change management | change leadership | kotter | adkar | organizational development | employee engagement | culture
What You Will Learn:
- Run a change through Kotter’s eight steps, and recognise which step you are stuck on
- Use the rider, elephant and path model to move behaviour rather than only opinion
- Manufacture genuine urgency, and tell it apart from announced urgency
- Diagnose an organisation with observation, interviews, surveys and data before intervening
- Choose the right intervention level: individual, team, process or organisation-wide
- Measure a change programme with Kirkpatrick, a balanced scorecard and a defensible return figure
- Handle the conflict a change produces, including the political and the unspoken kind
- Anchor a change in culture through rituals, hiring and behaviour, so it survives the next reorganisation
- Learn alongside Mike’s 1.6 million students from 185 countries
- Get the author’s experience from Preply, Wargaming, iDeals and Alfa-Bank
Overview
As a seasoned tech professional who’s navigated my fair share of organizational shifts, I’m always on the lookout for courses that go beyond the theoretical fluff and offer genuine, actionable insights. ‘Change Leadership: Engage People, Overcome Resistance [EN]’ by Mike certainly caught my eye, not just for its impressive student count but for its promise of equipping learners with practical tools to not just manage, but *lead* change effectively.
This isn’t your typical dry lecture series. Mike injects a healthy dose of real-world grit, drawing from his extensive experience with companies like Preply and Wargaming. He doesn’t shy away from the messiness of change – the resistance, the politics, the unspoken anxieties that can derail even the best-laid plans. What I particularly appreciated was the focus on behavioural economics, specifically the “rider, elephant, and path” model. This is a game-changer, moving beyond simply telling people *what* to think about change, to understanding how to influence *how they act*. It’s about building momentum and making the desired behaviour the path of least resistance, a crucial skill in our fast-paced tech environments where quick adaptation is key.
The course also delves into the nitty-gritty of diagnosing organizational issues before jumping into interventions, a vital step often overlooked. Mike emphasizes observation, interviews, and data analysis – the hallmarks of good systems thinking, and something that directly translates to building more robust, data-driven solutions in any tech role. The modules on manufacturing genuine urgency, and differentiating it from mere announcements, were particularly enlightening. In a world saturated with “urgent” requests, knowing how to cut through the noise and create true buy-in is a superpower. This course equips you to do just that.
Prerequisites
Honestly, there are no hard prerequisites for this course, which is great for accessibility. However, a foundational understanding of organizational structures and a genuine desire to improve how change is implemented would certainly enhance your learning experience. If you’ve ever been on the receiving end of poorly managed change (and who hasn’t?), you’ll find a lot of resonance here.
Skills & Tools
This course is a masterclass in developing **change leadership skills**. You’ll get hands-on experience (through the course’s simulated scenarios and case studies) with:
* Kotter’s Eight-Step Change Model: Understanding each step and, more importantly, identifying where you might be getting stuck.
* The Rider, Elephant, and Path Model: A powerful behavioural framework for driving action.
* Diagnosing organizational issues: Using observation, interviews, and data analysis.
* Intervention Strategy: Determining the right level for your change initiatives (individual, team, process, or organization-wide).
* Measuring Change Effectiveness: Utilizing frameworks like Kirkpatrick and balanced scorecards, and building a defensible ROI.
* Conflict Resolution: Navigating both overt and covert organizational politics.
* Culture Anchoring: Making changes stick through rituals, hiring, and consistent behaviour.
While the course doesn’t provide specific software certifications, it grounds you in **industry-standard tools** and methodologies that are universally applicable.
Career Benefits & Job Roles
For anyone in the tech industry, from junior developers to senior project managers and HR professionals, this course offers significant career benefits. You’ll gain the **job-ready skills** to lead and influence change within your organization, making you a more valuable asset. This can open doors to roles like:
* Change Manager
* Project Manager (especially for complex, transformational projects)
* Organizational Development Specialist
* Team Lead/Manager
* Business Analyst
* Chief of Staff
The ability to effectively navigate change is a universally sought-after trait, contributing directly to **career growth**.
Pros
* Practical, Actionable Frameworks: The emphasis on models like Rider/Elephant/Path and Kotter’s steps provides tangible tools you can apply immediately. This isn’t just theory; it’s a toolkit.
* Real-World Experience & Credibility: Mike’s background from diverse industries lends immense credibility and ensures the content is grounded in practical challenges and solutions.
* Focus on Behavioural Change: Moving beyond just communication to understanding and influencing actual behaviour is a sophisticated and highly effective approach to change management.
* Comprehensive Coverage: The course touches on every critical aspect of change leadership, from diagnosis and planning to execution, measurement, and long-term embedding in culture.
Cons
* Can feel overwhelming initially: Given the breadth of topics covered, some learners might find the initial learning curve steep. It requires active engagement and a willingness to process a lot of information at once. However, for experienced professionals, this is often a sign of a thorough course.