Why classic models still matter and what leaders need now
Organizations have always managed change, but the current environment demands more of leaders than ever before. Markets are shifting quickly. Technology is rewriting roles. Teams are navigating competing priorities and constant pressure. In Optify’s work with leaders across sectors, we see a consistent pattern. Most leaders are clear on what needs to change. The challenge lies in how to guide people through it in a way that builds trust, clarity, and resilience so that change takes hold and drives better business results.
Traditional change models remain useful, yet they miss several realities of modern organizational life. Leaders now need to blend structure with adaptability, and plans with presence. The models provide a map. The work is learning how to lead the journey.
1. Well-known Traditional Change Models
Kotter’s 8 Steps
Kotter’s model offers a structured sequence for creating meaningful change: establishing urgency, building a guiding coalition, communicating a vision, removing obstacles, generating short-term wins, and anchoring new behaviors in the culture. It helps leaders think systematically about mobilizing people and aligning actions across the organization. Its strength lies in its clarity. Its limitation is that change rarely unfolds in tidy stages.
ADKAR
ADKAR (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement) focuses on individual behavior change. It reminds leaders that organizations change only when people change. It offers a practical way to diagnose where individuals are struggling and what support they need next. Its limitation is that it assumes progress is relatively linear and that individuals move through the stages at a similar pace.
The Kübler-Ross Change Curve
Originally developed to describe the emotional experience of loss, the Change Curve is widely used to help leaders understand the emotional journey of disruption. It is a valuable reminder that change often brings an initial dip in energy or morale before momentum returns. Its limitation is that it does not guide leaders on what to do, in practical terms, to support people through each phase.
These models are helpful, but none alone prepares leaders for the speed, complexity, and uncertainty they face today.
2. What Traditional Models Miss Today
Information pacing as a leadership skill
In a pivotal coaching session, one leader shared, “I announced everything I knew, thinking transparency would build trust. Instead, people froze.” She had given her team every possible detail as soon as she learned it. The intent was good. The pacing was off. In her own words, she realized she had been “thinking out loud” with the team instead of sharing information strategically based on what they needed in order to move forward with confidence.
Traditional frameworks do not account for the skill of information pacing. Today’s leaders must provide enough detail to build clarity while avoiding premature or incomplete specifics that create confusion. This is not withholding. It is intentional, strategic communication that meets people where they are, anticipates their questions, and gives them the right level of information at the right time.
Organizations now operate in a perpetual beta state
Change no longer happens in neat cycles. It happens continuously. Leaders do not simply implement a change plan. They facilitate an ongoing process of learning, adjusting, and improving. Plans are helpful, but the real work is how leaders respond when conditions shift, when questions surface, and when teams move at different speeds.
Compounding this, many organizations are managing several change efforts at the same time. A team may be integrating AI into daily work processes while simultaneously learning a new enterprise system and adapting to an HR redesign of roles and responsibilities. When changes overlap like this, the impact becomes harder to pinpoint and people can struggle to understand which change is driving which challenge. Leaders need to recognize the cumulative load that concurrent changes create and help teams make sense of the noise.
This is the mindset of a learning organization. Reflection, experimentation, and systemic thinking need to become part of daily leadership practice, not just an after-action exercise.
The emotional side of change
People experience change through emotion long before they process it through logic. They listen first for what the change means for them. Will their job be safe. How will their responsibilities shift. Will expectations increase. Will their status or sense of competence be affected.
Formal plans do not address this. Leaders must create psychological safety so concerns can be raised early rather than whispered in the background. Most resistance is not defiance. It is a deep-seated need for clarity, agency, or reassurance.
3. What Leaders Must Practice in a Rapid-Change World
If Section 2 highlights what the models miss, this section focuses on the leadership practices that bring change to life today.
Attunement to absorption capacity
This is distinct from information pacing. Absorption capacity is the leader’s ability to sense when teams are cognitively saturated or emotionally overloaded. Even well-timed, well-structured information can be too much if people are stretched thin or anxious about unknowns. Effective leaders read the room, notice cues in tone and behavior, pause when needed, and sequence conversations so people stay engaged rather than overwhelmed.
Progress is not linear
The Change Curve is real. Early enthusiasm often gives way to fatigue or frustration before energy rises again. Leaders must normalize this dip and stay grounded themselves so they can hold steady for others. Emotional responses are natural. Leaders who can hold space for those responses without absorbing or amplifying them help teams navigate turbulence with more stability and confidence.
Small wins boost resilience
Teams build confidence through visible progress, not through grand announcements. Small wins signal, “We can do this,” especially when the endpoint is not fully clear. Acknowledging small wins and naming the behaviors and mindsets that contributed to them makes success repeatable and scalable. Over time, this builds a sense of collective efficacy: the belief that “together, we can handle what comes.”
4. The Why, the Why Now, and the How
Effective change leadership always starts with purpose.
Why this
Explain what is changing and what the organization is working to improve, protect, or create. When people understand the reason behind the change, they can make sense of decisions and tradeoffs, even if they do not agree with every aspect of the plan.
Why now
Teams today manage heavy workloads and overlapping priorities. They need to understand why this change is needed at this particular moment and how it connects to broader organizational goals. Clear explanations reduce noise and help people focus on what matters most.
How we will move through this
This is where Kotter, ADKAR, and other models support credibility. They help leaders outline roles, expectations, and the path ahead, even when not every detail is known.
Effective communication practices include:
• Speak clearly and avoid vague language
• Name what is known and what is still developing
• Provide updates before people fill the gaps with assumptions
• Invite questions and concerns early
• Recognize progress consistently
These behaviors build trust and reduce the uncertainty that often drains energy during change.
5. Strengthening Resilience and Learning Capacity
Psychological safety
Teams cannot learn if they do not feel safe being honest. Change brings questions, concerns, and emotions. Leaders build psychological safety when they listen openly, acknowledge feelings, and welcome difficult questions. This creates space for shared problem solving rather than quiet resistance or disengagement.
Learning organization mindset
In a perpetual beta state, learning is a competitive advantage. Leaders support learning cultures by encouraging experimentation, inviting reflection, and helping teams see the system, not just their individual tasks. They ask, “What are we noticing. What is this change revealing about how we work. What needs to be adjusted next.” This mindset keeps teams agile and focused on continuous improvement.
Resilience as a collective capability
Resilience is not endurance. It is the ability to adapt, adjust, and stay curious. Leaders build resilience when they normalize the emotional dip, break work into manageable steps, encourage rest and recovery, and highlight progress. Over time, teams come to see themselves as capable of navigating change together, not just enduring it.
6. The Business Case
Senior leaders are responsible for organizational performance. Organizations that lead change well see:
• Faster adoption of new processes and technologies
• Improved collaboration and cross-functional alignment
• Higher engagement and reduced burnout
• More consistent execution across teams and sites
• Greater long-term adaptability
Change leadership is both operational work and people work. It affects quality, performance, safety, and culture in measurable ways.
Final Thought: What Leaders Need Now
Change will not slow down. The real opportunity is how leaders guide people through it. Structure helps. Presence matters. Clarity builds trust. Curiosity keeps teams learning. Psychological safety keeps them honest. Small wins keep them moving.
This is the work we support every day at Optify. We partner with leaders and organizations to make change not only manageable but meaningful. Through coaching, experiential learning, and practical tools, we help leaders bring clarity to complexity and guide their teams with confidence and care.
If your organization is navigating significant change, we would welcome a conversation about how Optify can support your leaders and your goals.
