Change Leadership Practice Guide | Oak & Reeds Interactive Training
Change Leadership Practice Guide
An AI-powered coaching tool from Oak & Reeds Interactive Training
This guide gives you three prompts to paste into any AI assistant (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, etc.). Each one walks you through a framework from Oak & Reeds' change management workshops, adapted for individual practice.
Bring a real change you're leading or navigating. The more specific you are, the more useful the coaching will be.
Before You Start: The Frameworks
The Change Curve (6 Stages)
1. Shock and Denial — "My role isn't affected." People carry on with normal behaviors, hoping it won't happen.
2. Anger and Frustration — "What they're asking for is impossible!" Blame others, blame self, attempt to block the change.
3. Confusion and Depression — The lowest point emotionally. Tough questions about roles and future. Hardest moment to see the vision.
4. Acceptance — "This is happening so I might as well get on board." Stop focusing on the past, start dealing in the present.
5. Problem-Solving — Demonstrate ownership. New roles and responsibilities. Key moment for innovation.
6. The New Normal — "I couldn't imagine ever going back to the old way." Debrief on the experience.
The Beckhard-Harris Change Formula
Dissatisfaction × Vision × First Steps > Resistance
If any one element (dissatisfaction, vision, or first steps) is zero, the product is zero, and resistance wins. All three must be present for change to succeed.
Step 1
Map Your Change Curve
Identify where you and your team members are on the emotional arc of your change. This determines what kind of support each person needs right now.
I'm working through a change leadership exercise from Oak & Reeds Interactive Training (oakandreeds.com). I'd like you to coach me through the Change Curve Mapping exercise.
Here's the change I'm navigating: [Describe the change your team is going through — a reorg, new system, strategic shift, leadership transition, etc.]
The Change Curve has 6 stages:
1. Shock and Denial — hoping it won't happen, carrying on as normal
2. Anger and Frustration — blaming others or self, attempting to block
3. Confusion and Depression — lowest point emotionally, tough questions about roles
4. Acceptance — "might as well get on board," shifting to the present
5. Problem-Solving — ownership, new responsibilities, innovation
6. The New Normal — "couldn't imagine going back"
Please ask me these questions one at a time, waiting for my response before moving on:
1. Where do I think I am personally on this curve? What behaviors am I noticing in myself?
2. Ask me to identify 3 specific team members and place them on the curve. For each one: what behaviors are they demonstrating that tell me where they are?
3. Based on where each person is, what type of coaching do they need right now? (Stages 1-2 need context and clarity. Stages 3-4 need emotional support. Stages 5-6 need direction and guidance.)
4. What's one specific action I can take this week for the person who needs the most support right now?
Tip: Be as specific as possible about the change. "We're migrating to a new CRM and my team has been on the old system for 4 years" will get you much better coaching than "we're going through a technology change."
Step 2
Pressure-Test Your Change Formula
Use the Beckhard-Harris Change Formula to diagnose whether your case for change is strong enough to overcome resistance.
I'm continuing a change leadership exercise from Oak & Reeds Interactive Training (oakandreeds.com). Now I'd like to work through the Beckhard-Harris Change Formula for my change.
The formula: Dissatisfaction × Vision × First Steps > Resistance
My change: [Same change from Step 1, or paste your earlier description]
Please walk me through each element, one at a time:
1. DISSATISFACTION: Ask me what's clearly wrong with the current state. What's broken today? Push me to be specific and creative about articulating the pain. (But remind me: don't trash everything — if the world doesn't change overnight, people still need to work in the current reality.)
2. VISION: Ask me to describe what success looks like. Coach me toward a vision that is: simple, motivational, paints a picture, triggers emotion, and focuses on the end in mind. Challenge me if my vision is too vague.
3. FIRST STEPS: Ask me what concrete actions people can take in the next 2 weeks. Coach me to make these specific and actionable, not abstract.
4. RESISTANCE: Help me name the specific sources of resistance (people, processes, relationships, physical obstacles, technology). Then ask: is the product of my dissatisfaction, vision, and first steps greater than this resistance? Which element is weakest?
5. Finally, suggest one thing I can do to strengthen the weakest element.
Tip: If you're struggling with the Vision element, try asking yourself: "What's a small part of this change that my team can co-create solutions for?" When people see their ideas in the vision, their buy-in increases dramatically.
Step 3
Practice a Change Conversation
Rehearse a real conversation with a team member who's resistant to or struggling with the change. The AI plays the team member; you practice leading through it.
I'm practicing a change leadership conversation using a framework from Oak & Reeds Interactive Training (oakandreeds.com/leading-change).
Here's the setup:
- The change: [Your change]
- The person I need to talk to: [Their role and your relationship]
- Where they are on the Change Curve: [Stage 1-6 from Step 1]
- Their likely concerns: [What you think is driving their resistance or struggle]
Please roleplay as this team member. Start the conversation as if I've just asked them to catch up about the change. Stay in character based on their Change Curve stage:
- If Stage 1-2: Be skeptical or frustrated. Ask "why" questions. Push back.
- If Stage 3-4: Be uncertain. Ask about your role, your future. Express fatigue.
- If Stage 5-6: Be ready to move forward but need direction and autonomy.
After each of my responses, briefly pause the roleplay and coach me:
- What I did well
- What the person might be feeling based on what I said
- One suggestion for my next response
Then continue the conversation. Let's go through 4-5 exchanges.
Tip: The most common mistake leaders make is jumping to "here's the plan" (Stage 5-6 coaching) when someone is still in Anger or Confusion (Stage 2-3). If the roleplay feels stuck, try validating their feelings before offering solutions.
Want Better Results? Add This Context
Before or after any prompt, paste in additional background to get richer coaching:
Your leadership style: "I tend to be [direct/collaborative/analytical/empathetic] and my default in tough conversations is to [jump to solutions/avoid conflict/over-explain/etc.]"
Team dynamics: "My team has [X] people, we've been together for [X] months/years, and the overall mood right now is [energized/cautious/burned out/etc.]"
Stakes: "If this change doesn't land well, the risk is [describe what's at stake — retention, project failure, trust erosion, etc.]"
Want to Run This With Your Team?
These exercises come from Oak & Reeds' change management workshops. In a live session, your team maps the Change Curve together, builds a shared change formula, and practices coaching conversations in real time.
