Change management models: Lewin, Kotter and ADKAR compared

The best known change management models are Kurt Lewin’s three-phase model, John Kotter’s eight steps, the ADKAR model and Prosci’s 3-Phase Process. Above all they differ in whom they look at: Lewin and Kotter describe the change of an organisation, ADKAR the change of each individual, and Prosci connects the two. I work with Prosci and ADKAR, because they show per group where a rollout is stuck. Which model fits depends on the size and kind of change.

What change management models are there?

There are many models for change. Four of them come up in companies again and again, and together they cover the important perspectives:

Model	Looks at	Structure	Strength	Limit
Lewin	Organisation	3 phases: unfreeze, move, refreeze	Simple, good for explaining	Little guidance on what to do
Kotter	Organisation, leadership	8 steps from urgency to anchoring	Clear mandate for leadership	Little view of individual groups
ADKAR	Individual	5 stages: awareness to reinforcement	Diagnosis of where it is stuck	No plan for the organisation
Prosci 3-Phase Process	Organisation	3 phases: prepare, manage, sustain	Connects the plan and ADKAR	Takes practice to apply

There are also phase models that describe how people react emotionally to a change, from the first shock to integration. They are often drawn as a change curve and help managers understand why a team that agreed at first suddenly pushes back. They do not provide a plan for the rollout.

Lewin: unfreeze, move, refreeze

Kurt Lewin, a social psychologist, described change as a sequence of three phases:

1. Unfreezing. The organisation recognises that the current state no longer works and is ready to give it up.
2. Moving. New processes, structures and behaviours are introduced and tried out.
3. Refreezing. The new state is stabilised so that nobody slips back.

The model is the oldest of the four and still useful, because it explains in three words why a change needs preparation and follow-up. It has drawn criticism, though. Bernard Burnes summarises it in his re-appraisal of Lewin’s approach1 in the Journal of Management Studies: Lewin is said to assume a stable state, suit only small changes, ignore power and politics and be driven from the top. Burnes himself still considers the approach relevant. As a picture for managers Lewin works well; as a work plan it is not enough.

Kotter’s eight steps lead a transformation from the top

John Kotter, a professor at Harvard Business School, derived his eight steps2 from watching companies attempt a transformation:

1. Create a sense of urgency
2. Build a guiding coalition
3. Form a strategic vision
4. Enlist a volunteer army
5. Enable action by removing barriers
6. Generate short-term wins
7. Sustain acceleration
8. Institute change

Kotter’s strength is the clear mandate for leadership. Anyone responsible for a reorganisation or a new strategy finds a checklist here: is the urgency understood? Is there a coalition behind it that is more than a name on a slide? Is there a win after three months that everyone can see?

The limit lies where a change gets stuck with individual groups. Kotter says little about why sales come along and inside sales do not. Kotter later developed the linear sequence into eight “accelerators” that can run in parallel.

What does the ADKAR model show?

Prosci’s ADKAR model3 describes five stages every person goes through in a change:

• Awareness: I understand why something is changing.
• Desire: I want to take part.
• Knowledge: I know how it works.
• Ability: I can do it in daily work.
• Reinforcement: I stick with it.

The stages build on each other. Their value lies in the diagnosis: when a rollout stalls, you check per group which stage is missing and pick the matching measure. If awareness is missing, the manager has to explain why something changes. If knowledge is missing, training helps. If reinforcement is missing, it takes recognition, reports and managers who follow up. That prevents the most common reflex in projects: booking the next training session whenever usage is low.

ADKAR alone is not a plan for an organisation, though. It does not say who carries the change or in which order groups and sites come next.

The Prosci process gives ADKAR a frame for the organisation

Prosci adds a frame for the organisation to ADKAR, the 3-Phase Process4: prepare approach, manage change, sustain outcomes. The first phase defines which groups are affected, what changes for each, who the sponsor is and how success is measured. In the second, the plans per group run, aligned with the ADKAR stages. In the third, results are measured, gaps are closed and ownership is handed over.

This connection is why I work with Prosci: the plan for the organisation and the view of the individual mesh. The research behind it adds to that. Prosci has surveyed projects about their experience since 1998. In the 12th edition of its study5, participants name active and visible sponsorship as the biggest contributor to success.

Which model fits which change?

A rule of thumb by kind of change:

• One team, one new process. ADKAR as a checklist for the manager is enough. A separate plan for the organisation would be too much.
• New software for several departments. The Prosci process with ADKAR per group. In a CRM rollout, field sales, inside sales and service have different questions, and a diagnosis per group saves training sessions nobody needs.
• A transformation across countries and divisions. The Prosci process as the frame, Kotter as a checklist for leadership, ADKAR per group and country. In initiatives like this the plan per country gets demanding, and without a sponsor on site the change remains an announcement from headquarters.

I know both ends of this scale from my projects: a global Salesforce Sales Cloud rollout with more than 500 users and an IT transformation at an insurer with more than 20,000 people affected in 19 countries. The role the models play in a Salesforce programme is described with Fabian Kramer in the change management masterclass; the basics are in what is change management?. How we apply this in programmes is described under Salesforce change management consulting.

Prosci and ADKAR are registered trademarks of Prosci, Inc.

Sources5

1. 1re-appraisal of Lewin’s approach (opens in a new tab)dspace.stir.ac.uk
2. 2eight steps (opens in a new tab)kotterinc.com
3. 3ADKAR model (opens in a new tab)prosci.com
4. 43-Phase Process (opens in a new tab)prosci.com
5. 512th edition of its study (opens in a new tab)prosci.com