Today, I’ll be addressing the second element of the ADKAR change management model – Desire:

  • A – Awareness of the need to change
  • D – Desire to support and participate in the change
  • K – Knowledge of how to change
  • A – Ability to implement the required skills and behaviors
  • R– Reinforcement to sustain the change

Desire in the ADKAR model represents a person’s motivation and choice to support and participate in a change.

Unlike Awareness where we can take certain steps to generate the awareness for the need to change, Desire is a more challenging element to address and can be hard to pin down. Awareness helps begin the process of evaluating a change but doesn’t necessarily generate the Desire to make the change.

A common mistake by business leaders is to assume that providing the awareness of a change automatically generates the desire to make the change. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.

In the ADKAR model, four factors contribute to an individual’s or group’s desire to change:

Factor 1 – The nature of the change

This factor can be looked at as what the change is and how it will impact individuals. People assess the nature of a change on how it will affect them  – either as an opportunity or a threat. That is often referred to as “what’s in it for me?” or “WIIFM”. They may also evaluate how fairly the change will be implemented across the different teams. If there is a perception of inequity on how the change is rolled out, this can provide a resistance to the change.

Factor 2 – The organizational or environmental context for the change

This factor represents the perception of the organization and how it is viewed in respect to change. How change was handled previously, how much change is currently taking place in the organization, and the culture and overall direction of the organization. The organization’s history and culture plays an important role in supporting the desire for change and should not be overlooked.

Factor 3 – An individual’s personal situation

This factor includes all aspects of an individual’s personal situation. This includes family, mobility, financial security, age, health, career aspirations, relationships at home and work, educational background, upcoming personal events and past successes in the current environment. An individual’s personal situation plays an important role in the process and any of these factors can cause a fundamental shift in what is important to that person and therefore their desire for change.

Factor 4 – What motivates them

Personal core motivators are unique to each of us. Therefore what drives each of us to change will also be unique. It can be financial security, making a difference in the world, avoidance of negative consequences, or seeking career advancement. Basically what drives each of us to change is unique and crosses a broad spectrum of motivators.

So there are the factors that contribute to the behaviors we display as individuals when confronted with change.

The next element of the ADKAR model we will explore is Knowledge. Once a person has the desire to support and participate in a change, the next step is the knowledge of how to change.

Stay tuned for our next article!

If you have any questions or need assistance with managing your change initiative, please do not hesitate to contact us.