Change Management (Pattern Group)

Play Description

Pattern Group Summary

Change Management helps people and teams move through change effectively. It’s used when something big is changing—like a new system, process, or way of working.

It solves problems like resistance, and poor adoption. The change management frameworks offer thorough approaches for adoption, effective implementation and reinforcement of change. Many valuable patterns exist within each change management framework.

Patterns

Create Urgency (Awareness & Desire), Building a Guiding Coalition, Defining a Clear Vision and Strategy,  Empowering Employees and Removing Obstacles, Creating Short-Term Wins, Sustaining and Expanding the Change, Anchoring the Change, Managing Resistance to Change

Symptom Categories

Change Resistance, Change Fatigue,  Resistance to Change, Lack of Engagement, Lack of Experience/Ability

Symptoms Addressed

1. Resistance to change
2. Inability to effectivly adopt the change and work in new ways
3. Reverting back to old ways after some initial change

Detailed Description

Change is hard because it is multi‑layered and self‑reinforcing: human instincts, social norms, structural incentives, and external constraints all pull toward stability. Studies consistently show that 60–70% of organizational change initiatives fail, not because of poor ideas or strategies, but because the human side of change is underestimated or mishandled.

Successful transformations treat change as a complex‑adaptive journey, not a linear rollout—balancing clear purpose, incremental wins, aligned incentives, and continuous learning.

The Change Management Pattern Group includes frameworks with thorough approaches to successful change adoption.

Use When

• Impactful Change: For any large and impactful change which likely will face resistance and be difficult to adopt effectively

Do Not Use This Pattern When

While the Change Management frameworks are powerful tools, they are not always the right fit for every situation.

• Lack of Leadership Commitment: If leadership is not willing to support, sponsor, or model the change, formal change management is likely to fail. It’s better to pause and build alignment first
• Routine or Minor Changes: Some change management frameworks are not or less applicable when changes are small, low-impact, and don’t affect people significantly
• Crisis Response or Emergency Situations: In fast-moving crises (e.g. cybersecurity breach, health emergency), there’s no time for structured stakeholder engagement or phased plans.
• Change is Already Happening Organically: If teams are already adapting successfully on their own (e.g. through grassroots innovation or continuous improvement), formal change management could add unnecessary complexity.

In Frameworks

Kotter’s 8-Step Process for Leading Change
Kotter’s process consists of eight sequential steps (Bedard, 2024):

1. Create A Sense of Urgency
2. Build A Guiding Coalition
3. Form A Strategic Vision
4. Enlist A Volunteer Army
5. Enable Action By Removing Barriers
6. Generate Short-Term Wins
7. Sustain Acceleration
8. Anchor Change

The process focus on actions that needs to be taken.

ADKAR Model (Hiatt & Prosci Learning Center Publications, 2006)
The ADKAR model consist of 5 sequential building blocks:

1. Awareness (of the need for change)
2. Desire (to adopt and support the change)
3. Knowledge (of how to change)
4. Ability (to implement required skills and behaviours)
5. Reinforcement (to sustain the change)

The model focus on the people change journey and offers suggestions for action to take to achieve a high score for each building block. It is emphasized that people affected by change has to acquire a score of 4-5 on a 1-5 scale for each of the building blocks and that the first building in the list with a lower score becomes the obstacle or bottleneck for change.

Change Curve / Kubler-Ross Model (EKR Foundation, 2024)
This model addresses emotional symptoms such as denial, anger, and depression that people often experience during change. It emphasize that almost everyone will hit a deep low in terms of energy and frustration at some point after beginning on the change journey. As such, it shed light for change management to prepare for this low. For example, development of scripts and training for people managers to support their directs when they hit this anticipated low point.

Kaizen and the Toyota Production System (Kaio, 2025)
The Toyota Production System focuses on continuous, small improvements (Kaio, 2025) and nurtures a culture of constant enhancement, reducing the need for formal change management when incremental adjustments are sufficient. At Toyota, change is a continuous process, always driven by careful analysis and measurable outcomes. If a change doesn’t deliver the expected results, it can be adjusted or reversed, following the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle (PDCA Cycle, 2025). By actively involving employees in the process, the Kaizen culture minimizes resistance and makes change a manageable, iterative part of operations.

How to Use:

Kotter’s Model
Kotter’s model is particularly effective in driving large-scale, cultural, and strategic changes within organizations. The model’s elements help align people and processes at the organizational level and drive momentum in transformational changes.

ADKAR Model
The ADKAR model is more suited for process-focused changes and situations where individual adoption is crucial. This is often the case when organizations are implementing new technologies, systems, or workflows in environments where personal commitment to change is key to success.

Complementing Models with the Change Curve
Both Kotter’s and ADKAR models can be enriched by insights from the Change Curve. This allows change leaders to better understand and address the emotional and psychological responses that individuals experience during the transformation process.

Using ADKAR for Assessment
In addition, ADKAR can serve as an initial assessment tool to identify which change management steps are necessary. By evaluating the organization’s readiness and individual capabilities, leaders can tailor their change strategy to meet the needs of different teams and individuals, ensuring more effective transitions.

Embracing Gradual and Continuous Change
There is an increasing preference for smaller, gradual, and continuous changes in organizations, in part inspired by Toyota’s Kaizen philosophy and the evolution of Kotter’s model. Kotter himself has adapted his framework from a linear, episodic model to a more iterative approach that is better suited for today’s dynamic, fast-paced business environment. This shift acknowledges that change is constant and organizations need to remain adaptive to thrive in this environment.