The Cycle of Change

The Cycle of Change

While many business professionals understand the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle as it pertains to process improvement, the model doesn’t work particularly well for dealing with changes in individual or organizational behaviors. However, an alternative model based on Gestalt psychology can be very useful, and consists of four major phases.

1. Awareness – Significant change is unlikely to occur if the entity is not aware of the need for change, which is why feedback mechanisms are necessary. Individual performance appraisals, customer satisfaction surveys, and reviews of organizational & process performance metrics are intended to provide opportunities to raise awareness. Unfortunately it’s often only when the individual or organization “hits the wall” that they really become aware of the need for change.

2. Willingness – While awareness provides the opportunity, without willingness to change the entity will become stuck. Blaming others for the problem, hoping it will go away, or abject denial are ways of avoiding taking responsibility. After all, change means reallocating mental, physical and/or financial resources from whatever has gotten the entity to where it currently is.

3. Movement – This is the phase where change actually occurs … where old behaviors are reduced and new ones adopted. Ensuring there are support mechanisms that help protect the entity during this phase can alleviate some of the fears, as the new behaviors must occur for a sufficient length of time in order to be integrated as norms.

4. Evaluation – It is important to measure, either quantitatively or qualitatively, the degree to which the change was successful. Inadequate progress becomes a source for increased awareness, while if the effort was successful, confidence will improve and the likelihood of future positive change is increased. Celebrating success, cognitively and/or materially, is important for reinforcing the successful movement through all phases of the cycle.

It’s important to understand that change is neither good nor bad. It only seems to be as we perceive it to be, and providing ways for better understanding and working through it can only increase our changes of success.

? 2007 Duke Okes