Why change is hard
Lewin, Kotter, Bridges and the change curve.
- Level
- Bitesize
- Learning time
- 2 hours
- Where
- Leading through Change and Conflict
- Price
- £39
When you step up to a higher level, what you paid in the last 12 months for lower-level courses inside the bigger course comes off its price, in proportion to how much of each is inside it, whichever topic it's from. Courses at the same or a lower level don't give credit against each other. A Focus course or above always costs at least £15. Read the full terms
Certificate of Completion
Overview and Outcomes.
Overview
Change is hard, but the popular claim that seventy per cent of change fails has no reliable evidence behind it. This module traces that claim from Kotter to Hughes, separates change from transition using William Bridges, and maps kinds of change with By's scale. It explores change fatigue and the 2026 public service context, and uses Nokia's burning platform memo to examine what urgency does to people. A model is a lens, not a recipe. This module revisits Lewin, Kotter's eight steps, Hiatt's ADKAR, the change curve, Bridges' transition model and Gleicher's change formula, tracing where each came from and how strong its evidence is. The 1000 Lives Campaign in NHS Wales shows a model used with discipline, measured honestly and embedded in a lasting institution, Improvement Cymru. Some change cannot be planned, only grown. This module contrasts planned and emergent change using By and Burnes, then introduces Weick and Quinn's continuous change, Stacey's distinction between uncertainty and disagreement, Heifetz's technical and adaptive challenges, and Weick's sensemaking. The Leeds restorative city case shows how one organising idea, working with families, moved children's services from inadequate to outstanding over eight years.
What you'll develop
In this Bitesize, you will develop the ability to:
- Explain why the seventy per cent failure claim lacks valid evidence and define what success means before a change begins.
- Distinguish change from transition and diagnose a change's scale using By's spectrum from fine-tuning to corporate transformation.
- Describe the origins and evidence base of Lewin's three steps, Kotter's eight steps, ADKAR and the change curve, and use them as lenses rather than recipes.
- Apply Gleicher's change formula and ADKAR to identify which factor is weakest when a change stalls.
- Distinguish planned from emergent elements of a change and decide which parts can be designed and which must be grown.
The Modules.
2 hours of learning.
- 01Foundations: Why Change Is Hard, and Why Leadership MattersChange is hard, but the popular claim that seventy per cent of change fails has no reliable evidence behind it. This module traces that claim from Kotter to Hughes, separates change from transition using William Bridges, and maps kinds of change with By's scale. It explores change fatigue and the 2026 public service context, and uses Nokia's burning platform memo to examine what urgency does to people.39 min
- 02The Classic Models: Lewin, Kotter, the Change Curve and BridgesA model is a lens, not a recipe. This module revisits Lewin, Kotter's eight steps, Hiatt's ADKAR, the change curve, Bridges' transition model and Gleicher's change formula, tracing where each came from and how strong its evidence is. The 1000 Lives Campaign in NHS Wales shows a model used with discipline, measured honestly and embedded in a lasting institution, Improvement Cymru.38 min
- 03Emergent and Adaptive ChangeSome change cannot be planned, only grown. This module contrasts planned and emergent change using By and Burnes, then introduces Weick and Quinn's continuous change, Stacey's distinction between uncertainty and disagreement, Heifetz's technical and adaptive challenges, and Weick's sensemaking. The Leeds restorative city case shows how one organising idea, working with families, moved children's services from inadequate to outstanding over eight years.39 min
Keep going.
Part of the Leading through Change and Conflict topic, also sold whole as Through change, together.
Go deeper, and pay only the difference
- You are hereBitesize, 2 hours, £39
- Next stepFocus, Understanding change, 3 hours, £69. Already own the Bitesize? You pay £30.
- Explore, Leading change, 6 hours, £129. Already own the Bitesize? You pay £90.
- The whole topicImmerse, Through change, together, 11 hours, £249. Already own the Bitesize? You pay £210.
When you step up to a higher level, what you paid in the last 12 months for lower-level courses inside the bigger course comes off its price, in proportion to how much of each is inside it, whichever topic it's from. Courses at the same or a lower level don't give credit against each other. A Focus course or above always costs at least £15. Prices per person. Read the full terms
Also part of: Setting the course, Change that sticks, Shaping culture and direction
Other Bitesize in the Leading through Change and Conflict topic
- The human side of changeResistance to change and communicating change1 hour 15 minutes£39
- Where culture meets changeOrganisational culture and public sector change1 hour 15 minutes£39
- Change with people, not to themEmployee engagement and large-scale change1 hour 15 minutes£39
- Where conflict comes fromUnderstanding workplace conflict and escalation1 hour 15 minutes£39
- The conversations we avoidConflict styles and difficult conversations1 hour 15 minutes£39
- Conflict across the boundariesTeam conflict, justice and industrial relations1 hour 15 minutes£39
