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What is Change Competence?

Lynn Tamberger

July 11, 2025

People Development

Change is no longer an exceptional state but everyday life. Digitalization, new work models, constantly changing demands: change has become the new normal. However, not everyone copes with it equally well. The challenge often lies not in the change itself but in how it is handled. This blog article examines change competence and how it can be strengthened individually.

Strengthening Change Competence: How You Can Actively Shape Change

Change competence describes the ability to deal constructively with change and the uncertainty that comes with it.. It has an impact It operates on three levels: at the individual level, within teams, and across the entire organization. These levels influence each other – sustainable change competence arises when all three levels are addressed and interconnected.

Three Levels of Change Competence: A Brief Overview

  • Individual: How do I personally deal with change? What is my attitude? How do I respond emotionally?
  • Team: How do we as a team handle uncertainty? How much guidance do we provide each other?
  • Organization: Which structures and cultures promote or hinder readiness for change?
In this article, we focus on the individual level – and show how change competence can be specifically strengthened.

Phases of Change Management: The Emotional Change Curve

Change almost always triggers emotions: from uncertainty to frustration, but also curiosity or confidence. A helpful model to understand typical reaction phases is the so-called Emotional Change Curve.
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The Emotional Change Curve – also known as the Kübler-Ross Curve – was originally developed to describe grief reactions. Today, it is also used to apply to change processes in organizations. It illustrates the emotional reactions that people typically go through when faced with profound changes. These can be a variety of scenarios: the introduction of a new tool, a change within the team, or a major reorganization.
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The typical process begins with shock when the change occurs. This is often followed by denial or resistance. – a phase in which the change is questioned or even denied. Rational insight marks the point where people begin to recognize the necessity or inevitability of the change intellectually. However, the change has not yet been emotionally accepted.

      Only with emotional acceptance does the attitude begin to change – changes are not only understood but also internally embraced. This is followed by the experimentation phase: initial new behaviors or processes are tested and show positive effects. In the subsequent realization phase, a deeper understanding develops – both of the demands and of one’s own resources. Finally, the integration phase follows, where the change becomes part of everyday life and part of one’s own work reality. Of course, this curve does not follow the same path for everyone – but it provides guidance to better understand one’s own emotions and to support others more effectively during change processes.

      What’s important here: Change competence doesn’t mean liking everything right away. Rather, it means consciously managing your own reactions and remaining capable of taking action.

      Initial impulses could be:

      • Reflect on your own attitude: “What exactly triggers me about this change?”
      • Do not suppress emotions, but actively engage with them and try to regulate them.
      • Identify and reframe typical cognitive errors (e.g., turning “I’m losing control” into “I can create new opportunities”).

      Shape change: Take action instead of waiting.

      Change competence is demonstrated by how proactively individuals handle change.. This includes, for example, intentionally stepping out of one’s comfort zone and adopting new perspectives. and one’s own routines. Even micro-habits – small new habits – can help, to mentally prepare for flexibility.
      A helpful approach combines clarity (“What is my goal?”), self-efficacy (“What is within my control?”), and dialogue skills (“How do I communicate my concerns and ideas?”). Feedback from others can also help to identify blind spots and gain clarity.

      What Can People Development Do?

      While individual coping strategies for change are enormously important, the responsibility does not lie solely with employees. Organizational structures and measures are needed to support employees during change processes and strengthen their change competence. People development can intervene at several levels – but it also requires the buy-in of leaders. Some key measures include:

      Promote Transparency and Communication

      • Offer training on change communication for leaders.
      • Inform employees early about upcoming changes.
      • Create formats where questions, concerns, and ideas can be openly expressed (e.g., dialogue formats, Q&A sessions).

        Develop Change Competence Purposefully

        • Offer training and workshops on topics such as resilience, agility, self-leadership, feedback culture, and managing uncertainty.
        • Introduce reflection formats or prompts that help employees better understand their own change behavior.

        Support through Coaching or Mentoring

        • Offer individual or team coaching sessions to reflect on personal change barriers.
        • Establish change mentors within the organization who act as supporters in transformation processes.

        Strengthen Psychological Safety

        • Promote a learning and error culture so that employees feel confident to try new things and openly address challenges.
        • Enable leaders to create spaces for trusting collaboration.

        Enable Participation

        • Actively involve employees in change processes, for example through workshops, pilot projects, or co-creation formats.
        • Create opportunities for employees to actively shape change.

        Conclusion: Change is here to stay – how we deal with it is what matters

        Change competence is not innate. It can be learned. And it is becoming increasingly important. Those who are willing to engage with their own reactions and take responsibility for how they handle change remain capable of taking action even in uncertain times.

        Would you like to learn more about change competence?

        In the digital learning program “Change Competence,” troodi supports employees in reflecting on their own reactions to change. and using change constructively.. The content includes, among others:

         

        • Emotional dynamics of change
        • The model of the Emotional Change Curve
        • Challenges of change
        • Measures and initiatives
        • Supporting others in change processes
        Feel free to reach out to our L&D Consulting Team if you want to strengthen change competence in your organization and take a look at our learning program.

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        Lynn Tamberger
        Lynn Tamberger ist L&D Consultant bei troodi mit einschlägiger Erfahrung in den Bereichen Content-Konzeption, Projektmanagement und Kommunikation. Ihr Fokus liegt auf der Entwicklung moderner Lernformate und der Begleitung von Organisationen in Veränderungsprozessen. Besonders interessiert sie sich für digitales Lernen, persönliche Entwicklung und die Frage, wie Zusammenarbeit zukunftsfähig gestaltet werden kann.

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