THE WHEEL OF CHANGE

Management Models

>> INTRODUCTION >> THE MODEL

The wheel of change is a tool created by award-winning coach Marshall Goldsmith to

help individuals, teams and organisations to evaluate their skills and behaviours and plan
their own development. The wheel has two axes, keep/change and positive/negative,
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segmenting the wheel into four quadrants. Looking at the aspects that make up your
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personality, team or organisation, you should consider the following questions:

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• Who do you want to be or what do you want to be good at? New elements that you

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aspire to develop should be placed in the creating (positive change) segment
• What do you want to hold on to about who or where you are now? These elements
should go into the preserving (positive keep) segment
• Which existing traits or aspects of your life do you want to change or get rid of? Ad
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These should go into the eliminating (negative change) segment
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• What might you just need to accept? Anything that you may not prefer to keep but ov

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may not be able to change goes in the accepting (negative keep) segment. in

PERSERVING

ELIMINATING
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>> HOW CAN THIS HELP ME?

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The wheel can help you to clarify the changes you are seeking. As Marshall Goldsmith
says “what got you here won’t get you there”, i.e. you must continue to adapt to new
realities, preserving and developing the characteristics that will be useful going forward
while dropping those that will not, even if they have been helpful in getting you to this point. Re

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Work on new behaviours and abilities to move yourself forward. Recognise and value the
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positive traits in yourself or your team so that you can continue to build on these. Identify
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and drop negative traits and activities that are less useful to you – this will avoid becoming g

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overstretched. Finally, accept what you cannot change to make peace with the situation

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you are in.

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>> ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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ACCEPTING

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Wheel of change: planning for the future (Skillsoft video on ManagementDirect)

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Triggers: sparking positive change and making it last, Marshall Goldsmith
London: Profile Books, 2015

What got you here won’t get you there: how successful people become even
more successful, Marshall Goldsmith
London: Profile Books, 2008

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