point out mistakes or areas of confusion. Having multiple people review the survey instruments improved the reliability of the responses (Fowler, 2014 ).

We used purposeful sampling to distribute the online questionnaire throughout the following organizations: the Association for Talent Development (ATD), Change Management Institute (CMI), and the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI). We also launched a call for participation to department chairs of United States universities who had Instructional Systems Design graduate programs with a focus on Performance Improvement. We used snowball sampling to gain participants by requesting that the department chairs forward the questionnaire to practitioners who had led at least one organizational change.

Table ​ Table2 2 provides a summary of the characteristics of the 49 participants who completed the questionnaire. Most had over ten years of experience practicing change management ( n  = 37) and had completed over ten change projects ( n  = 32). The participants learned how to conduct change management on-the-job ( n  = 47), through books ( n  = 31), through academic journal articles ( n  = 22), and from college or university courses ( n  = 20). The participants had worked in 13 different industries.

Characteristics of participants

( n  = 49)

Table ​ Table3 3 shows how frequently participants indicated that they used the change management strategies included on the questionnaire. Forty or more participants said they used the following strategies most often or always: (1) Asked members of senior leadership to support the change; (2) Listened to managers’ concerns about the change; (3) Aligned an intended change with an organization’s mission; (4) Listened to employees’ concerns about the change; (5) Aligned an intended change with an organization’s vision; (6) Created measurable short-term goals; (7) Asked managers for feedback to improve the change, and (8) Focused on organizational culture.

Strategies used by change managers

Table ​ Table4 4 identifies how frequently the strategies appeared in the models and frameworks and the rate at which practitioners indicated they used the strategies most often or always. The strategies found in the top 25% of both ( n  > 36 for practitioner use and n  > 11 in models and frameworks) focused on communication, including senior leadership and the employees in change decisions, aligning the change with the vision and mission of the organization, and focusing on organizational culture. Practitioners used several strategies more commonly than the literature suggested, especially concerning the topic of middle management. Practitioners focused on listening to middle managers’ concerns about the change, asking managers for feedback to improve the change, and ensuring that managers were trained to promote the change. Meanwhile, practitioners did not engage in the following strategies as often as the models and frameworks suggested that they should: provide all members of the organization with clear communication about the change, distinguish the differences between leadership and management, reward new behavior, and include employees in change decisions.

A comparison of the strategies used by practitioners to the strategies found in the literature

Common Strategies Used by Practitioners and Found in the Literature

The purpose of this article was to present a common set of change management strategies found across numerous models and frameworks and to identify how frequently change management practitioners implement these common strategies in practice. The five common change management strategies were the following: communicate about the change, involve stakeholders at all levels of the organization, focus on organizational culture, consider the organization’s mission and vision, and provide encouragement and incentives to change. Below we discuss our findings with an eye toward presenting a few key recommendations for change management.

Communicate About the Change

Communication is an umbrella term that can include messaging, networking, and negotiating (Buchanan & Boddy, 1992 ). Our findings revealed that communication is essential for change management. All the models and frameworks we examined suggested that change managers should provide members of the organization with clear communication about the change. It is interesting that approximately 33% of questionnaire respondents indicated that they sometimes, rather than always or most of the time, notified all members of the organization about the change. This may be the result of change managers communicating through organizational leaders. Instead of communicating directly with everyone in the organization, some participants may have used senior leadership, middle management, or subgroups to communicate the change. Messages sent to employees from leaders can effectively promote change. Regardless of who is responsible for communication, someone in the organization should explain why the change is happening (Connor et al., 2003 ; Doyle & Brady, 2018 ; Hiatt, 2006 ; Kotter, 2012 ) and provide clear communication throughout the entire change implementation (McKinsey & Company, 2008 ; Mento et al., 2002 ).

Involve Stakeholders at All Levels of the Organization

Our results indicate that change managers should involve senior leaders, managers, as well as employees during a change initiative. The items on the questionnaire were based on a review of common change management models and frameworks and many related to some form of stakeholder involvement. Of these strategies, over half were used often by 50% or more respondents. They focused on actions like gaining support from leaders, listening to and getting feedback from managers and employees, and adjusting strategies based on stakeholder input.

Whereas the models and frameworks often identified strategies regarding senior leadership and employees, it is interesting that questionnaire respondents indicated that they often implemented strategies involving middle management in a change implementation. This aligns with Bamford and Forrester’s ( 2003 ) research describing how middle managers are important communicators of change and provide an organization with the direction for the change. However, the participants did not develop managers into leaders as often as the literature proposed. Burnes and By ( 2012 ) expressed that leadership is essential to promote change and mention how the change management field has failed to focus on leadership as much as it should.

Focus on Organizational Culture

All but one of the models and frameworks we analyzed indicated that change managers should focus on changing the culture of an organization and more than 75% of questionnaire respondents revealed that they implemented this strategy always or most of the time. Organizational culture affects the acceptance of change. Changing the organizational culture can prevent employees from returning to the previous status quo (Bullock & Batten, 1985 ; Kotter, 2012 ; Mento et al., 2002 ). Some authors have different views on how to change an organization’s culture. For example, Burnes ( 2000 ) thinks that change managers should focus on employees who were resistant to the change while Hiatt ( 2006 ) suggests that change managers should replicate what strategies they used in the past to change the culture. Change managers require open support and commitment from managers to lead a culture change (Phillips, 2021 ).

In addition, Pless and Maak ( 2004 ) describe the importance of creating a culture of inclusion where diverse viewpoints help an organization reach its organizational objectives. Yet less than half of the participants indicated that they often focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Change managers should consider diverse viewpoints when implementing change, especially for organizations whose vision promotes a diverse and inclusive workforce.

Consider the Organization’s Mission and Vision

Several of the models and frameworks we examined mentioned that change managers should consider the mission and vision of the organization (Cummings & Worley, 1993 ; Hiatt, 2006 ; Kotter, 2012 ; Polk, 2011 ). Furthermore, aligning the change with the organization’s mission and vision were among the strategies most often implemented by participants. This was the second most common strategy both used by participants and found in the models and frameworks. A mission of an organization may include its beliefs, values, priorities, strengths, and desired public image (Cummings & Worley, 1993 ). Leaders are expected to adhere to a company’s values and mission (Strebel, 1996 ).

Provide Encouragement and Incentives to Change

Most of the change management models and frameworks suggested that organizations should reward new behavior, yet most respondents said they did not provide incentives to change. About 75% of participants did indicate that they frequently gave encouragement to employees about the change. The questionnaire may have confused participants by suggesting that they provide incentives before the change occurs. Additionally, respondents may have associated incentives with monetary compensation. Employee training can be considered an incentive, and many participants confirmed that they provided employees and managers with training. More information is needed to determine why the participants did not provide incentives and what the participants defined as rewards.

Future Conversations Between Practitioners and Researchers

Table ​ Table4 4 identified five strategies that practitioners used more often than the models and frameworks suggested and four strategies that were suggested more often by the models and frameworks than used by practitioners. One strategy that showed the largest difference was provided employees with incentives to implement the change. Although 81% of the selected models and frameworks suggested that practitioners should provide employees with incentives, only 25% of the practitioners identified that they provided incentives always and most of the time. Conversations between theorists and practitioners could determine if these differences occur because each group uses different terms (Hughes, 2007 ) or if practitioners just implement change differently than theorists suggest (Saka, 2003 ).

Additionally, conversations between theorists and practitioners may help promote improvements in the field of change management. For example, practitioners were split on how often they promoted DEI, and the selected models and frameworks did not focus on DEI in change implementations. Conversations between the two groups would help theorists understand what practitioners are doing to advance the field of change management. These conversations may encourage theorists to modify their models and frameworks to include modern approaches to change.

Limitations

The models and frameworks included in this systematic review were found through academic research and websites on the topic of change management. We did not include strategies contained on websites from change management organizations. Therefore, the identified strategies could skew towards approaches favored by theorists instead of practitioners. Additionally, we used specific publications to identify the strategies found in the models and frameworks. Any amendments to the cited models or frameworks found in future publications could not be included in this research.

We distributed this questionnaire in August 2020. Several participants mentioned that they were not currently conducting change management implementations because of global lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because it can take years to complete a change management implementation (Phillips, 2021 ), this research does not describe how COVID-19 altered the strategies used by the participants. Furthermore, participants were not provided with definitions of the strategies. Their interpretations of the strategies may differ from the definitions found in the academic literature.

Future Research

Future research should expand upon what strategies the practitioners use to determine (a) how the practitioners use the strategies, and (b) the reasons why practitioners use certain strategies. Participants identified several strategies that they did not use as often as the literature suggested (e.g., provide employees with incentives and adjust the change implementation because of reactions from employees). Future research should investigate why practitioners are not implementing these strategies often.

Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic may have changed how practitioners implemented change management strategies. Future research should investigate if practitioners have added new strategies or changed the frequency in which they identified using the strategies found in this research.

Our aim was to identify a common set of change management strategies found across several models and frameworks and to identify how frequently change management practitioners implement these strategies in practice. While our findings relate to specific models, frameworks, and strategies, we caution readers to consider the environment and situation where the change will occur. Therefore, strategies should not be selected for implementation based on their inclusion in highly cited models and frameworks. Our study identified strategies found in the literature and used by change managers, but it does not predict that specific strategies are more likely to promote a successful organizational change. Although we have presented several strategies, we do not suggest combining these strategies to create a new framework. Instead, these strategies should be used to promote conversation between practitioners and theorists. Additionally, we do not suggest that one model or framework is superior to others because it contains more strategies currently used by practitioners. Evaluating the effectiveness of a model or framework by how many common strategies it contains gives an advantage to models and frameworks that contain the most strategies. Instead, this research identifies what practitioners are doing in the field to steer change management literature towards the strategies that are most used to promote change.

Declarations

This research does not represent conflicting interests or competing interests. The research was not funded by an outside agency and does not represent the interests of an outside party.

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Contributor Information

Jeffrey Phillips, Email: ude.usf@spillihpbj .

James D. Klein, Email: ude.usf@nielkj .

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5 Critical Steps in the Change Management Process

• 19 Mar 2020

Businesses must constantly evolve and adapt to meet a variety of challenges—from changes in technology, to the rise of new competitors, to a shift in laws, regulations, or underlying economic trends. Failure to do so could lead to stagnation or, worse, failure.

Approximately 50 percent of all organizational change initiatives are unsuccessful, highlighting why knowing how to plan for, coordinate, and carry out change is a valuable skill for managers and business leaders alike.

Have you been tasked with managing a significant change initiative for your organization? Would you like to demonstrate that you’re capable of spearheading such an initiative the next time one arises? Here’s an overview of what change management is, the key steps in the process, and actions you can take to develop your managerial skills and become more effective in your role.

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What is Change Management?

Organizational change refers broadly to the actions a business takes to change or adjust a significant component of its organization. This may include company culture, internal processes, underlying technology or infrastructure, corporate hierarchy, or another critical aspect.

Organizational change can be either adaptive or transformational:

• Adaptive changes are small, gradual, iterative changes that an organization undertakes to evolve its products, processes, workflows, and strategies over time. Hiring a new team member to address increased demand or implementing a new work-from-home policy to attract more qualified job applicants are both examples of adaptive changes.
• Transformational changes are larger in scale and scope and often signify a dramatic and, occasionally sudden, departure from the status quo. Launching a new product or business division, or deciding to expand internationally, are examples of transformational change.

Change management is the process of guiding organizational change to fruition, from the earliest stages of conception and preparation, through implementation and, finally, to resolution.

As a leader, it’s essential to understand the change management process to ensure your entire organization can navigate transitions smoothly. Doing so can determine the potential impact of any organizational changes and prepare your teams accordingly. When your team is prepared, you can ensure everyone is on the same page, create a safe environment, and engage the entire team toward a common goal.

Change processes have a set of starting conditions (point A) and a functional endpoint (point B). The process in between is dynamic and unfolds in stages. Here’s a summary of the key steps in the change management process.

Check out our video on the change management process below, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more explainer content!

5 Steps in the Change Management Process

1. prepare the organization for change.

For an organization to successfully pursue and implement change, it must be prepared both logistically and culturally. Before delving into logistics, cultural preparation must first take place to achieve the best business outcome.

In the preparation phase, the manager is focused on helping employees recognize and understand the need for change. They raise awareness of the various challenges or problems facing the organization that are acting as forces of change and generating dissatisfaction with the status quo. Gaining this initial buy-in from employees who will help implement the change can remove friction and resistance later on.

2. Craft a Vision and Plan for Change

Once the organization is ready to embrace change, managers must develop a thorough, realistic, and strategic plan for bringing it about.

The plan should detail:

• Strategic goals: What goals does this change help the organization work toward?
• Key performance indicators: How will success be measured? What metrics need to be moved? What’s the baseline for how things currently stand?
• Project stakeholders and team: Who will oversee the task of implementing change? Who needs to sign off at each critical stage? Who will be responsible for implementation?
• Project scope: What discrete steps and actions will the project include? What falls outside of the project scope?

While it’s important to have a structured approach, the plan should also account for any unknowns or roadblocks that could arise during the implementation process and would require agility and flexibility to overcome.

3. Implement the Changes

After the plan has been created, all that remains is to follow the steps outlined within it to implement the required change. Whether that involves changes to the company’s structure, strategy, systems, processes, employee behaviors, or other aspects will depend on the specifics of the initiative.

During the implementation process, change managers must be focused on empowering their employees to take the necessary steps to achieve the goals of the initiative and celebrate any short-term wins. They should also do their best to anticipate roadblocks and prevent, remove, or mitigate them once identified. Repeated communication of the organization’s vision is critical throughout the implementation process to remind team members why change is being pursued.

4. Embed Changes Within Company Culture and Practices

Once the change initiative has been completed, change managers must prevent a reversion to the prior state or status quo. This is particularly important for organizational change related to business processes such as workflows, culture, and strategy formulation. Without an adequate plan, employees may backslide into the “old way” of doing things, particularly during the transitory period.

By embedding changes within the company’s culture and practices, it becomes more difficult for backsliding to occur. New organizational structures, controls, and reward systems should all be considered as tools to help change stick.

5. Review Progress and Analyze Results

Just because a change initiative is complete doesn’t mean it was successful. Conducting analysis and review, or a “project post mortem,” can help business leaders understand whether a change initiative was a success, failure, or mixed result. It can also offer valuable insights and lessons that can be leveraged in future change efforts.

Ask yourself questions like: Were project goals met? If yes, can this success be replicated elsewhere? If not, what went wrong?

The Key to Successful Change for Managers

While no two change initiatives are the same, they typically follow a similar process. To effectively manage change, managers and business leaders must thoroughly understand the steps involved.

Some other tips for managing organizational change include asking yourself questions like:

• Do you understand the forces making change necessary? Without this understanding, it can be difficult to effectively address the underlying causes that have necessitated change, hampering your ability to succeed.
• Do you have a plan? Without a detailed plan and defined strategy, it can be difficult to usher a change initiative through to completion.
• How will you communicate? Successful change management requires effective communication with both your team members and key stakeholders. Designing a communication strategy that acknowledges this reality is critical.
• Have you identified potential roadblocks? While it’s impossible to predict everything that might potentially go wrong with a project, taking the time to anticipate potential barriers and devise mitigation strategies before you get started is generally a good idea.

How to Lead Change Management Successfully

If you’ve been asked to lead a change initiative within your organization, or you’d like to position yourself to oversee such projects in the future, it’s critical to begin laying the groundwork for success by developing the skills that can equip you to do the job.

Completing an online management course can be an effective way of developing those skills and lead to several other benefits . When evaluating your options for training, seek a program that aligns with your personal and professional goals; for example, one that emphasizes organizational change.

Do you want to become a more effective leader and manager? Explore Leadership Principles , Management Essentials , and Organizational Leadership —three of our online leadership and management courses —to learn how you can take charge of your professional development and accelerate your career. Not sure which course is the right fit? Download our free flowchart .

This post was updated on August 8, 2023. It was originally published on March 19, 2020.

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How to Become More Comfortable with Change

• Kathryn Clubb

Overcome these three (very common) change-averse mindsets.

One of the most common unconscious mindsets is that “change is temporary,” but when you see something as temporary, you tend to cope with it instead of accepting and embracing it. The reality is that change is a constant, and you’ll need to navigate it often in your career.

• The authors identify three common change-averse mindsets: receivers, resistors, and controllers. Receivers see change as something that happens  to  them that shakes up their sense of control.
• Resistors push back against change, falsely hoping it might go away. And controllers find change overwhelming and isolating.
• By consciously examining how you approach change, you can adopt these strategies to move toward a more change-ready mindset, and welcome change as an opportunity.

Where your work meets your life. See more from Ascend here .

The pace of change has increased massively in light of the pandemic. Managing it now requires a strategy akin to whitewater rafting. New and unpredictable obstacles will continue to present themselves every day — and not just for companies, but for workers themselves.

• Kathryn Clubb  is head of  change and transformation  at  BTS , an organization that works with leaders at all levels to help them make better decisions, convert those decisions to actions, and deliver results. After being a partner in Accenture’s Strategy Practice, Kathryn was the Chief Innovator at WHWest, Inc. With decades of experience helping companies transform and execute strategy, Kathryn has extensive experience working with a variety of top global organizations.
• Jeni Fan  is a senior director at  BTS  and leads  change and transformation  for the East Coast of the United States. She serves as a strategist advisor and thought partner to clients undergoing large-scale change: from culture to strategy, to pre- and post-M&A. Taking a human-centered, evidence-based approach, her work focuses on alignment and building sustained systemwide change at all levels of an organization. Her work spans multiple industries and sectors.

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Change Management: From Theory to Practice

• Original Paper
• Published: 09 September 2022
• Volume 67 , pages 189–197, ( 2023 )

Cite this article

• Jeffrey Phillips   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0708-6460 1 &
• James D. Klein 2  

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This article presents a set of change management strategies found across several models and frameworks and identifies how frequently change management practitioners implement these strategies in practice. We searched the literature to identify 15 common strategies found in 16 different change management models and frameworks. We also created a questionnaire based on the literature and distributed it to change management practitioners. Findings suggest that strategies related to communication, stakeholder involvement, encouragement, organizational culture, vision, and mission should be used when implementing organizational change.

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A Change and Constancy Management Approach for Managing the Unintended Negative Consequences of Organizational and IT Change

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Organizations must change to survive. There are many approaches to influence change; these differences require change managers to consider various strategies that increase acceptance and reduce barriers. A change manager is responsible for planning, developing, leading, evaluating, assessing, supporting, and sustaining a change implementation. Change management consists of models and strategies to help employees accept new organizational developments.

Change management practitioners and academic researchers view organizational change differently (Hughes, 2007 ; Pollack & Pollack, 2015 ). Saka ( 2003 ) states, “there is a gap between what the rational-linear change management approach prescribes and what change agents do” (p. 483). This disconnect may make it difficult to determine the suitability and appropriateness of using different techniques to promote change (Pollack & Pollack, 2015 ). Hughes ( 2007 ) thinks that practitioners and academics may have trouble communicating because they use different terms. Whereas academics use the terms, models, theories, and concepts, practitioners use tools and techniques. A tool is a stand-alone application, and a technique is an integrated approach (Dale & McQuater, 1998 ). Hughes ( 2007 ) expresses that classifying change management tools and techniques can help academics identify what practitioners do in the field and evaluate the effectiveness of practitioners’ implementations.

There is little empirical evidence that supports a preferred change management model (Hallencreutz & Turner, 2011 ). However, there are many similar strategies found across change management models (Raineri, 2011 ). Bamford and Forrester’s ( 2003 ) case study showed that “[change] managers in a company generally ignored the popular change literature” (p. 560). The authors followed Pettigrew’s ( 1987 ) suggestions that change managers should not use abstract theories; instead, they should relate change theories to the context of the change. Neves’ ( 2009 ) exploratory factor analysis of employees experiencing the implementation of a new performance appraisal system at a public university suggested that (a) change appropriateness (if the employee felt the change was beneficial to the organization) was positively related with affective commitment (how much the employee liked their job), and (b) affective commitment mediated the relationship between change appropriateness and individual change (how much the employee shifted to the new system). It is unlikely that there is a universal change management approach that works in all settings (Saka, 2003 ). Because change is chaotic, one specific model or framework may not be useful in multiple contexts (Buchanan & Boddy, 1992 ; Pettigrew & Whipp, 1991 ). This requires change managers to consider various approaches for different implementations (Pettigrew, 1987 ). Change managers may face uncertainties that cannot be addressed by a planned sequence of steps (Carnall, 2007 ; Pettigrew & Whipp, 1991 ). Different stakeholders within an organization may complete steps at different times (Pollack & Pollack, 2015 ). Although there may not be one perspective change management approach, many models and frameworks consist of similar change management strategies.

Anderson and Ackerman Anderson ( 2001 ) discuss the differences between change frameworks and change process models. They state that a change framework identifies topics that are relevant to the change and explains the procedures that organizations should acknowledge during the change. However, the framework does not provide details about how to accomplish the steps of the change or the sequence in which the change manager should perform the steps. Additionally, Anderson and Ackerman Anderson ( 2001 ) explain that change process models describe what actions are necessary to accomplish the change and the order in which to facilitate the actions. Whereas frameworks may identify variables or theories required to promote change, models focus on the specific processes that lead to change. Based on the literature, we define a change strategy as a process or action from a model or framework. Multiple models and frameworks contain similar strategies. Change managers use models and frameworks contextually; some change management strategies may be used across numerous models and frameworks.

The purpose of this article is to present a common set of change management strategies found across numerous models and frameworks and identify how frequently change management practitioners implement these common strategies in practice. We also compare current practice with models and frameworks from the literature. Some change management models and frameworks have been around for decades and others are more recent. This comparison may assist practitioners and theorists to consider different strategies that fall outside a specific model.

Common Strategies in the Change Management Literature

We examined highly-cited publications ( n  > 1000 citations) from the last 20 years, business websites, and university websites to select organizational change management models and frameworks. First, we searched two indexes—Google Scholar and Web of Science’s Social Science Citation Index. We used the following keywords in both indexes: “change management” OR “organizational change” OR “organizational development” AND (models or frameworks). Additionally, we used the same search terms in a Google search to identify models mentioned on university and business websites. This helped us identify change management models that had less presence in popular research. We only included models and frameworks from our search results that were mentioned on multiple websites. We reached saturation when multiple publications stopped identifying new models and frameworks.

After we identified the models and frameworks, we analyzed the original publications by the authors to identify observable strategies included in the models and frameworks. We coded the strategies by comparing new strategies with our previously coded strategies, and we combined similar strategies or created a new strategy. Our list of strategies was not exhaustive, but we included the most common strategies found in the publications. Finally, we omitted publications that did not provide details about the change management strategies. Although many of these publications were highly cited and identified change implementation processes or phases, the authors did not identify a specific strategy.

Table 1 shows the 16 models and frameworks that we analyzed and the 15 common strategies that we identified from this analysis. Ackerman-Anderson and Anderson ( 2001 ) believe that it is important for process models to consider organizational imperatives as well as human dynamics and needs. Therefore, the list of strategies considers organizational imperatives such as create a vision for the change that aligns with the organization’s mission and strategies regarding human dynamics and needs such as listen to employees’ concerns about the change. We have presented the strategies in order of how frequently the strategies appear in the models and frameworks. Table 1 only includes strategies found in at least six of the models or frameworks.

Strategies Used by Change Managers

We developed an online questionnaire to determine how frequently change managers used the strategies identified in our review of the literature. The Qualtrics-hosted survey consisted of 28 questions including sliding-scale, multiple-choice, and Likert-type items. Demographic questions focused on (a) how long the participant had been involved in the practice of change management, (b) how many change projects the participant had led, (c) the types of industries in which the participant led change implementations, (d) what percentage of job responsibilities involved working as a change manager and a project manager, and (e) where the participant learned to conduct change management. Twenty-one Likert-type items asked how often the participant used the strategies identified by our review of common change management models and frameworks. Participants could select never, sometimes, most of the time, and always. The Cronbach’s Alpha of the Likert-scale questions was 0.86.

The procedures for the questionnaire followed the steps suggested by Gall et al. ( 2003 ). The first steps were to define the research objectives, select the sample, and design the questionnaire format. The fourth step was to pretest the questionnaire. We conducted cognitive laboratory interviews by sending the questionnaire and interview questions to one person who was in the field of change management, one person who was in the field of performance improvement, and one person who was in the field of survey development (Fowler, 2014 ). We met with the reviewers through Zoom to evaluate the questionnaire by asking them to read the directions and each item for clarity. Then, reviewers were directed to point out mistakes or areas of confusion. Having multiple people review the survey instruments improved the reliability of the responses (Fowler, 2014 ).

We used purposeful sampling to distribute the online questionnaire throughout the following organizations: the Association for Talent Development (ATD), Change Management Institute (CMI), and the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI). We also launched a call for participation to department chairs of United States universities who had Instructional Systems Design graduate programs with a focus on Performance Improvement. We used snowball sampling to gain participants by requesting that the department chairs forward the questionnaire to practitioners who had led at least one organizational change.

Table 2 provides a summary of the characteristics of the 49 participants who completed the questionnaire. Most had over ten years of experience practicing change management ( n  = 37) and had completed over ten change projects ( n  = 32). The participants learned how to conduct change management on-the-job ( n  = 47), through books ( n  = 31), through academic journal articles ( n  = 22), and from college or university courses ( n  = 20). The participants had worked in 13 different industries.

Table 3 shows how frequently participants indicated that they used the change management strategies included on the questionnaire. Forty or more participants said they used the following strategies most often or always: (1) Asked members of senior leadership to support the change; (2) Listened to managers’ concerns about the change; (3) Aligned an intended change with an organization’s mission; (4) Listened to employees’ concerns about the change; (5) Aligned an intended change with an organization’s vision; (6) Created measurable short-term goals; (7) Asked managers for feedback to improve the change, and (8) Focused on organizational culture.

Table 4 identifies how frequently the strategies appeared in the models and frameworks and the rate at which practitioners indicated they used the strategies most often or always. The strategies found in the top 25% of both ( n  > 36 for practitioner use and n  > 11 in models and frameworks) focused on communication, including senior leadership and the employees in change decisions, aligning the change with the vision and mission of the organization, and focusing on organizational culture. Practitioners used several strategies more commonly than the literature suggested, especially concerning the topic of middle management. Practitioners focused on listening to middle managers’ concerns about the change, asking managers for feedback to improve the change, and ensuring that managers were trained to promote the change. Meanwhile, practitioners did not engage in the following strategies as often as the models and frameworks suggested that they should: provide all members of the organization with clear communication about the change, distinguish the differences between leadership and management, reward new behavior, and include employees in change decisions.

Common Strategies Used by Practitioners and Found in the Literature

The purpose of this article was to present a common set of change management strategies found across numerous models and frameworks and to identify how frequently change management practitioners implement these common strategies in practice. The five common change management strategies were the following: communicate about the change, involve stakeholders at all levels of the organization, focus on organizational culture, consider the organization’s mission and vision, and provide encouragement and incentives to change. Below we discuss our findings with an eye toward presenting a few key recommendations for change management.

Communicate About the Change

Communication is an umbrella term that can include messaging, networking, and negotiating (Buchanan & Boddy, 1992 ). Our findings revealed that communication is essential for change management. All the models and frameworks we examined suggested that change managers should provide members of the organization with clear communication about the change. It is interesting that approximately 33% of questionnaire respondents indicated that they sometimes, rather than always or most of the time, notified all members of the organization about the change. This may be the result of change managers communicating through organizational leaders. Instead of communicating directly with everyone in the organization, some participants may have used senior leadership, middle management, or subgroups to communicate the change. Messages sent to employees from leaders can effectively promote change. Regardless of who is responsible for communication, someone in the organization should explain why the change is happening (Connor et al., 2003 ; Doyle & Brady, 2018 ; Hiatt, 2006 ; Kotter, 2012 ) and provide clear communication throughout the entire change implementation (McKinsey & Company, 2008 ; Mento et al., 2002 ).

Involve Stakeholders at All Levels of the Organization

Our results indicate that change managers should involve senior leaders, managers, as well as employees during a change initiative. The items on the questionnaire were based on a review of common change management models and frameworks and many related to some form of stakeholder involvement. Of these strategies, over half were used often by 50% or more respondents. They focused on actions like gaining support from leaders, listening to and getting feedback from managers and employees, and adjusting strategies based on stakeholder input.

Whereas the models and frameworks often identified strategies regarding senior leadership and employees, it is interesting that questionnaire respondents indicated that they often implemented strategies involving middle management in a change implementation. This aligns with Bamford and Forrester’s ( 2003 ) research describing how middle managers are important communicators of change and provide an organization with the direction for the change. However, the participants did not develop managers into leaders as often as the literature proposed. Burnes and By ( 2012 ) expressed that leadership is essential to promote change and mention how the change management field has failed to focus on leadership as much as it should.

Focus on Organizational Culture

All but one of the models and frameworks we analyzed indicated that change managers should focus on changing the culture of an organization and more than 75% of questionnaire respondents revealed that they implemented this strategy always or most of the time. Organizational culture affects the acceptance of change. Changing the organizational culture can prevent employees from returning to the previous status quo (Bullock & Batten, 1985 ; Kotter, 2012 ; Mento et al., 2002 ). Some authors have different views on how to change an organization’s culture. For example, Burnes ( 2000 ) thinks that change managers should focus on employees who were resistant to the change while Hiatt ( 2006 ) suggests that change managers should replicate what strategies they used in the past to change the culture. Change managers require open support and commitment from managers to lead a culture change (Phillips, 2021 ).

In addition, Pless and Maak ( 2004 ) describe the importance of creating a culture of inclusion where diverse viewpoints help an organization reach its organizational objectives. Yet less than half of the participants indicated that they often focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Change managers should consider diverse viewpoints when implementing change, especially for organizations whose vision promotes a diverse and inclusive workforce.

Consider the Organization’s Mission and Vision

Several of the models and frameworks we examined mentioned that change managers should consider the mission and vision of the organization (Cummings & Worley, 1993 ; Hiatt, 2006 ; Kotter, 2012 ; Polk, 2011 ). Furthermore, aligning the change with the organization’s mission and vision were among the strategies most often implemented by participants. This was the second most common strategy both used by participants and found in the models and frameworks. A mission of an organization may include its beliefs, values, priorities, strengths, and desired public image (Cummings & Worley, 1993 ). Leaders are expected to adhere to a company’s values and mission (Strebel, 1996 ).

Provide Encouragement and Incentives to Change

Most of the change management models and frameworks suggested that organizations should reward new behavior, yet most respondents said they did not provide incentives to change. About 75% of participants did indicate that they frequently gave encouragement to employees about the change. The questionnaire may have confused participants by suggesting that they provide incentives before the change occurs. Additionally, respondents may have associated incentives with monetary compensation. Employee training can be considered an incentive, and many participants confirmed that they provided employees and managers with training. More information is needed to determine why the participants did not provide incentives and what the participants defined as rewards.

Future Conversations Between Practitioners and Researchers

Table 4 identified five strategies that practitioners used more often than the models and frameworks suggested and four strategies that were suggested more often by the models and frameworks than used by practitioners. One strategy that showed the largest difference was provided employees with incentives to implement the change. Although 81% of the selected models and frameworks suggested that practitioners should provide employees with incentives, only 25% of the practitioners identified that they provided incentives always and most of the time. Conversations between theorists and practitioners could determine if these differences occur because each group uses different terms (Hughes, 2007 ) or if practitioners just implement change differently than theorists suggest (Saka, 2003 ).

Additionally, conversations between theorists and practitioners may help promote improvements in the field of change management. For example, practitioners were split on how often they promoted DEI, and the selected models and frameworks did not focus on DEI in change implementations. Conversations between the two groups would help theorists understand what practitioners are doing to advance the field of change management. These conversations may encourage theorists to modify their models and frameworks to include modern approaches to change.

Limitations

The models and frameworks included in this systematic review were found through academic research and websites on the topic of change management. We did not include strategies contained on websites from change management organizations. Therefore, the identified strategies could skew towards approaches favored by theorists instead of practitioners. Additionally, we used specific publications to identify the strategies found in the models and frameworks. Any amendments to the cited models or frameworks found in future publications could not be included in this research.

We distributed this questionnaire in August 2020. Several participants mentioned that they were not currently conducting change management implementations because of global lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because it can take years to complete a change management implementation (Phillips, 2021 ), this research does not describe how COVID-19 altered the strategies used by the participants. Furthermore, participants were not provided with definitions of the strategies. Their interpretations of the strategies may differ from the definitions found in the academic literature.

Future Research

Future research should expand upon what strategies the practitioners use to determine (a) how the practitioners use the strategies, and (b) the reasons why practitioners use certain strategies. Participants identified several strategies that they did not use as often as the literature suggested (e.g., provide employees with incentives and adjust the change implementation because of reactions from employees). Future research should investigate why practitioners are not implementing these strategies often.

Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic may have changed how practitioners implemented change management strategies. Future research should investigate if practitioners have added new strategies or changed the frequency in which they identified using the strategies found in this research.

Our aim was to identify a common set of change management strategies found across several models and frameworks and to identify how frequently change management practitioners implement these strategies in practice. While our findings relate to specific models, frameworks, and strategies, we caution readers to consider the environment and situation where the change will occur. Therefore, strategies should not be selected for implementation based on their inclusion in highly cited models and frameworks. Our study identified strategies found in the literature and used by change managers, but it does not predict that specific strategies are more likely to promote a successful organizational change. Although we have presented several strategies, we do not suggest combining these strategies to create a new framework. Instead, these strategies should be used to promote conversation between practitioners and theorists. Additionally, we do not suggest that one model or framework is superior to others because it contains more strategies currently used by practitioners. Evaluating the effectiveness of a model or framework by how many common strategies it contains gives an advantage to models and frameworks that contain the most strategies. Instead, this research identifies what practitioners are doing in the field to steer change management literature towards the strategies that are most used to promote change.

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Change and Change management: A Business Essay

• Introduction

Change and change management are two common terms used in organizations today. In some instances, it has been noted that they are used interchangeably though they have different meaning. Change is movement from the current position to a future position through a transition state while change management is supporting the individuals affected by the change during the transition state and adapt to the new organizational paradigm (Burnes, 2014, 9-10). The industrial revolution which started in Britain and spread to other parts of the now developed world initiated the scientific management which saw a shift from the traditional way of business to the new approach. It was realized that the traditional management was no longer relevant in achieving the objectives that came as a result of the capitalist economy. Large companies and the governmental institutions started to shift to a better management approach that was viewed as more ideal. In the modern world, change is perceived as a continuous process and both the employers and labour force have to catch up in order to remain competitive in the market.  This synopsis is meant to establish change and how it has evolved with time, how change is managed in an organization, and the challenges that face change and change management. This will be done through review of available literature on the topic of change and managing change.

• Background information

During the industrial revolution, it was realized that the approaches to labour that were used were not enough to steer companies to the realization of the new goals and objectives. Excessive research was carried by several people who wanted to have the optimum productive of the employees. Leading the pack were Weber, Taylor and Fayol who coined scientific management in the 19 th century. Though they were writing form different environments and constraints, the idea was behind the approach and the proponents were the same. Classical approach as is commonly referred to changed the whole perception on labour and that organizations were just made of individuals. It came into being as managers realized that the methods used then were inconsistent to responding to new challenges and opportunities. However, the classical approach soon became obsolete. Critics argued that it was limited to a single dimension of the human motivation (Burnes, 2009, 15-30: 2014, 15).

The classical approach began to face opposition both at an intellectual and practical level in the 1930s. Human needs were viewed as dynamic and money was not the only thing that gave motivation to the labour force. This bore the human relationship approach which was the new paradigm that companies and individual were required to adopt. As expected, it faced opposition from the traditionalists who viewed it a radical system to the already established code of operation (Burnes, 2014, 33-40). A new approach come into being, the contingency theory, which viewed organizations as open ended system each having a unique way that works best for it. It was favoured since it came at a time when technology was increasingly finding applications and being incorporated into management. Many viewed a simple approach to understand compared to the previously developed ways. A company will have good performance if it adopts a structure than aligns their environment, technology and size (Burnes, 2014 74-80).

• Research questions
• What is change and change management as used in the business organizations and governmental institutions?
• How has the approach to change and change managed evolved since the dawn of the new thought during the industrial revolutions?
• What are the barriers to change and what are the mandates given to the management team during the execution of the different strategies?
• Literature review

Competition and globalisation are constantly increasing in the modern world hence change management becoming increasingly important. A systematic view of change management has been proposed that provides a characterization of change management from the viewpoint of modernism. The approach to changes should be logical and executed in an orderly manner and takes it classification and relationships as alternatives to managing change. The systematic view has three approaches to change management; modernism, post modernism and structuration, which all provide a framework for the developing and an improved understanding of the problem situation which is characterized by diversity and interactions of the organizational change (Cao & McHugh, 2005, 480-488). Managing change is one of the critical parts during the implementation of the new strategies that will make the organization remain relevant in the otherwise competitive markets (Burnes, 2009, 188).

There are several reasons why organizations opt to adopting a new system or structure of doing business. Whether for corrective measures, matching up with the prevailing market trends or even for steering the company ahead, the management at one time will have to make the some decisions that alter the normal approach of doing business (Porras and Silver, 1991, 51). Both the internal and external environments significantly influence how businesses operate and the changes that they can make. Organizational politics, power and culture have significant influence on the process of change since they are key factors to the final decision and implementation process (Burnes, 2009, 250).

The magnitude of change varies which demand different action to be taken by those in authority. Change or success does not require people to do dramatic action but just ordinary things done by the ordinary people in a competent way. Managers have the ability to influence on the course of events and steer people to achieving the desired goals and objectives. In the same way, they are able to lead the subordinate staff into adopting the new set rules and guidelines that are deemed necessarily by the change. Understanding the group dynamics is very vital while dealing with change. In any society, there are the ring leader and the less subtle section that tend to follow the majority side.  Discovering these connections is very vital since the reception of the new ideology, structure or technology will be greatly influenced by these forces within the organization (March, 1981, 563-577).

To have a better approach to the change management, the change process has been characterised as either planned or emergent. The planned change approach was developed prior to the 1980’s(Porras and Silver, 1991, 52-55). According to Lewis Kurt, planned change aims at resolving conflicts by bringing together the various parties; managers, employees and change consultants. During the planned change process, self esteem and performance are significantly affected. The coping cycle was developed to show how people in an organization responded to the implementation of the planned changes. In the initial stages, there is a lot of denial which is followed by defence as people feel threatened by the new approach. The management and the organization as whole then enter the discarding stage where the traditional ways are dropped, adaptation and finally internalization of the changes. This method has been categorically being called the three steps model which include unfreezing, moving and refreezing. It relation to the five stage and effects on both performance and self esteem are shown below.

Figure 1: Relation between the five stages and the three steps model (Adopted from Burnes, 2009, 340)

Emergent change approach counteracts the proposition that there are universally accepted rules for change as proposed by the planned approach method. Rather, it outlines five determinants that affect the success levels of change. Organizational structure, organizational culture, organizational learning, power politics and managerial behaviour are listed as the key factors that should be given considerations while managing change. Change is achieved when all the people actions are linked at all levels of business. Some scholars, however, have proposed some flexible and general guidelines that should be followed under this method. The proponents of this approach argue that the operating environment is changing rapidly, radically and in a very unpredictable manner.  The internal environment is thus forced to have continuous change so that it matches with the trends in the market (Burnes, 2008, 380-410).

• Managing change

The day’s approach and the general views are constantly changing hence the need to adopt the newer systems which lead to a better realization of the set objectives and goals. Dealing with the change is the most challenging part since people are generally resistance and comfortable with the existing methodologies. It has been noted that for people to be more accepting, the end results should be in their favour. Over the last century, there has been varying approaches that companies have used in executions of their mandates. However, it has been pointed out that there has always been a rift between the approaches used by the different parties involved. It becomes crucial that those in power have the know-how on how to deal with the system (individuals) as they undergo through the transition stage and employ the new set code of action. If this is not taken into account, rift and strife will be prominent which will further hinder the process of changes. Understanding change and change management become crucial in order to be in a position to fit in into the new system.

• Barriers to change

To overcome the resistance to change, one should first understand the cause (Peter & Kaeufer, 2000, 1). Several qualitative researches have been done to establish the core issues that impede the process of change. Though done by different authors the core issues that influence how the individuals involved accept or reject change were found to be almost identical (Dent & Goldberg, 1999, 28). Peter & Kaeufer (Peter & Kaeufer, 2000, 2) points out that the failure to trust when it matters limits many change initiatives. Some of the key reasons why individuals and organizations resist change include misunderstandings, emotional side effects, lack of trust, fear of failure, personality conflict, uncertainty, fear of outcome, poor training, threat to job and breaking of work group. The weight given to the above factor varies as per individual and the context of application. It is worth noting that throughout the different managerial approaches that have been in force, the factors for the resistance to change have been consistency (Dent & Goldberg, 1999, 28).

• Challenging resistance to change

As much as change is expected in any system, people are not always receptive of the new organizational paradigm and in many cases tend to cling on the old methods. The term resistance to change appeared in the 1950’s as authors tried to explain the methods can be used to have a smooth transition. Several authors through research works, speeches and even films in the 1950’s proposed methods that can be used to overcome the resistance to change. They argued that whether it is an administrative, technological or structural change, they will all face some resistance since the problem was psychological at an individual level. Resistance to change is a normal phenomenon that should be expected in any organization. It can be frustrating to managers if their efforts are not implemented by the subordinate staff.  It was shown that the management need to draft some strategies which would help implement the new development and managerial approaches (Dent & Goldberg, 1999, 33-35).

The methods that were proposed to be ideal in overcoming change included education, participation by the affected parties, discussion, financial benefit, discussion, facilitation and negotiation and political support (Dent & Goldberg, 1999, 28). In this case, it is assumed the resistance to change is more of a psychological problem and to overcome it, one needs to change the mindset of the affected individuals and make them more receptive. Alternatives to this psychological approach, strategies for overcoming change are offered regardless of the intended change. Changes can results to certain negative effects such as loss of status by employees. However, these difficult situations should not be labelled as resistance to change that that perception will further impeded the process of change (Dent & Goldberg, 1999, 28).

• The process of change in an organization

Changes can be termed as episodic or continuous (Quinn & Weick, 1999, 362). Episodic change describes organizational changes that are infrequent, discontinuous, and unintentional while continuous changes is used to group together the organizational changes that are cumulative, evolving and tend to be ongoing (Nutt & Backoff, 1996, 333-340, (Burnes, 2009, 460). Several management practitioners and authors had come up with different approaches to the change process and common cycle that are undertaken for both continuous and episodic change. For example, Mintzberg & Wetsley (1992, 39-59) wrote about detailed cycles of organizational change and how they affect they are affected by internal and external environment of the organization. It is agreeable that the organization should set the right framework for change to be effective. The range of situations that are faced determine to the right approach that should be followed (Burnes, 2009, 432; 2014, 307-8).

The change process can viewed as a triangle with people, objectives/outcomes and planning forming the edges. The process begins with establishing a team that will be involved in planning the change and setting the objectives and the intended outcomes. The people within the organizational are then informed of the new strategy and its implementation process. It is the responsibility f the team to monitor the progress and issue corrective measures to align the progress to the set goals (Burnes, 2009, 460-465).

The driving force behind the change of organizations has been a central and enduring quest by scholars and practitioners in the field of management. It has proved to be hard to find the sequence of events that lead to the unfolding of the events of change. Several theories such as the evolutionary and teleology (Van Den Ven & Poole, 1995, 522) have been developed in attempt to explain the cycles and motor of change. It is the responsibility of the management to steer the organization in achieving the desired change. One of the key problems that the management are facing today is the effects of globalization. The unified market has brought a new edge in sustainability, workforce diversity and business ethics (Hage, 2006, 598-622)

The management is therefore required to devise new ways of approach to and implementation of change (Burnes, 2009, 495-500). They are expected to adapt or shift managerial roles since each single decision they make as far reaching effects and profound implications on within the organization and even in the society. A clear line should be drawn between the role and responsibilities of a manager and a leader and managers meant to understand when and how to act (Burnes, 2014, 430-1).

Change has been described as an inevitable process whether at a personal level or in organization. Since the onset of the industrial revolution, there have been drastic changes in business process as the management of various organizations and corporations try to remain equally competitive in the otherwise stiff market. It has seen the emergence of newer theories and management approaches which were then replaced by newer methods and strategies while in search of the ultimate solution. The systems have been known to be very opposing to changes despite the positive outcome. Individuals as well as the top management have rejected changes that they termed as not in their favour or against their beliefs. This has resulted to a new genre of management that deals with specially managing the change and the change process.

• Burnes, B. (2009). Managing Change. Harlow: Pearson Educational Publishers.
• Burnes, B. (2014). Managing Change (Sixth ed.). Pearson Educational Publishers.
• Cao, G., & McHugh, M. (2005). A S ystemic View of Change Management and Its Conceptual Underpinnings. Systemic Practice and Action Research , 18 (5), 475-491.
• Dent, E., & Goldberg, S. (1999). Challenging Resistance to Change. THE JOURNAL OF APPLIED BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE , 35 (1), 25-26.
• Frances, W., & Henry, M. (1992). Cycles of Organizational Change. Strategic Management Journal , 13 , 39-59.
• Hage, J. T. (2006). Organizational Innovation and Organizational Change . Annual Review of Sociology , 25 , 597-622.
• March, J. (1981). Footnotes to Organizational Change. Administrative Science Quarterly , 26 (4), 563-577.
• Nutt, P., & Backoff, R. (1996). Fashioning and Sustaining Strategic Change in in Public Organizations . Public Productivty & Management Review , 19 (4), 331-337.
• Peter, S., & Kaeufer, K. (2000, October 04). Creating Change. Execurive Excellence , 2.
• Porras, J., & Silver, R. (1991). Organizational Development and Transformation. Annual Review. Psychol , 42 , 51-78.
• Quinn, R., & Weick, K. (1999). ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT. Review Pyscho. , 50 , 361-386.
• VAn De Ven, A., & POOLE, M. S. (1995). EXPLAINING DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE IN ORGANIZATIONS. The Academy of Management Review , 20 (3), 510-540.

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Explore the Levels of Change Management

6 Reasons Why Change Management Fails and How To Avoid Them

Kelli Smith

Updated: May 13, 2024

Published: March 1, 2024

It’s commonly said that 70% of change initiatives fail, and there are many reasons why. Change is inevitable for most organizations, but an effective change management strategy and plan helps you to prepare leaders and employees for success.

We have identified six common pitfalls when trying to implement change. Keep reading to learn how to avoid or overcome them, and implement change successfully. 

What Is Change Management and Why Is It Important?

Change management is an enabling framework that guides the people side of change and supports people through the process. As business objectives evolve and grow with changing trends, so will strategic goals. Effective change management facilitates this growth and prepares your business to embrace the new strategy. 

We know from Prosci research that for change to be successful, employees and leaders must adequately prepare for successful implementation. 

Want to learn how to successfully introduce change? Explore our change management solutions. 

6 Reasons Why Change Management Fails

There are many protocols to follow for effective change management within an organization. Here's what to avoid—and why—and solutions you should attempt instead.

1. Communication flaws

Prosci research shows ineffective communication between leaders and employees can cause obstacles during change initiatives. Without clear and consistent communication, there’s a lack of shared vision, which means individuals will struggle to align their work with the new change. 

For example, an IT distribution company wanted to reduce manual data entry by introducing robotic automation. But their unclear communication sparked dissatisfaction among their employees, who took it to mean that “robots were taking their jobs.” The company planned to reduce employee workload and not replace individual employees, especially as the new change hinged on the employees being on board. 

Solution 

Effective change management communication goes beyond simply telling employees that change is coming. It's about being transparent about why it's happening, what it means for them, how it will impact their position, and more. Our Change Management Certification Program gives you the research-based skills to communicate effectively during change and achieve a successful implementation.

2. Resistance to change 

Resistance is a normal reaction to change, but when it’s not managed effectively, it can lead to the failure of change initiatives. Resistance typically happens when there’s a lack of understanding around the change, comfort with the current state, or fear of the unknown. When transformation efforts happen, it’s essential to explain the business reasons behind the change and its employee benefits. 

Resistance can hinder successful change management because it takes much longer to implement initiatives, and the effects often ripple throughout an organization. 

One way you can overcome resistance is by listening to the biggest dissenters. You might be tempted to avoid these voices, hoping they’ll hop on board as time passes, but listening to them, giving them space to be heard, and providing them with relevant information can help overcome resistance. 

The Prosci ADKAR® Model for individual change begins with Awareness and Desire. That's because individuals must first be aware of the change and then feel there’s something in it for them to participate in the change.

You can build Awareness and Desire by sharing data and case studies of successful change initiatives to combat resistant behaviors. When employees can practically understand how and why there’s change, and its impacts on them, they’re more likely to support it and participate in it.

3. Lack of reinforcement

Reinforcement mechanisms are essential to sustain change because employees can revert to old behaviors. Without reinforcement, change initiatives may fail to become part of the organizational culture, making them much more challenging to implement. 

Reinforcement provides clarity to employees by reminding them of the goals and objectives of the change initiative. A one-off communication introducing the change won’t bring the entire organization on board. Instead, consistent reinforcement can iron out any kinks, answer questions, and align the organization with the change initiative. 

Reinforcement is the last stage of the Prosci ADKAR Model , which provides you with guidance on how to sustain a change once implemented. Managers can reinforce change by offering feedback to employees about how well they’ve adapted to the transformation process and sharing ways to improve as needed. Rewards and recognition reinforce new behaviors aligned with the change.

You can also reinforce change initiatives by measuring performance and implementing accountability mechanisms. It’s important not to waste the time and resources that go into implementing a change by failing to reinforce it. 

4. Inadequate sponsorship 

Sponsors are directly accountable to organizational executives, provide support and resources, and set the tone for the change. Sponsors understand the organization’s cultural values and ensure the change management process aligns. 

However, sponsorship can lead to failures in change management when sponsors lack time and resources or underestimate the importance of the people side of change. Sponsorship has been the top contributor to successful change in every Prosci benchmarking study since 1998, but it has also been one of the biggest obstacles to success .

An effective sponsor needs to understand their role in the change process, the resources needed, and the change initiative's purpose. 

The Prosci ABCs of sponsorship come from over two decades of Best Practices in Change Management research:

• A (Active and visible participation throughout the project) – A sponsor's continued presence creates and sustains change momentum. 
• B (Build a coalition of sponsorship) – The primary sponsor should include key stakeholders and senior executives to advocate for change and ensure it spreads across all parts of the business. 
• C (Communicate support and promote the change to impacted groups) – Communicating the right information at the right times during change is key, and sponsors should be proactive.

Use the Prosci sponsorship checklist to ensure your sponsors are well-equipped. 

5. Lack of alignment

According to research, 74% of leaders say they have involved employees in change initiatives, yet only 42% of employees report feeling included. A lack of alignment around goals and objectives makes it much harder for employees to adopt the change. 

Project teams, leadership and management must be aligned with daily work activities and objectives during the change process. A lack of alignment can lead to a lack of trust, which trickles down to how employees view leadership, and affects motivation and morale. 

The Prosci 3-Phase Process is a structured and adaptable approach to helping people adopt changes at scale.

Phase 1 – Prepare Approach , involves knowing the end goal, acknowledging who has to do their jobs differently, and what action is required to succeed. Understanding this from the outset keeps everyone involved aligned and provides a space to clarify any uncertainty.

Phase 2 – Manage Change , is the longest phase and focuses on preparing and equipping people through the change process. The first two phases ensure alignment occurs between leadership, management and project teams. 

Phase 3 – Sustain Outcomes looks at what's needed to achieve results for the long term and who will take over responsibility for outcomes after the project or initiative is done.

6. Culture clash 

A company’s culture is key to how well it can manage change. In fact, 59% of participants in Prosci Best Practices in Change Management research said that organizational culture awareness is very important. A history of struggling to adapt to change, internal politics, and existing silos can contribute to a culture that’s resistant to change. Addressing these aspects of an organization’s culture is essential to increase the chance of success of change initiatives. 

Other research reveals that 80% of employees experience cultural tensions or competing priorities, and many are at risk of doing the wrong tasks because the change process doesn’t align with their day-to-day activities. 

This misalignment between change initiatives and workplace culture leads to confusion and decreased productivity if employees aren’t working on the right tasks to implement the change successfully.

Importance of Organizational Culture Awareness

The first step of the Prosci ADKAR Model, Awareness of the need for change. This awareness drives a clearer understanding of the change initiative so employees can align themselves with the change. It can overcome some of the challenges of a previously resistant company culture.

The more employees understand about why a change needs to happen, the less they will exhibit resistance behaviors. This will improve your organization's chances of success with the transformation.

Why Change Management Fails and How To Overcome It

Change management failures happen—but we know that a big reason is that businesses focus too much on the technical aspect of the change instead of the people who will adopt and use it. We developed the Prosci Methodology for change management to address both the technical and people sides effectively, and help businesses and organizations grow stronger in the process. 

Kelli Smith is a senior leader in change management and organizational development, with deep experience in leadership development and coaching. Before joining Prosci, Kelli was Senior Manager, Enterprise Change Management for Aflac, where she led a team to establish the enterprise-wide change management methodology, build a community of practice, introduce a practitioner competency model, and grow the organization’s change maturity. Previously, Kelli led strategic changes at Anthem for a $27 million Medicare project portfolio. Kelli is a Certified Change Management Professional™ (CCMP™) with certifications in DiSC® and DDI® Interaction Management Leadership Development.

See all posts from Kelli Smith

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