Leadership & Navigation
Leadership & Navigation
What you will learn
- Explain HR's role as a strategic partner that ties its programs to organizational goals.
- Distinguish the three change models (Lewin, Kotter, Bridges) and what each adds.
- Choose the correct first step in an organizational change scenario.
- Recognize ways to reduce resistance to change and build commitment.
The Leadership & Navigation competency in the SHRM model isn't only for managers; it applies to every HR professional who needs to steer an initiative, persuade stakeholders, or lead change. The exam usually tests it through scenarios: what do you do first when asked to implement a major change? The right answer is rarely immediate execution and usually begins with understanding and preparation.
Lewin's model vs. Kotter's model
| Lewin | Kotter | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of stages | Three: unfreeze, change, refreeze | Eight steps beginning with creating urgency |
| Strength | Simplicity that explains the logic of any change | A detailed execution roadmap for large change |
| Final step | Stabilizing the new state until it becomes the norm | Anchoring the change in the culture |
Bridges' transition model
Change is an external event; transition is the psychological journey people go through.
Ending
Acknowledge what people lose
Neutral zone
Confusion and experimentation
New beginning
Embrace the new identity
What matters on the exam
- HR strategy starts from understanding organizational strategy, not from the department budget or copying a competitor.
- The first step is creating urgency for Kotter, acknowledging the ending for Bridges, and unfreezing for Lewin.
- Involving employees in designing the change is usually the best way to reduce resistance, not coercion or surprise.
Immediate execution isn't a sign of strength
In scenario questions, the option that sounds decisive (announce tomorrow, implement now, impose the decision) is usually wrong. The exam rewards gathering information and preparing stakeholders and managers before announcing.
Quick check
Answer in your head first, then reveal.
What is the first step in Kotter's model?Reveal the answer
Create a sense of urgency.
How does transition begin in Bridges' model?Reveal the answer
With an ending: helping people let go of the old situation.
What is the correct starting point for HR strategy?Reveal the answer
Understanding the organization's strategy and goals.
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Your next step
Read the lesson, then mark it complete
Sources
Used to verify the facts. The writing is original to Passuit.