Change is inevitable. Yet, when change reaches us, our first response is often resistance. We may understand intellectually that change is necessary, but when it affects our role, responsibilities, routines, technology, skills or comfort zone, the reaction can be very different.
As highlighted in Focus-5, Chapter 22: Change Management, change management is not merely about introducing a new process. It is about helping people and teams move from the current state to the desired future state, while ensuring that the benefits of change are sustained.
The real challenge is not change. It is getting people ready for change.
Focus-5 recommends a practical sequence: Assess → Prepare → Plan → Implement → Sustain.
The chapter emphasizes understanding why the change is required, securing leadership buy-in, identifying stakeholders, preparing the team, communicating effectively, monitoring implementation, establishing metrics and reviews, acknowledging contributions and celebrating success.
Two powerful frameworks can add another dimension to this approach: ADKAR and Our Iceberg Is Melting.
1. ADKAR: Change Happens One Person at a Time
The Prosci ADKAR® Model, developed by Jeff Hiatt, focuses on the individual journey through change. It consists of five building blocks: Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement. Think about what happens when an organization introduces a new technology.
A – Awareness: Do people understand why the change is necessary?
D – Desire: Are they willing to participate and support it?
K – Knowledge: Do they know how to change and what is expected?
A – Ability: Can they apply the new skills and behaviours?
R – Reinforcement: What will ensure the new way of working continues?
This is particularly important because training alone does not create change.
Someone may attend training and understand a new system but still not use it effectively. ADKAR distinguishes between knowing what to do and having the ability to perform the change. Reinforcement then helps prevent people from returning to old habits.
2. The Iceberg: What Happens When People Don’t Want to Change?
John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber’s Our Iceberg Is Melting tells the story of a colony of penguins facing a serious threat to their home. The story is simple, but the message is powerful: people respond differently to change.
There is the person who sees the problem early.
There are those who listen.
There are those who become champions of change.
There are those who ask questions.
And there are those who resist because they do not believe change is necessary.
The book uses this story to illustrate Kotter’s research on the eight steps for producing needed change.
The lessons include creating urgency, building a guiding team, developing a vision and strategy, communicating for understanding and buy-in, empowering people, creating short-term wins, sustaining momentum and making change part of the culture.
The important lesson for leaders is this: You cannot simply announce change and expect people to embrace it. You need to help people understand it, believe in it, participate in it and eventually own it.
3. Bringing Focus-5, ADKAR and the Iceberg Together
These three perspectives complement each other beautifully.
Focus-5 asks: How should we manage the change?
ADKAR asks: What does each individual need to successfully move through the change?
Our Iceberg Is Melting asks: How do we mobilize a group of people to recognize the need, act together and sustain the change?
Together, they provide a powerful practical approach.
Assess: Why is the change necessary? What happens if we don’t change? (Awareness)
Prepare: Who will be affected? What concerns, questions and resistance may emerge? (Desire)
Plan: What skills, knowledge, resources and support are required? (Knowledge)
Implement: Can people demonstrate the new behaviours and ways of working? (Ability)
Sustain: How will we measure, review, recognize and reinforce the change? (Reinforcement)
This connects directly with the Focus-5 principle of Assess → Prepare → Plan → Implement → Sustain.
Change Management Is Also a Mid-Career Skill: For mid-career professionals, change management is not only about managing organizational transformation. Your career itself is constantly changing.
Technology changes.
Roles change.
Organizations change.
Customer expectations change.
Skills become outdated.
New responsibilities emerge.
The question is not whether change will happen.
The question is:
Will you resist the change, react to it, or prepare yourself to lead through it?
A professional who continuously learns, adapts and helps others navigate uncertainty becomes far more valuable than someone who simply waits for instructions.
As Focus-5 reminds us, even when we understand the importance of change, our natural reaction when change reaches us can be resistance.
And Peter Drucker’s powerful observation captures the danger:
“The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence – it is to act with yesterday’s logic.”
Five Questions for a Quick Self-Check
- What change am I currently resisting?
- Do I genuinely understand why this change is necessary?
- What knowledge or skills do I need to embrace it?
- Am I helping others understand and adopt the change?
- What will I do to make the change sustainable?
Change management is ultimately about people. Don’t just manage the change. Help people move through the change. That is when resistance becomes readiness, readiness becomes action, and action becomes sustainable transformation.
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