The Lippitt-Knoster Model for Managing Complex Change
The Lippitt-Knoster model, also called the Knoster model or the Managing Complex Change model, names five things a change needs: a vision, skills, incentives, resources, and an action plan. Dr Mary Lippitt described it in 1987, and Timothy Knoster's later version made it widely known, so the labels vary between versions. Leave one element out and the model predicts a particular symptom, so you can use it as a checklist before you start and as a diagnostic when a change stalls.
The Managing Complex Change Matrix
The model is usually drawn as a matrix. The top row has all five elements and produces change. Each row below leaves one element out, and the last column shows the result.
| Missing element | Vision | Skills | Incentives | Resources | Action plan | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| None | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Change |
| Vision | Missing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Confusion |
| Skills | Yes | Missing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Anxiety |
| Incentives | Yes | Yes | Missing | Yes | Yes | Resistance (gradual change) |
| Resources | Yes | Yes | Yes | Missing | Yes | Frustration |
| Action plan | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Missing | False starts |
What Happens When an Element Is Missing
Each element guards against a different problem. When you see the symptom, look for the missing element.
No Vision: Confusion
People don't know where the change is heading or why, so they pull in different directions.
No Skills: Anxiety
People are asked to work in ways they don't yet know how to, and they worry about failing.
No Incentives: Resistance
People see no reason to change, so they hold back and change is slow. Some versions of the model call this outcome gradual change.
No Resources: Frustration
People know what to do and want to do it, but they don't have the money, tools, people, or time.
No Action Plan: False Starts
Work begins with energy, then stalls because nobody knows what comes next or who owns it.
Vision
A vision says why the change is happening, where it is heading, and what will be different when it is done. Without one, people fill the gap with their own guesses, work towards different ends, and undo each other's efforts.
Involve People Early
Bring the people affected into shaping the vision, so their concerns are heard and they understand its purpose.
Repeat It
Say the vision often and through more than one channel. A message heard once at launch is soon forgotten.
Answer the Hard Questions
Be specific about what the change means for people's work, and say plainly what you don't know yet.
Make Decisions Match It
Check that decisions and new work line up with the vision. When they don't, people stop believing it.
Skills
A change usually asks people to work in new ways. If they don't have the skills to do that, they become anxious: worried about failing and reluctant to let go of what they know. Give people training, time to practise, and support while they learn, before you judge the results.
Technical Skills
The ability to use the new processes, systems, or tools that the change brings in.
People Skills
Communication, collaboration, and handling other people's concerns, which matter most where the change affects how people work together.
Leadership Skills
Setting direction, making decisions with incomplete information, and bringing others along. Leaders need these to guide their teams through the change.
Incentives
Incentives answer the question "What's in it for me?" Without them, people who understand the change and could make it still hold back, and progress is slow. Explain why the change matters, listen to objections and act on the fair ones, involve people in shaping the work, and check that what you reward matches what you're asking people to do.
Pay and Benefits
Bonuses, pay rises, or better benefits, especially where the change asks for extra effort.
Career Growth
New skills, roles, or routes to promotion that the change opens up.
Recognition
Public thanks or awards for people who support the change, which reinforce the behaviour you want.
Better Ways of Working
Changes that make day-to-day work easier, such as fewer manual tasks or flexible hours.
Resources
A change needs money, tools, people, and time. Without enough of them, people know what to do and want to do it but can't, and frustration follows. Work out what the change needs before you start, and protect that budget and time once it is under way.
Funding
Money for training, new technology, or extra staff, agreed before the work starts.
Tools and Technology
The hardware, software, and infrastructure that the new way of working depends on.
People
Enough staff with the right expertise, and the capacity to take on change alongside their day jobs.
Time
Time to plan, try things, learn, and adjust. A change squeezed around a full workload is likely to stall.
Action Plan
An action plan sets out the steps, who owns each one, when it should happen, and the milestones you will use to check progress. Without one, you get false starts: work begins with enthusiasm, then loses momentum because nobody knows what comes next or who is responsible. Keep the plan short enough to use, give each step a named owner, and review it as you learn.
Using the Model to Diagnose a Stalled Change
Use the five elements as a checklist before you launch a change, and come back to them when it stalls. Name the symptom you see, whether confusion, anxiety, resistance, frustration, or false starts, and look first at the element that guards against it. More than one element can be missing at once, so check them all.
Related
Sources
- Adapted from Mary Lippitt, Managing Complex Change (1987).