Change Management: Best Practices for Managers
Too often, change efforts focus solely on processes and systems. But successful change requires buy-in, engagement, and behavior shifts from employees. Managers can help their teams through times of change by understanding the various psychological needs of their direct reports. Guiding employees through change is a crucial management skill that seems to grow in importance every day.
Key Takeaways
- People often respond to workplace changes along a change curve, starting with disorientation before moving to reorientation and acceptance of the new normal.
- Successful organizations flatten the curve and shorten the duration of the disorientation phase.
- People managers play a key role in change management by adapting to the psychological needs of their employees, which differ by personality type.
- Lasting change comes from working with both the rational mind and emotional impulses, shaping the path toward the future you seek.
The success of any change effort hinges on people. This is true even if what's changing are strategies, systems, or structures. Managers must understand best practices in organizational change management and how people managers fit in. They can make the difference between a smooth transition and a crisis of culture and attrition.
Managers serve as translators between leadership and implementation teams. Managers who navigate change successfully know how to adapt to the needs of each person in the change equation—from individual contributors to C-suite executives. They understand the role of one-on-one interactions and cohesive team performance in even the biggest systemic changes.
Keep in mind: change is often a good thing, and a necessity for continued organizational growth. Common workplace shifts to roles and responsibilities, processes, working conditions, reporting structures, schedules, and colleagues can bring both good stress and bad. Managers play a crucial role in how employees experience these changes.
The change curve model
Psychologist Mark Scullard uses the change curve as a way to visualize typical human reactions to unwelcome change. When the status quo is upset, there's often a disorientation period where morale drops. Those feelings of being overwhelmed, resentful, or resigned, however, eventually give way to a reorientation phase. Then, people will gradually begin to feel at home in the new normal.
The difference between organizations that successfully and unsuccessfully navigate this change is the depth and length of those disorientation and reorientation phases. A morale dip is a natural reaction to change. But the way a company and its managers help employees through the change is what will determine the depth and length of that dip.
How can managers do that? Scullard says the key is to pay attention to the needs of the people you manage. By noticing what they need, you can help, or at least acknowledge their feelings.
The tricky part, says Scullard, is that different people have different needs in the same situation. For example, when faced with change at work, you might think I need some time alone to process it. You might assume your direct reports feel the same, and your actions with them will reflect those assumptions. But your team members might think, I need to talk this through with a bunch of people, or I need to vent.
Because people deal with change in different ways, it's important for managers to adjust their responses to their various direct reports. Even a small targeted action can make a profound difference to your team in times of change.
Psychological needs of DiSC styles during change
The DiSC model provides one way for managers to attune their awareness to the various needs of their direct reports.
Remember that every person is different. Their reactions to change come not only from their personality types but from their work experience, their life outside of work, and many other factors.
In general, here are some needs managers should try to meet with their direct reports, based on DiSC style:
D styles
During times of change, D styles need control and agency. Find ways to provide them:
- freedom and authority
- maintaining status
- a voice in the conversation
- a channel to have grievances heard
- autonomy
i styles
During times of change, i styles need connection. They are looking for:
- expression
- relationships
- inclusion
- acknowledgement of stress
- reassurance and support
- familiarity
S styles
During times of change, S styles need stability and safety. Boost their morale by giving them:
- predictability
- confidence things will work out
- freedom from pressure
- privacy and space to adjust
C styles
During times of change, C styles need information and understanding. Help them by delivering:
- clear systems
- clear expectations
- plans to return to normalcy
- justification for the change
- logical decision making
- information about the situation
Download a handout of psychological needs during change (PDF)
DiSC tools for change management
To understand how your natural responses may differ from those of your colleagues and direct reports, compare your styles using Everything DiSC® on Catalyst™. You'll learn how you and the other person might look differently at the world.
Next, review the motivators and stressors for each of your team members. Use this to inform one-on-one check-ins with your employees.
Review the “Helping your team navigate change” module in Everything DiSC Worksmart and complete an action plan for each employee.
• Tailor your communication and support strategies by style.
• Use Catalyst™ to help teams explore how they can adapt to change together.
The Elephant, the Rider, and the psychology of change
When faced with change, our brains may perceive it as a threat, activating a fight-or-flight-or-freeze response. Managers who recognize this can proactively support their teams through the emotional aspects of change.
Chip and Dan Heath address the psychology of change in their book Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard. They use the metaphor of the Elephant and the Rider, taken from psychologist Jonathan Haidt. Managers can share this metaphor with their employees and use it as a continuing reference in team discussions during change.
The enormous Elephant is our emotional side and the relatively small Rider perched on top is our rational side. “Anytime the six-ton Elephant and the Rider disagree about which direction to go, the Rider is going to lose,” the Heaths write.
The Elephant can be lazy, but also contains big passion. The Rider overthinks things, but can also envision the long-term plan. The Heaths write:
To drive change, you must:
- Direct the Rider. (“What looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity.”)
- Motivate the Elephant. (“What looks like laziness is often exhaustion.”)
- Shape the Path. (“What looks like a people problem is often a situation problem.”) Create an environment that makes it easier for Elephant and Rider to stay on track.
• Communicate the why behind the change clearly and often.
• Show empathy and acknowledge concerns.
• Assess the environment to ensure there are no situational barriers to change.
Foster a change-ready culture
Organizations that thrive in change cultivate a mindset of adaptability. Culture eats strategy for breakfast, as the saying goes. Managers play a key role in modeling flexibility, curiosity, and resilience.
Once the initial push is over, sustaining change depends heavily on culture. Without reinforcement, old habits often creep back.
Change-ready cultures are built over time, but every change effort is a chance to reinforce the values that support grit and agile emotional intelligence.
• Recognize and reward adaptable behavior.
• Encourage learning from failure.
• Align performance metrics and recognition with new behaviors.
Change management isn’t just a checklist—it’s a leadership skill. Managers and trainers who embrace the people side of change will not only guide teams more effectively but also build workplaces that are more agile, resilient, and human-centered.
By using proven frameworks like DiSC, managers can lead change with confidence and clarity.
Posted 06/16/2025
