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Change is hard. Whether it's a new technology rollout, a shift in company culture, or a major transformation initiative, navigating change successfully requires a structured approach. The best leaders don’t just introduce change—they manage it with intention.
Change management models provide frameworks to guide organizations through transitions, ensuring employees are engaged, adoption is high, and resistance is minimized. While there are many approaches, some stand out as particularly effective.
At Volonte, we believe that the most successful change efforts prioritize people. This guide breaks down the top 10 change management models, starting with Prosci’s ADKAR model—one of the most actionable, results-driven approaches to change.
1. Prosci ADKAR Model: Driving Adoption with a People-First Approach
What It Is:
The ADKAR model—developed by Prosci—is a structured, goal-oriented approach to change management focused on individual adoption. Unlike many change frameworks that focus primarily on organizational strategy, ADKAR zeroes in on how people experience and adopt change at a personal level.
ADKAR stands for:
- Awareness: Understanding the need for change
- Desire: Developing a personal motivation to support the change
- Knowledge: Learning how to change
- Ability: Implementing new skills and behaviors
- Reinforcement: Sustaining the change over time
Why It Works:
ADKAR is one of the most widely used change models because it breaks change down into clear, actionable stages. Instead of treating change as a single event, it recognizes that individuals move through change at different paces. Organizations that focus on individual adoption see higher success rates in transformation initiatives.
How to Apply It:
- Diagnose resistance early: Identify where employees are getting stuck in the ADKAR process and address their needs directly.
- Provide targeted support: If awareness is low, focus on transparent communication. If knowledge is lacking, implement training programs.
- Measure adoption continuously: Track progress at each stage to ensure individuals are moving through the change process effectively.
Example: A financial services company implementing a new CRM system uses ADKAR to ensure adoption. They create a campaign to raise awareness, provide hands-on training for knowledge, and reinforce behaviors through leader-led coaching sessions.
2. Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model: A Structured, Leadership-Driven Approach
What It Is:
Developed by John Kotter, this model provides a step-by-step approach to managing change. The eight steps include:
- Create a sense of urgency: Help employees recognize the need for change.
- Form a powerful coalition: Build a team of leaders who support the change.
- Create a vision for change: Provide a clear roadmap for what change will look like.
- Communicate the vision: Ensure constant communication with all stakeholders.
- Empower action: Remove obstacles and empower individuals to act on the change.
- Create quick wins: Celebrate early successes to maintain momentum.
- Build on the change: Use early victories to drive further change.
- Anchor the changes in the culture: Make the new behaviors part of the organizational culture.
Why It Works:
Kotter’s model focuses on leadership’s role in guiding change. It’s especially useful for large-scale transformation efforts where vision and communication are critical.
How to Apply It:
- Start with urgency: Show employees why the change is necessary now.
- Empower champions: Build a coalition of influential employees to drive change.
- Sustain momentum: Celebrate quick wins to reinforce progress.
Example: A global retail brand undergoing a digital transformation to improve customer experience. They follow Kotter’s steps to create urgency for the change, build a coalition of digital leaders, and implement communication strategies to inform all employees about the new e-commerce platform.
3. Lewin’s Change Management Model: Simplifying Change into Three Stages
What It Is:
Kurt Lewin’s model is one of the simplest and most effective change management frameworks. It involves three stages:
- Unfreeze: Prepare the organization by identifying the need for change and breaking down existing mindsets.
- Change: Implement the necessary changes and ensure that the workforce is engaged in the process.
- Refreeze: Stabilize the organization after the change, ensuring that new behaviors and processes become the new norm.
Why It Works:
This model is easy to understand and focuses on the psychological transition employees go through during change.
How to Apply It:
- Unfreeze mindsets: Communicate why change is necessary.
- Support during the change phase: Provide training and guidance.
- Refreeze new behaviors: Reinforce new processes and celebrate success.
Example: A software company that’s transitioning to remote work. They first "unfreeze" by communicating the necessity of this change, implement the remote work tools, and "refreeze" by establishing new work-from-home policies.
4. McKinsey 7-S Model: Aligning Key Business Elements
What It Is:
The 7-S model ensures that seven critical components of an organization are aligned during change:
- Strategy: Defines the plan to achieve organizational goals. It includes competitive positioning and long-term vision.
- Structure: Refers to how the organization is structured in terms of hierarchy, roles, and responsibilities.
- Systems: The processes and workflows that help manage day-to-day operations and ensure efficiency.
- Shared Values: Core beliefs and cultural elements that guide decision-making and behavior within the organization.
- Skills: The capabilities and competencies that employees bring to the organization to achieve its goals.
- Style: Describes leadership styles and organizational behavior, affecting how decisions are made and how employees engage.
- Staff: The people who work within the organization, including recruitment, development, and workforce management.
Why It Works:
This holistic approach prevents misalignment, minimizes resistance, and fosters organizational cohesion during times of change. The model also highlights the importance of balancing both tangible and intangible aspects of the organization, from systems to culture, for sustainable success.
How to Apply It:
- Evaluate misalignment: Identify which “S” elements need adjustment.
- Ensure shared values: Align cultural elements with the change.
- Optimize processes: Ensure systems support new ways of working.
Example: A multinational corporation restructuring after acquiring a new business. They align their strategy, structure, systems, shared values, and staff across both entities to ensure smooth integration and successful long-term growth.
5. Bridges’ Transition Model: Managing the Emotional Side of Change
What It Is:
This model focuses on the psychological transition individuals go through during change:
- Ending, Losing, and Letting Go: Acknowledge the loss of the old ways.
- The Neutral Zone: The period where the organization is in flux, and uncertainty prevails.
- The New Beginning: Embrace the new ways of working and build momentum for the future.
Why It Works:
Acknowledging emotions during change increases employee engagement. By understanding and supporting these stages, organizations can reduce resistance and increase buy-in for lasting change, ensuring smoother transitions overall.
How to Apply It:
- Support employees emotionally: Provide clear communication and leadership visibility.
- Manage the neutral zone carefully: Reinforce progress with small wins.
Example: A city government undergoing a digital transformation in its services. Employees experience the emotional process of letting go of traditional methods (Ending), navigating the uncertainty of new technologies (Neutral Zone), and eventually embracing the digital solutions (New Beginning).
6. The Satir Change Model
What It Is:
The Satir Model focuses on how teams emotionally respond to change, moving through phases of resistance, chaos, and eventual integration. Virginia Satir’s model is based on human behavior during change. It consists of five stages:
- Late Status Quo: The initial state before change begins.
- Resistance: The introduction of change disrupts the norm.
- Chaos: A period of confusion and disruption as change is introduced.
- Integration: New ideas and ways of working start to take hold.
- New Status Quo: The organization stabilizes and adapts to the change.
Why it Works:
By acknowledging that change creates periods of chaos and confusion (Integration), it allows organizations to support employees through uncertainty. The model focuses on the importance of managing emotions and providing reassurance, helping individuals transition smoothly to a new status quo. Its focus on human behavior and emotional resilience fosters understanding, alignment, and a more successful adaptation to change.
How to Apply It:
- Acknowledge early resistance: Don’t expect immediate acceptance.
- Guide teams through the chaos phase: Provide strong leadership.
Example: A non-profit organization adopting a new fundraising platform. Initially, there is confusion (Chaos) as the platform is introduced, followed by successful integration (Integration), and over time, the new system becomes fully adopted, leading to a transformed fundraising process.
7. Deming Cycle (PDCA)
What It Is:
The Deming Cycle, also known as PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act), is a continuous improvement framework that focuses on iterative progress and quality enhancement. The cycle is structured in four stages:
- Plan: Define objectives and identify the necessary changes.
- Do: Implement the planned changes on a small scale.
- Check: Evaluate the outcomes and performance of the changes.
- Act: Make adjustments or standardize successful improvements.
Why it Works:
By breaking down changes into manageable steps, it allows organizations to adapt gradually while consistently monitoring and evaluating outcomes. This ensures that each iteration is data-driven, leading to better decision-making and process refinement. The PDCA model encourages learning from each cycle, fostering a culture of improvement and reducing the risk of large-scale failure. This method builds resilience, ensures alignment with objectives, and leads to long-term sustainability.
How to Apply It:
- Use iterative improvements: Make changes in manageable steps.
- Monitor outcomes: Adjust as needed.
Example: A retail company wants to improve customer satisfaction by reducing checkout wait times. First, they analyze transaction data and customer feedback to identify bottlenecks in the checkout process (Plan). They then test self-checkout kiosks in a few high-traffic stores (Do). After a month, they compare customer satisfaction scores and queue times with traditional checkouts (Check). If the kiosks prove effective, they expand the system to all locations and continue refining the process based on new insights (Act). This cycle ensures continuous optimization and adaptability.
8. Nudge Theory
What It Is:
Nudge theory, popularized by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, focuses on making small, strategic changes to encourage people to make decisions that are in their best interest. The theory uses subtle cues and interventions to influence behavior without coercion. It’s especially effective in driving adoption and encouraging employees to embrace new behaviors or ways of working without pushing them too hard.
Why It Works:
Nudge Theory works by subtly guiding people toward better choices without forcing them. By making desired behaviors easier or more appealing—like setting healthy food at eye level or using default enrollment for retirement plans—it leverages human psychology to encourage positive change. Because it preserves individual freedom while improving decision-making, it is highly effective in business, public policy, and personal habits.
How to Apply It:
- Use positive reinforcement: Encourage small behavior shifts.
Example: A company implementing a new wellness program. Instead of enforcing mandatory participation, they subtly encourage employees through benefits and rewards for engagement, thereby nudging employees to adopt healthier habits voluntarily.
9. Kübler-Ross Change Curve
What It Is:
Based on Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’s work on the five stages of grief, this model illustrates the emotional stages individuals experience during change. The stages are:
- Denial: Employees resist the change or refuse to acknowledge it.
- Anger: Frustration and resistance to the change emerge.
- Bargaining: Employees try to negotiate to avoid change or minimize its impact.
- Depression: Feelings of helplessness or uncertainty set in.
- Acceptance: Employees finally accept the change and adjust to the new ways of working.
Why It Works:
The Kübler-Ross Change Curve works because it acknowledges the emotional responses to change, helping leaders guide employees through denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. By understanding these stages, organizations can offer the right support at the right time, reducing resistance and fostering smoother transitions.
How to Apply It:
- Recognize emotional responses: Offer support at each stage.
Example: A manufacturing plant experiencing a shift to automated production. Initially, employees may deny the changes (Denial), become frustrated with new technology (Anger), negotiate for old practices (Bargaining), feel uncertain about their roles (Depression), but eventually, they accept and integrate the automation into their work (Acceptance).
10. LaMarsh Managed Change Model
What It Is:
The LaMarsh Managed Change Model is a structured framework that integrates risk assessment and stakeholder engagement to drive successful organizational change. It emphasizes proactive planning, clear communication, and continuous adaptation to reduce resistance and ensure alignment with business goals.
How to Apply It:
Assess risks proactively: Identify potential obstacles early and develop strategies to mitigate them.
Engage stakeholders: Involve employees, leaders, and other key players to ensure buy-in.
Implement structured change plans: Develop clear action steps, monitor progress, and adjust as needed.
Why It Works:
This model anticipates challenges before they become roadblocks. By integrating risk management into change planning, organizations can minimize disruption and resistance. Additionally, its stakeholder-driven approach ensures that those affected by the change are actively involved, increasing engagement and long-term success.
Example: A retail chain is rolling out a new inventory management system. Using the LaMarsh model, they first assess risks, such as potential staff resistance and system integration issues. They engage key stakeholders, like managers and employees, to gather input and feedback. With a clear, structured plan in place, the system is introduced in stages, addressing any challenges quickly. By actively involving staff and adjusting the plan based on feedback, the change is successfully implemented without significant disruptions.
Final Thoughts: Choosing the Right Model for Your Organization
Each change management model brings unique insights that can guide your organization through transformation. However, the most effective approach is one that is customized to your company’s specific goals, culture, and challenges. At Volonte, we recognize that successful change is not solely about the right strategy, it's about empowering your people, aligning with their needs, and providing them with the tools to embrace the future with confidence. When you focus on both structure and people, change becomes a shared journey, not just a process.
