Each employee has a unique response to change.
How to lead your team through change: A quick introduction
Effective supervisors help their teams move through change with clarity, empathy, and consistency. Two Prosci frameworks offer practical, research-based guidance:
- ADKAR® Model — explains the five elements people need to successfully move through change.
- Top 10 Tactics for Managing Resistance to Change — actions you can take when resistance appears.
Diagnose Resistance with the ADKAR® Model
ADKAR helps you pinpoint where an employee is stuck. Resistance usually comes from a gap in one of these areas:
- Awareness: Do they understand why the change is happening?
- Desire: Do they want to participate or support the change?
- Knowledge: Do they know how to change (skills, processes, behaviors)?
- Ability: Do they have the capacity to apply the change (time, resources, support)?
- Reinforcement: Will there be follow-through to make the change stick (feedback, recognition, accountability)?
Key Insight: ADKAR is sequential. Always start with Awareness.
A common mistake is introducing change through training first—but training is part of Knowledge, which is step three.
Use Prosci’s 10 Tactics to Respond to Resistance
These tactics provide clear, practical options for engaging employees and moving the change forward:
- Listen to understand objections
- Focus on the “what,” not the “how”
- Remove barriers
- Offer simple choices and clear consequences
- Create hope
- Make benefits real and tangible
- Use a personal appeal
- Convert the strongest dissenters
- Demonstrate consequences
- Provide incentives
Acknowledge Your Concerns
Identify what feels challenging and seek clarity.
Seek Support
Talk with trusted peers or leaders to gain perspective and ideas.
Speak Up at the Right Time
Share feedback constructively while decisions are still being shaped.
Accept and Adapt
Once decisions are final, focus on supporting your team and modeling resilience.
Need help with a change initiative? Contact us at oe-leader@uiowa.edu. Our change management experts are available for a consultation (at no cost).