Successful change can be implemented within an organization utilizing many strategic models. Change in a digital environment adds another layer to change. There are numerous ways in which change management has been modeled. I will share my idea on change management through the diagram in the Appendix, and compare it to the Change Model and discuss the alignment with established models.
I started creating this model based on my own thoughts on change management, and then began to look at it overlaid with other models to see which aligned more succinctly. The Change Model, as outlined by Biech (2007) was the most comparable. My thoughts and ideas were not too dissimilar from the Change Model. I also found that Luecke’s Method (Al-Haddad & Kotnour, 2015) aligned with my own ideas on change management. Luecke’s ideas of “motivating employees” and “address[ing] the different reactions” (p. 250) resonates with me, as it puts the stakeholder first in change decisions. The step to “identifying leadership” (p. 250) also aligned, as it comes after the idea of “developing a shared vision” (p. 250) and other steps. To me this means that leadership is identified based on their strengths, and vested interest in a change.
My colleague discussion (V. Theissen, Personal communication, February 12, 2025) contributed to my thoughts on change management leadership by sharing their experience. Their biggest takeaway was that a leader must also consider the technological abilities of their stakeholders and others impacted by the change. This raises the question of viability of a change. If the lack of understanding of stakeholders is significant, does the benefit outweigh the risk of losing stakeholders in the process? This brings me back to Leucke and the step of “seeing the change as an opportunity” and to motivation (Al-Haddad & Kotnour, 2015, p. 250).
Where Luecke sees opportunity, Weiner provides the reminder that even though stakeholders may agree that the change is positive, that does not mean that they are ready (p. 3-4). His discussion on the importance of “change valence” (p. 3) encourages leaders to be mindful of their stakeholders through change management. Stakeholder engagement at the “Evaluates environment” in my model is not necessarily simply to gage whether there is interest and support for change, but to determine whether they are prepared.
The leadership type which successfully initiates and follows all of the steps and is successful and analyzes the change through my model and the alignment to the Change Model is Transformational Leadership. “Empathy”, “inspirational motivation”, and “emotional intelligence skills” (Castelli, 2016, p. 223) are all descriptors of Transformational Leadership. These skills are key to ensuring the steps that are outlined in my model, and alignment with the Change Model, are completed with the thought and consideration of all who are affected by the change. Stakeholders are considered for when change is presented. Change management through Transformational leadership could potentially lead to more time taken to create change, which is not always ideal, however, it can create a thorough and complete change for an organization that is successful.
References
Biech, E. (2007). Models of Change. In Thriving Through Change: A Leader’s Practical Guide to Change Mastery (p. 8). ASTD.
Al-Haddad, S., & Kotnour, T. (2015). Integrating the organizational change literature: A model for successful change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 28(2), 234–262.
Weiner, B. J. (2009). A theory of organizational readiness for change. Implementation Science, 4(67), 9.
Castelli, P. A. (2016). Reflective leadership review: A framework for improving organisational performance. Journal of Management Development, 2, 217–236.