Are change management frameworks worth it?
The short answer is yes. Change management frameworks are worth it. But apply your framework of choice in a haphazard way, and there really isn’t much point to it at all.
I think now - more than ever - the business change profession is in need of a simple, comprehensive, and accessible framework. Why? Because it is the application and long-term viability of a framework that makes it such a valuable and powerful tool.
As a former general director of the Change Management Institute, I’m fortunate to have a good oversight of the challenges facing business change today as well as the new initiatives being launched to overcome them. In this article, we’ll be taking a deep dive into what’s been happening in the business change profession and why the all-important change framework - when applied effectively - remains the Holy Grail of effective business change management.
Key takeaways
● Frameworks are useful but limited - they provide structure and consistency, but their value depends on how well they are applied.
● Change management itself has changed - traditional models struggle in today’s fast-moving, unpredictable environment, making adaptability and purpose more critical.
● PULSE framework - built on Purpose, Understanding, Learning, Support and Embed, it offers a flexible, human-centred approach to managing change now and in the future.
What is the purpose of a change management framework?
I wouldn’t want to offend anyone by teaching them to suck eggs, but it’s important that we go back to basics and remind ourselves why we use change frameworks in the first place.
The purpose of a change management framework is to:
● Provide a consistent approach and structure for embedding successful change
● Improve engagement, so impacted groups feel involved in the change
● Manage negative reactions (previously known as “managing resistance”), address concerns, and secure buy-in
● Develop best practice to adopt and adapt strategies or tools to build change resilience
● Maximise the chances of moving smoothly to a desired future state to benefit the organisation
● Ensure a level of transparency to avoid negative impacts on everyone's wellbeing
● And the big one - to ensure that the business gets that all important Return on Investment
Which change model is the best?
How long is a piece of string? If there was one GOAT of change management frameworks, there wouldn’t be so many to choose from.
Change frameworks can be useful as they provide a structure and a consistent method. Someone with experience, credibility and knowledge has done a lot of the thinking, which means that you are less likely to miss key points or fall into traps when implementing a crucial change. However, and I know, I’m saying it again, a change management framework is only as effective as its application.
This is where it gets tricky. With lots of change frameworks and models out there, which one should you apply to your project or programme or organisation?
This leads to some high-level questions:
● What are the basic change principles that need to apply regardless of the framework you choose?
● Are there some non-negotiables?
● Can you choose what bits of a framework to apply and what bits not to?
● Or are frameworks all or nothing?
For me, a framework should guide you through the entire process. It should help you navigate both change management and managing change. You should be able to scale up and scale down the change activity depending on the size of the change. At the same time, there are basic change management principles that are used across industries that should remain intact.
I can’t tell you which change framework is best. If only it was that easy! But I did create my own because there wasn’t anything out there that could fulfil the needs of the change initiatives I was trying to embed. Make of that what you will!
Change management framework challenges
As we’ve seen, change management frameworks can be useful. But, on the flip side, there are some niggles that can make them tricky to tame. Why?
● There are so many different (and expensive) change management frameworks to choose from
● Change management is constantly changing and you can’t afford your framework to be playing catch up
● There is the challenging balancing act of managing change vs change management
Let’s address each of these challenges one by one.
Too much change management framework choice
There are many frameworks and models that will tell you how to support people through change.
As we go through change management challenges, there are many models that give us guidance on how we can choose to approach the situation. It is easy to be totally bamboozled by the sheer number of frameworks out there.
To whittle these down and to find your ideal framework, consider these five things:
Clarification - consider the why behind your change (what you want to achieve, what success looks like). Frameworks should serve this, not the other way around.
Match scale and complexity - smaller changes may need only light-touch guidance, while large organisational shifts require more structured, comprehensive frameworks.
Consider culture and context - it may require a little further research, but pick an approach that fits your organisation’s ways of working, leadership style, and people’s readiness for change.
Flex rather than fix - avoid “all or nothing” - it’s ok to adapt elements from different models if they better fit your needs.
Prioritise usability - the best framework is the one your teams can actually understand, adopt and apply consistently.
These considerations shaped the thinking behind the change management framework I created: PULSE Evolve. Rather than adding another rigid methodology to an already crowded field, PULSE was designed specifically to address these five common pain points.
The thinking behind PULSE:
P - Purpose
U - Understand
L - Learning
S- Support
E - Embed
PULSE Evolve is built modularly, so teams can apply just the elements they need for smaller initiatives, or use the full methodology for complex transformations. It’s also super practical with its emphasis on adaptation over adherence. Each component includes guidance on when and how to modify approaches based on your organisational context. The tools (yes, there are tools!) are designed to be intuitive enough that busy managers can pick them up quickly, without requiring extensive (or expensive!) training or certification.
The real test of any framework isn't how comprehensive it looks on paper, but how well it works when teams are under pressure, deadlines are tight, and change fatigue is setting in. That's exactly the environment PULSE was built for - and refined through.
If you fancy learning more about PULSE, there’s nothing more I love to chat about over a virtual coffee!
Change management is constantly changing
If you think about it, most change frameworks and models were created decades ago. They have been relevant for a long time and they have had a degree of success too, but we have moved on. And not all change management frameworks have kept up.
The world we live in now is drastically different, it would be naive to assume that the old ways of managing change can still be as successful.
We've all cringed at hearing 'We've always done it this way' as justification for outdated practices. If we're going to challenge that thinking in others, shouldn't we apply the same scrutiny to our own approaches?
We are introducing changes at pace and it can often feel like the world around us is changing even before we can settle into a new way of working. The speed of change can make strategy redundant as soon as it is written.
There is something to be said about the reliability of prediction. For example, does your organisation have a five year strategy? How much flexibility is built in? Does the strategy include everything? Trying to cover all bases? This is what happens when we lose our power to predict. In my opinion, there is something that can counteract this and it is purpose.
If you, your organisation, and your team can truly work through its purpose, this can serve as a golden thread and guard rails for everything that comes next.
Managing change vs change management
There is a neverending confusion between these two.
Change can sometimes feel like an ambiguous topic as the word itself can conjure up different things for different people. This in itself proves a challenge when attempting to bring structure to the discipline. In reality these two concepts happen in parallel and that’s the beauty of change. It can be messy and still have structure at the same time.
Managing change is the untidy, human reality of shepherding people through transition. This means having difficult conversations, leaning into negative reactions, adapting when plans hit obstacles. It can be reactive and responsive.
Change management often feels more academic and dare I say it, linear. This encompasses the neat frameworks with phases when it aligns with project management. It looks at stakeholder analysis and impact assessments. It's the professionalised discipline that promises structure in unpredictable situations and helps us to keep our eye on the prize - the all important return on investment.
The challenge occurs when change management becomes separated from actually managing change. Teams get bogged down documenting processes whilst the change stalls. The framework becomes the goal rather than the means.
Overcoming this requires several shifts:
● Make the methodology serve you, don’t be a slave to it. When the prescribed approach isn't working, prioritise the change outcome over methodology compliance.
● Sense check regularly. Formal processes need feedback loops surfacing what's really happening. Informal check-ins can often tell you more than official reports.
● Focus on capability, not just process. Rather than just training people on tools, develop their ability to read situations and make judgement calls in tricky situations.
The goal isn't abandoning structure. We simply need to make change management genuinely useful for actually managing change. The best approaches marry rigorous thinking with adaptive execution.
Where do we go from here?
When I started out in change management, I learned very quickly that you need to meet people where they are. There’s no point showing off something shiny and new when people are up to their eyeballs in the new pain of the day.
You may have seen the picture of the cavemen carrying a heavy load in a cart with square wheels and a caveman trying to show them that the solution is a round wheel. But they have no time for this fancy solution. They’re just too busy.
So, why don’t they slow down and replace the square wheel with the round one? Surely they would save time in the long run?
The answer is nuanced. Time may be a luxury or they may have simply always done it that way, so if you really want to get the cavemen to use the round wheel, perhaps you need to:
● Be clear on the PURPOSE of what they’re doing.
● UNDERSTAND the context of their situation.
● Help them LEARN that a new way of working will help them transport their heavy loads faster, easier, more efficiently in the long run.
● SUPPORT them by being present and showing them the way.
● Stay and help them put the new round wheel onto their carts and maintain the wheels to truly EMBED the change.
So, are change management frameworks really worth it? Yes, but only if they serve your purpose rather than becoming it.
The best frameworks - including PULSE Evolve - provide structure without rigidity and guidance without prescription.
Change frameworks are worth it when they help you navigate complexity, avoid common pitfalls, and focus on supporting people through change. They're not worth it when they become bureaucratic exercises that slow you down or distract from the real work.
Choose wisely, adapt freely, and remember that the framework is just the scaffolding - the process of building effective change is what you and your teams create together.
Author bio
Sky Dow is a senior transformation leader and former general director of the Change Management Institute with 15 years' experience spearheading digital, operational, and cultural change programmes across organisations including Royal Mail, Capita, Network Rail, and the University of Nottingham. She is the creator of PULSE Evolve - a framework that cuts through the noise to drive strategic transformation through practical, people-focused methods. To connect with Sky and learn more about PULSE, visit her LinkedIn profile.