Change Management Models Explained
Lewin, Kotter, ADKAR and 7-S — the main change management models, what each is best at, and how to choose.
Ask ten people how to run a change and you’ll get ten answers — which is exactly why change management models exist. They give you a shared, tested structure instead of winging it. You don’t need to memorise all of them, but knowing the main few, and when each fits, is what separates someone who talks about change from someone who lands it.
What a change management model actually does
A model is just a repeatable framework for moving people and an organisation from how things work now to how they need to work next. Some focus on the emotional side (getting people to let go of the old way), some on the sequence of steps, and some on the individual. The best change managers borrow from more than one.
| Model | Core idea | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Lewin | Unfreeze → change → refreeze | The overall shape of a change |
| Kotter (8-step) | Eight steps to build momentum and anchor it | Getting a big group moving together |
| ADKAR | Awareness · Desire · Knowledge · Ability · Reinforcement | Unblocking change one person at a time |
| McKinsey 7-S | Aligning seven interdependent elements | Spotting knock-on effects before they bite |
Lewin’s change model
The oldest and simplest: unfreeze, change, refreeze. You loosen the current way of working, make the change, then lock the new way in so it doesn’t snap back. It’s a brilliant mental model for the shape of any change, even if real organisations rarely “refreeze” for long. We break it down in full in Lewin’s change management model, explained.
Kotter’s 8-step model
John Kotter’s model is about driving change through an organisation: create urgency, build a guiding coalition, form a vision, communicate it, remove obstacles, generate short-term wins, keep pressing, and anchor the change in the culture. It’s strong on the leadership and momentum side — useful when the challenge is getting a big group moving in the same direction.
The ADKAR model
ADKAR (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement) zooms in on the individual. Its point is blunt but true: organisations don’t change, people do. If any one of those five is missing for a person, they’ll stall — so it’s a great diagnostic for why a change is getting stuck.
McKinsey 7-S
Less a step-by-step and more a checklist: it maps seven interdependent elements (strategy, structure, systems, shared values, skills, style, staff) so you don’t change one and accidentally break another. Handy for spotting knock-on effects before they bite.
How to choose the right one
Don’t marry a single model. Use Lewin’s for the overall shape, Kotter’s to build momentum across a big group, ADKAR to unblock individuals, and 7-S to sanity-check the wider impact. Whichever you lead with, the change still needs to run through a clear change management process — the model is the thinking, the process is the doing.
Learning to apply them
Reading about models is easy; applying them under pressure is the skill employers pay for — and it’s certifiable. Our Change Management courses cover these models and how to use them on real change, at Foundation and Practitioner level, studied online at your own pace.