Leading and Managing Change

Leadership and Change

Change is an ever present and unavoidable part of our working lives. With advances in technology and the Covid-19 pandemic causing major societal and economic shifts, the pace of change is accelerating and altering the way we work. Having the ability to respond and adapt to these rapidly evolving conditions is critical in ensuring that modern organisations perform well and remain competitive.

Change can be planned or reactive, strategic or operational, externally or internally driven, small and incremental or large-scale and transformational. Whatever form it takes, successful change is achieved through people. This is why leadership in the 21st century requires not only an understanding of organisational change models and theories, but of behavioural change and the ways in which people can be managed and supported throughout important transitions.

Our Leadership and Change resources, from leading experts and practitioners in the field, aim to help you explore the leadership and management of change from different aspects, covering models and approaches to organisational and personal change.

Videos and Podcasts

Podcast 173: Embracing and leading organisational change by CIPD (soundcloud.com) (30.37 minute listen)

In this CIPD podcast, experts discuss change implementation, behavioural barriers, and what can be done to help people and organisations embrace change. 

Jim Hemerling: 5 ways to lead in an era of constant change | TED Talk  (13.12 minute watch)

Organisational change expert Jim Hemerling discusses what he calls ‘always-on transformation’ - the need for organisations to constantly adapt. This can make change an exhausting process. To counter this, he outlines 5 strategic imperatives, centred around people, which are designed to ensure that change is energising for everyone involved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph8amSlXtXY (11.54 minute watch)

In this short discussion Dr.Jess Trimble suggests tips on how to guide and support veterinary teams through change drawn from her own experience.

Kotter's 8-Step Change Model Explained (10 minute watch)

A short tutorial on John Kotter’s highly influential 8 step organisational change model delivered by Expert Project Management. See Kotter’s original HBR article in the section below.

Lewin's Change Management Model - YouTube (2.05 minute watch)

Kurt Lewin’s famous ‘unfreeze, change, refreeze’ model of change is explained in this video from Mindtools.

An introduction to Force Field Analysis (3.52 minute watch)

This is a brief overview Kurt Lewins’ Force Field analysis, a widely used framework for exploring the factors that drive or hinder change within teams and organisations.

The Change Curve - Accelerating Change, and Improving Its Likelihood of Success (mindtools.com) (2.41 minutes watch)

This Mindtools video and the accompanying article explore the stages of the Change Curve Model, based on the work of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

The ADKAR Model of Change (4.18 minute watch)

This video provides an introduction to the ADKAR personal model of change developed by Prosci, which describes the five building blocks of change for an individual.

Articles and blogs

Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail (hbr.org) (15 minute read)

Kotter, J P (1995), Harvard Business Review. John Kotter’s seminal work on change, was first published in this article. Based on his observations of working with over 100 companies, he outlines eight critical steps required for successful change.

The Four Principles of Change Management – Forbes Advisor (3 minute read)

Dana Miranda and Cassie Bottorff, (2022), Forbes.com. This article explains the four principles underpinning Kotter’s eight step change process: Select Few + Diverse many, Have to + Want to, Head + Heart, Management + Leadership.

https://imatrix.com/blog/lead-veterinary-practice-through-change/ (8 minute read)

Christine Dunn, (2021), VetMatrix. In this blog, Dunn discusses how to plan for change, how to successfully navigate change and strategies for creating a more agile and adaptable team, with reference to key models and tools.

Ten Tips For Effective Change Management That Puts Your Team First (forbes.com) (10 minute read)

Jane Sparrow, (2021), Forbes,com. This article discusses the human side of change management and how to help people embrace change.

https://vetsource.com/blog/3-strategies-for-smooth-change-management-in-your-veterinary-practice/ (6 minute read)

This blog from Vetsource suggests ways of getting your veterinary team on board with change by focusing on staff engagement, communication and culture.

13 Unlucky Mistakes in Managing Traumatic Change — and How to Avoid Them (hbr.org)  (10 minute read)

Rosabeth Moss Kanter (2010), Harvard Business Review. Kanter outlines thirteen common mistakes leaders often make in response to traumatic change and suggests ways to avoid them.

Three Tips For Managing Resistance To Change (forbes.com) (5 minute read)

Vered Kogan (2020), Forbes.com. This article explores three ways to manage resistance to change: identifing the root causes of resistance, involving senior leaders, and communicating the change.

Using Bridges’ Transitional Model To Guide Workers Through Change | TSW Training (5 minute read)

Andrew Wallbridge (2023), TSW Training. This blog explores the Bridges Transition Model, a three-stage model of human change which defines personal change as a psychological process of transition.

Managing Change Using the Kubler-Ross Change Model (bethestrategicpm.com) (10 minute read)

John Reiling (2022), The Strategic Project Manager. This blog provides an overview of the Kubler-Ross Change Model. Originally developed by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross to describe the stages experienced during the grieving process, the model has been adapted and applied to other contexts. This resource also includes a link to a video tutorial by EPM.

https://www.nhsconfed.org/articles/change-wisely-why-we-must-get-evaluation-right (5 minute read)

Sally Eason, (2021). NHS Confederation. This blog discusses the importance of evaluating change as a continuous process with tips on how to approach measurement and monitoring.

Emotionally intelligent leadership in a time of crisis: fear and reassurance | Advance HE (advance-he.ac.uk) (10 minute read)

Doug Parkin (2020), Principal Adviser for Leadership and Management, Advance Higher Education. Written at the start of the pandemic, this blog reflects on the importance of emotionally intelligent leadership in times of crisis and change.

Other materials

Change Management | CIPD

The CIPD have produced this factsheet on change management which looks at why change management is important and highlights some of the potential issues that can occur. It also summarises a range of techniques that can be applied to increase the likelihood of success.

Transformational Change with Case Studies | CIPD

This report by the CIPD, ‘Landing transformational change: Closing the gap between theory and practice’ explores how research on change applies in practice. It includes case studies from four UK based organisations and practical examples of how organisations have approached transformational change.

Change Management - CMI (managers.org.uk)

This checklist developed by the CMI provides an overview of the change management process and guidance on developing an effective change programme.

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/enduring-ideas-the-7-s-framework#

This is a detailed overview and interactive presentation of the McKinsey S-7 framework for change which involves analysing key elements of an organisation - style, skills, systems, structure, staff, strategy, and shared values – and how they can be co-ordinated to achieve successful change.