However, several concerns prevent us from wholeheartedly embracing this model. First, the model oversimplifies the process of change and suggests that change is linear. The reality is that change tends to be complex, interactive, and emergent. Second, the creation of the need for change deserves more attention. It is not merely a matter of moving i

When an organization’s environment shifts, so must its leaders’ diagnosis in order to identify the changes needed to effectively realign its people, formal systems and processes, tasks, and culture to the new environment to produce the desired outcomes. For example, when Tesla announced its mass-market Model 3, hundreds of thousands of customers ma

The Congruence Model is based on the principle that an organization’s performance is derived from four fundamental elements: tasks (or the work of the organization); people; the formal organization (structure and systems); and the informal organization (part of which is the “culture”).

(1) Stage Theory of Change: Lewin Unfreeze Change Refreeze: or More Appropriately Re-Gel

“the way we do things around here,”13 values (e.g., about the importance of customer service), beliefs (for example, about why the organization is successful), rituals, and managerial style (a “tough boss” style, for example).

From its start-up phase, leaders of an organization make choices concerning where they want to locate their business, what they want to do, and which resources they want to buy, access, or otherwise develop and deploy.

the smallest of firms needs to adapt when new competitive realities and opportunities surface. Even the largest and most successful of firms have to learn how to adapt when disruptive technologies or rapid social, economic, political, and environmental changes alter their realities. If they fail to do so, they will falter and potentially fail.

In their work, Nadler and Tushman make three critical statements. First, the system is dynamic. This means that a diagnosis of how the organization should operate will change over time if external or internal conditions change or if different concerns and objectives emerge. Second, the “fit” or congruence between components is significant in diagno

Nadler and Tushman argue that there are many different ways to think about the components of an organization. However, they choose to focus their model on four major components: “1) the task, 2) the individuals, 3) the formal organizational arrangements, and 4) the informal organization.”15 A change leader needs to understand these four components