Pink Elephant Blog
Why Leaders Need to Understand the Kübler-Ross Change Curve
Most of us – and our organizations – have been impacted on many levels by the recent changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unfortunately, many of us don’t cope well with change. According to a King and Peterson study in 2007, “70-80% (of organizations) achieve substantially less than the expected value” of change initiatives. The reason for this is attributed to leaders who do not properly manage the process of change or the people side of change.
Mitigate How Change Impacts the Bottom Line
Because people are central to change, they must be fully engaged to ensure a successful outcome. This means that unless measures are taken to address change, many organizations will undoubtedly experience a negative impact on their productivity and, ultimately, their bottom line.
The key concepts of organizational change management (OCM) can help organizations manage change at both the individual and organizational levels, thereby helping to mitigate the risks of decreased business value.
The Seven Stages of the Change Curve
One of the indispensable learnings in OCM is that the performance, energy, and mood of individuals will vary through the normal process of human change. The goal of leadership is to support individuals to reach, at least, the level of acceptance (the sixth stage) as quickly as possible. This can only happen by implementing strong, clear, open, and honest two-way communications that are delivered frequently.
There are seven different stages in the change curve, according to the change curve theory by Dr. Elizabeth Kübler-Ross (Smith, R., King, D., Sidhu, R. and Skelsey, D. (editors). The Effective Change Manager’s Handbook, London: Kogan Page Limited, 2015):
- Shock – After an initial shock, an individual often resists engaging with a change.
- Denial – Characterized by a burst of additional (defensive) energy
- Anger or blame – Can no longer avoid engaging with the change
- Bargaining/self-blame – “What more can I do?”; “I did wrong.”
- Depression and confusion – The realization that all other efforts are failing
- Acceptance – The person accepts at a deep level that change is happening.
- Problem solving – “How can I make this work for me?”
The Fluctuating Change Curve
Individuals do not progress through change – or the change curve – in a linear manner. When implementing change, it’s key to understand the change curve is a function of time and any apparent resistance reflects a difference between the position of those announcing a change and those receiving it. When people become angry about the change and blame those who announce it, they are expressing their own process of adjustment.
It’s also important to note people will often get stuck in one stage or oscillate between two – often around the blame stage. In addition, the length and depth of the personal change curve can vary from a brief and minor fluctuation to a major roller-coaster that lasts for months.
Ironically, the pattern of human response to change remains true for the positive changes in life as well as the unwelcome ones.
How to Guide Change in Individuals and Your Organization
Organizational change management provides insights into the many aspects of change on the individual, as well as on the organization, itself – and how managing the two can lead to more quickly accepting and integrating change. Pink Elephant’s Organizational Change Management certification courses provide the keys to strategic planning initiatives that include the concepts, terms, principles, models, approaches, and roles that are necessary to successfully influence change.
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