Change Management is the practice of intentionally leading people through change to ensure everyone achieves success — the individual employees, the business, and the customers. To better understand what change management IS, let’s start by exploring what it IS NOT.
Change Management is…
NOT just communication or training
Change Management doesn’t end (or even really start) there. While those are tools to use, change management is about helping people move through change — emotionally, behaviorally, and practically.
NOT a one-time event
Oh, we’re a few weeks out from go-live — let’s get some change management in to do some training. Change Management is NOT a checkbox or a go-live day. It’s a thoughtful process that unfolds over time.
NOT only needed for big projects
Big projects tend to get all of the intention because the risks tend to be bigger and more visible if people aren’t able to implement the new change. As a leader, your organization’s success depends on your awareness of how even small shifts in systems, roles, or expectations benefit from intentional change support. It’s the small changes that compound over time and can create unforeseen ripple effects.
NOT only the job of HR or a Change Manager
Everyone has a role in implementing successful change, especially leaders. My stance is that organizations with effective leaders (from executives, down to project managers and team leaders) don’t necessarily need a full team of practitioners. Change Management isn’t something you outsource, it’s something you lead.
NOT just common sense
Leading people through change effectively might seem like it should be intuitive to everyone, but it takes structure, tools, and intention to do consistently well, especially at scale. I joke that a lot of my work is around coaching leaders to be better leaders, and while that’s partially true — even “great leaders” need clarity, feedback, accountability, and alignment on structures, tools, and strategies for leading people through change.
NOT a blocker or delay
It can be tempting, especially with those “smaller” changes to think that you don’t have time for change management. Good change management doesn’t slow things down, though, it clears the path so your change doesn’t fail after launch. When best practices practices are implemented at the beginning, I’ve seen change management significantly prevent major delays and ensure timelines stay on track.
NOT guaranteed success
Change management doesn’t guarantee success, but it does guarantee dramatically increasing the likelihood of your success. It guarantees that you’re supporting the “people side” of change, which is where most change initiatives falter. Without change management, what you are guaranteed is friction. Even the best designed solutions can be ignored, misunderstood, or actively rejected. Without change management, you’re guaranteed to leave value on the table.
NOT a soft skill
It’s true that change management involves empathy, active listening, and emotional intelligence (all traditionally labeled “soft skills”). But it’s also deeply strategic and data-informed. We use structured methodologies, assess readiness, measure adoption, and track progress. It’s about influencing behavior at scale, aligning people to business outcomes, and managing risk — not just making people feel better about change.
So… what is Change Management?
Change Management is the intentional practice of supporting people as they move through a change — from first hearing about it, to adapting their behaviors, to sustaining the new way of working over time. It’s a structured, people-focused approach that connects the dots between strategy, execution, and adoption.
It starts early, ideally at the same time you’re planning your project or strategic shift, and it runs alongside implementation. That way, as systems, tools, or expectations change, people hae the context, clarity, support, and skills they need to come along.
Change Management looks like:
- Identifying who’s impacted and how
- Partnering with leaders to communicate clearly and consistently
- Providing the right training, at the right time
- Coaching managers to support their teams
- Listening to feedback and adjusting as needed
- Reinforce the change so it actually sticks
When done well, change management doesn’t just help people “get through” a change. It helps them thrive on the other side of it.
Most importantly: Change Management isn’t an extra thing you do after the plan is made. It’s how you make sure the plan works in real life, with real people.