Managing Change in Higher Education: The Triangle Model

Managing Change in Higher Education: The Triangle Model

I recently had the honor of delivering a plenary address at an Advising Symposium centered on the theme of "What's Next?" With transformative changes surrounding us in higher education and an increasingly unpredictable political landscape, we find ourselves collectively wondering how to navigate what lies ahead. More specifically, how do we manage change in such an environment, and how can people within that process become engaged in change management?

The Triangle: A Framework for Change

I shared a method for approaching change management that frames my thinking about leadership – the triangle. The triangle has many inherent qualities that make it an apt metaphor. It's the strongest geometric figure, one that minimizes design complexity while maximizing strength and tenacity. Triangles can be assembled into trusses to create even stronger structures. The triangle is also a powerful indicator for change because in mathematics and science, when change must be incorporated into formulas, it's notated by the Greek letter delta (Δ), which is shaped like a triangle.

My framework consists of three interconnected elements:

1. People – forming the base of the triangle

2. Process – defining how change will happen

3. Preparation – how people and processes are readied for change

These three elements cannot exist in isolation. You must prepare people for the process. You must allow people to help shape and prepare the process. And built into everything, the process itself prepares people. This creates a holistic, collaborative framework that is highly relational and necessitates genuine buy-in and a growth mindset.

People: The Foundation of Change

The reality about change is that it often happens to us, not with us. The crucial aspect of managing change effectively is managing our response to it. As leaders, this includes taking care of your people throughout the entire change process.

Taking care of your people looks like:

• Providing meaningful professional development opportunities

• Engaging in conversations where you listen significantly more than you talk

• Presenting a clear picture of your mission and vision

• Practicing radical transparency

In curriculum redesign initiatives, transparent leadership practices make a substantial difference in faculty buy-in. When academic leaders create regular open forums where faculty can ask questions, voice concerns, and contribute ideas, the process becomes more inclusive. These sessions prove most effective when they move beyond mere performance—when faculty suggestions are genuinely considered and incorporated into the final design. Institutions that establish such transparent communication channels typically experience less resistance to change than those where decisions are simply handed down from above. The difference lies in creating authentic opportunities for stakeholder input rather than presenting change as a fait accompli.

This approach builds trust with your team and trust in the system, providing scaffolding for your people to succeed. When this foundation is solid, adaptive changes—small, iterative, and evolving adjustments—can happen fluidly. These adaptive changes allow responses to emerge organically because of the established trust.

However, transformational changes—large-scale shifts that significantly depart from the status quo—are where true leadership happens. Successfully navigating transformational change creates the conditions that enable those smaller adaptive changes down the road. How you manage change as a leader directly influences how you manage change as an individual, which is why our response to change is so consequential. Being mindful of your response makes all the difference in how effectively you navigate change.

The Individual Response to Change

Individuals throughout the organization, college, department, or program undergoing change also need to look inward to determine their role in the change process. For individuals facing change, there are five essential questions to consider:

1. What changes can I control? What's my responsibility in handling this change?

2. Where can I best serve? What are my skill sets and potential contributions, and how can I insert myself into the process?

3. What will I contribute? Beyond identifying where I can serve, what specific actions will I take to support this process?

4. Who am I bringing with me? Change shouldn't happen in isolation. Who are your allies, your team, the people you're bringing along? These are the same people you'll rely on throughout the process and after the change is complete. When you've gone through it together, the result is stronger.

5. How will I respond? This final question is perhaps the most critical reflection point.

For instance, in times of rapid change, cross-functional teams that combine the technological fluency of newer professionals with the institutional knowledge of veteran staff members can be particularly effective. Such collaborations frequently address immediate challenges while simultaneously fostering mentoring relationships and knowledge transfer that benefit the institution long-term. By intentionally considering these five questions, potentially disruptive changes can be reconsidered as opportunities for both personal growth and enhanced student support.

Higher Education as a Human Service

I believe higher education is fundamentally a human service. Yes, it operates within a business model. Yes, there are goals, objectives, and KPIs to meet. But at its foundation, higher education is humans working with humans. This means people working with people who:

• Tend to grow when they're supported

• Are more engaged when they feel valued

• Become creative and resilient through change when they are authentically invited and welcomed into the change management process

People respond to and experience change differently based on their social histories, contexts, and perspectives. This isn't easy to navigate, but when acknowledged properly, these differences can reinforce the necessity for diversity, equity, inclusion, and an exemplar of access in higher education. A functional team requires people who experience change differently to fully validate, realize, and appreciate the impact that change has on people.

A key question emerges: How can we create psychological safety to support people through vulnerability? When we consider this question—when we think about taking care of people through the process and offering that safety—it becomes a validation through vulnerability.

I witnessed this with the faculty and department chairs who participated in the DWF Initiative at my institution. Innovation needs space and creativity, but also a safety net to allow for growth through mistakes or failures. By our measures, that initiative is a success because of the support given to faculty willing to step out of their comfort zone and reconsider their pedagogical approach.

Process: Serving the People

It's critical that the process of change serves the people because when we welcome them in, we're also depending on them during and after the change process. To support this, we can:

• Reduce cognitive load through transparency

• Ensure roles are clearly defined so people don't have to worry about what falls within or outside their purview

• Focus on developing people's growth mindset for change

• Take opportunities and lessons from the process, not seeing mistakes or failures as confirmation that it's not working, but as invitations to learn and grow

The process must be flexible, iterative, transparent, and most importantly, accountable. This means communicating the "why" at every step: Why are we doing this? Why is this important? Why was this decision made? Why was this decision not made?

When I was a camp counselor, then program director, and eventually camp director many years ago, we had a policy called "Dare to Suck" to encourage campers to break out of their comfort zones and try new things. This policy invited campers to make mistakes and learn from them. It's no different now—if we can design processes to manage change that allow for mistakes, feedback, and learning in a safe environment, change will be realized in a much more positive way.

The key question here is: How can our processes become learning laboratories rather than compliance exercises?

This process-oriented approach translates effectively to one-on-one interactions across various roles in higher education:

Academic Advisers can apply this model when helping students navigate curriculum changes. Rather than simply directing students to follow new requirements, advisers who take time to explain the rationale behind changes, explore how these align with the student's goals, and invite students to participate in planning their adjusted academic journey typically see higher student satisfaction and retention. The adviser who asks, "How can we make this change work best for your specific goals?" creates a collaborative process that serves both institutional needs and student success.

Faculty Members can implement this approach during office hours when students struggle with course material. Faculty who engage students in a dialogue about their learning preferences, create a safe space to acknowledge challenges, and co-develop customized strategies often witness remarkable turnarounds. When a professor asks, "What parts make sense to you so far?" before diving into explanations, they're establishing a learning laboratory rather than a remediation session.

Resident Assistants find this model particularly valuable when mediating roommate conflicts. When an RA approaches tension by first listening to each resident's perspective, then guiding a transparent discussion of possible solutions, and finally preparing residents with communication tools for future conflicts, they're applying all three elements of the triangle. The RA who frames the conversation as "Let's figure out how to make your living situation better together" rather than imposing rules creates psychological safety that leads to more sustainable resolutions.

In each case, the professional serves as a guide rather than a director, the process becomes collaborative rather than prescriptive, and the preparation focuses on building capacity rather than enforcing compliance. This approach consistently yields better outcomes because it respects the agency of all participants while still moving toward necessary changes.

Preparation: Setting the Stage for Success

Change management must include clear preparation for the change, both in mindset (how people view the change) and in action (how the change will be implemented). This action must be supported through professional development, which is key for people to grow as practitioners and to know they're working in an environment that supports their growth.

Different stakeholders require different preparation. The board of trustees will need something different than financial aid advisors implementing a change, or graduate assistants working in the trenches day-to-day with at-promise students. Preparation includes:

• Emotional readiness

• Cultivation of relationships between people, departments, and colleges

• Innovation that looks forward, not backward

This means thinking outside of what has been, outside of conventional workshops, outside of the box and existing rules—because what is or has been might not necessarily be what should be or could be in the future.

Preparation cannot be one-size-fits-all, and it doesn't mean everyone must participate in each part of the process. Rather, preparation creates space for agency and choice within change initiatives. As mentioned earlier, individuals must approach change with a mindset of growth and opportunity, asking themselves what they can contribute, where they'll work best, and how they'll respond to the change. But we must create space for this reflection.

The key question: Are we preparing people to be passive recipients of change or active co-creators? I want those active co-creators.

Relationships: The Ultimate Measure of Success

This model isn't just about leadership or preparing teams to envision something different and move toward an improved condition. It's also a model for how we work one-on-one with people. I use this approach in my classroom from day one. I apply it when talking with students individually, advising them on graduate school options or thesis development.

Changes are happening all around us, and we must remember the people, the process, and the preparation for handling it all. Whether implementing a new student success initiative, redesigning a curriculum, or helping a single student navigate a challenging academic transition, this triangle model provides a framework for inclusive, effective change.

At the end of the day, successful change management is about relationships. If you do it right—if you take care of the people and create a transparent process, if you prepare people for that process—this is what success looks like. The triangle isn't just a model for managing change; it's a reminder that even amid the most significant transformations, the human connections we nurture remain our most valuable resource and our greatest strength.

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