Conceptual Models for MentorsJane Stubberfield

Change 2 – Kubler-Ross Change Curve

By the end of this session you will be able to:

Identify the stages in the model

Explain the relevance of the model to the impact of change in organisations

Assess its use in mentoring

Objectives

Origins of the model Developed in the 1960s by Elisabeth Kubler-

Ross Published in her book “On death and dying”

in 1969 Originally applied to people who had been

given tragic news Is now regularly applied to the impact of

change in organisations Helps you think through the best way to

implement change

Change Curve

perfo

rman

ce

time

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3

Shock

Denial

Anger

Depression

Acceptance

Integration

Based on Kubler Ross (1969)

As with all models, this is a generalisation Not everyone will go through all of these

stages Not everyone will go through the stages in

the way it is shown on the model However, this does allow you to predict how

people may react when planning change and how to manage it

Important to remember that some people thrive during change and will see it as a great opportunity

Movement along curve

Stage 1• Shock and

denial• Allows us to

take in news• Head in sand• Feel

threatened

Stage 2• Anger

followed by depression

• Blame • Frustration• Apathy• Get stuck in

details

Stage 3• Acceptance

and then integration

• Seen as inevitable

• Resigned• Gradually the

change becomes part of normal things

Stages

Leadership in stages exercise

•What would be important for a leader

to consider in each of the stages so that they can introduce the change as easily as possible

•List your thoughts for each of the stages

• Openness and honesty• Explanations• Allow time• Empathy• Listening

Stage 1• Involve everyone affected in planning and

action• Continue movement forward• Provide support and feedback• Go for small wins• Openness and honesty

Stage 2• Persistence• Celebrate achievements• Meet learning needs• Coach• Involve and communicate

Stage 3

Example answers

Mentoring through change exercise

•If a client came to you to talk about

some change they are planning with their team, how could you use this model to help them?

•Write down a list of questions

covering all the stages that you could ask your client to help them to think through how they are going to handle the reaction to the change

How can you best let the team know about the change so that it is easier for them to accept it?

How shocked do you think the team will be by this?

How will you handle this? What can you do to handle any denial from

the team? How can you keep in touch with the team to

handle any frustrations that they may have?

Example answers

How will you handle it if members of the team turn to blame as a way of deflecting moving forward with the change?

What plans do you have to inspire and motivate the team through out this process

What can you do to help them integrate the change into their normal work routine?

Example answers

Kubler-Ross, E. (1969) On death and dying. Routledge.

References

This resource was created by the University of Plymouth, Learning from WOeRk project. This project is funded by HEFCE as part of the HEA/JISC OER release programme.

This resource is licensed under the terms of the Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/). The resource, where specified below, contains other 3rd party materials under their own licenses. The licenses and attributions are outlined below:

1. Slide 4 based on the work of Kubler-Ross, E. (1969) On death and dying. Routledge.

2. The name of the University of Plymouth and its logos are unregistered trade marks of the University. The University reserves all rights to these items beyond their inclusion in these CC resources.

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Author Jane Stubberfield

Institute University of PlymouthTitle Change 2: the change curve

Description Presentation: Change 2: the change curve

Date Created 06/06/2011

Educational Level 7, Masters

Keywords UKOER, LFWOER, UOPCPDLM, Mentoring, learning, development, coaching, training, advising, change

Back page originally developed by the OER phase 1 C-Change project

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