The Four Levels of Change

PRITCHETT can tailor a program based on your specific organizational needs and your current level of change. Our programs build change-adaptability as a core competency and move your organization to Level 4.

Level 1 – Cope with change:
Victim Mentality

A culture is operating at the first level of change when people primarily think in terms of just coping with the situation. They respond to change with a "victim mentality." You see a lot of helplessness and dependency behavior. The general outlook is pessimistic. Too much valuable energy gets invested in resistance, anger, blamefulness, or fear. People focus on problems instead of solutions. They talk about how hard things are, and why they can’t make it work. Usually the mindset at level one is that maybe change will pass. People wait and hope for a so-called "return to normal."

When a culture is stuck in the coping mode, people tend to slow down. They're overly cautious, too conservative, and it causes an organization to lose momentum. Naturally, productivity drops. Operating results take a hit. Employee energy and attention get diverted away from basic company business, and toward "me issues"—that is, concern over how one might be affected personally by the change.

When a culture lives at the first level of change, people try to protect the status quo. This means they make little effort to innovate, experiment, or take reasonable and appropriate risks. They hang on to the past instead of actively seeking to shape a better future. In the competitive game of business, they rely on defense and are lousy at playing offense.

Overall, level one cultures are reactive, not proactive. It's the sort of culture that undermines both our individual and organizational effectiveness.

Level 2 – Comply with change:
Adjustment mentality

Cultures operating at the second level of change display more of an "adjustment mentality." Here at level two there's a clear, but not impressive, effort made to comply with the situation. Folks may not like what's going on one bit, yet they spend some energy accommodating the change. It may only be grudging compliance, or sort of a "cut your losses" attitude. Could be they're merely accepting the inevitable. But people here basically go with the flow.

Nevertheless, these cultures are dangerously sluggish. The main problem, of course, is that people in level two fail to put forth the personal effort they should to help drive the change. They may have resigned themselves to what’s going on, but they don't do all they should to bring about success. People go along but may grumble, and they fail to function as effective change agents.

Cultures operating at level two fall way short of realizing their full potential. They're followers, not leaders, and have difficulty trying to compete.

Level 3 – Capitalize on change:
Opportunity mentality

Cultures operating at the third level of change display an "opportunity mentality." Here the mindset is to capitalize on change. People try to turn it to their advantage. Instead of spending energy on resistance, they invest themselves in a search for positive benefits. Change is not only accepted, but also actively embraced as a potential opportunity that should be seized.

Problem is, the culture is still in a reactive mode. At least people are looking for the bright side of things, though, with the idea that the cloud of change may have a silver lining. When change hits, they kick into gear and try to make the best of it.

In level three cultures, people align quickly with organization change. They readily contribute their energy and attention to the company's cause. These cultures are worthy competitors, but they leave a lot on the table.

Level 4 – Create change:
Possibilities mentality

Cultures at level four are characterized by a "possibilities mentality." Overall, the organization is proactive, not reactive. Instead of waiting for change to happen, people set about to make it happen.

Level four cultures aren’t content to cope with, comply with, or even exploit change—they create it. They do it to help the organization gain competitive advantage. To be the architect of their own future. And because it's both energizing and fun. People operating as part of a level four culture are fired up by their work. They move with initiative, imagination, and a true sense of urgency. Here people have a sharp eye for new possibilities, for how things could be improved, for problems they can help fix. Level four outfits anticipate. They constantly scan for openings where change will give them an edge. The focus throughout is on operating results, on value creation, not merely on being busy or a hard worker.

The prevailing mindset in cultures at the fourth level of change is one of purpose, adventure, optimism, and faith. Here people invest themselves resourcefully in exploring. In experimenting and learning. They operate with a spirit of curiosity...a sense of mobility and pursuit...a hope for breakthroughs. They deliberately set forth to do things differently—to innovate—because they recognize change is their most promising solution. Level four cultures are fast, resilient, high-energy groups. Their flexibility and quick reflexes make them hard to outmaneuver.

These cultures are known for being trendsetters. For making the preemptive strike. For changing the game instead of merely trying to compete. Level four cultures don't fight the future. They partner with the world of tomorrow and co-create change.