Change Management for Digital Transformation

Module 1: The Realities of Change in the Public Sector

• Why digital transformation in government is so difficult (beyond technology)
• The dual pressures of austerity and modernization
• Key friction points: IT shop, culture, complexity, risk aversion, silos

Module 2: Rethinking Change - Frameworks, Vision, and the Human Side

This module introduces classic change management frameworks but reframes them as tools - not templates - for leading transformation in people-centric, complex public sector environments. It also explores how leaders can connect the work of change to meaning, purpose, and values - starting with themselves.

• Overview of key frameworks: ADKAR, Kotter’s 8-Step, Lewin’s Change Model, Agile Change
• Discussion of public sector pros/cons of each
• The critical role of shared vision: anchoring change in purpose and public value
• Why the real work of change is emotional, not technical
• The kind of leadership that helps people move from compliance to commitment

Key takeaway - every change framework succeeds or fails based on how people experience it - and the kind of leadership they see and feel. The tools matter, but your mindset, presence, and purpose matter more.

Module 3: Leading with Vision, Purpose, and Empathy

This module helps participants deepen their ability to lead change in ways that connect emotionally with others. It’s about crafting a vision that resonates - not just communicates - and understanding how to lead with empathy, clarity, and conviction in complex public sector environments.

• Why public sector transformation needs more than a technical vision - it needs a purpose that speaks to public good
• The difference between a strategic plan and a compelling story
• How to move from compliance to connection: anchoring change in values and meaning
• The role of empathy, vulnerability, and trust in change leadership
• Challenges leaders face when stepping into more emotionally intelligent leadership (especially in hierarchical cultures)

Key takeaway - people don’t rally around business cases - they rally around meaning. As a leader, your ability to communicate purpose with empathy and conviction is what moves people from passive agreement to active engagement.

Module 4: Setting the Foundation for Change

This module shifts from mindset to action - helping participants think through the foundational elements of a successful change effort. It emphasizes the importance of intentionality in planning and introduces simple tools to assess where their organization stands in terms of readiness, resistance, and engagement.

• The building blocks of an intentional change approach:
  • Clear purpose
  • Visible sponsorship
• Stakeholder engagement
• Open communication
• Feedback and adaptation loops
• Common missteps in public sector change efforts
• Why early sensing and engagement is more important than rigid planning

Key takeaway - you can’t “manage” your way into meaningful change - you need to lay the emotional, relational, and strategic groundwork. The earlier you engage with where people are, the easier it is to move them toward where you need them to go.

Module 5: Resistance, Resilience, and the Real Work of Change

This module explores why resistance is a natural, even necessary, part of change - and how leaders can respond to it with clarity, empathy, and resilience. It also addresses the personal and emotional toll of leading change in complex systems, and how leaders can stay grounded and energized in the face of uncertainty.

• Understanding resistance: not a threat to manage, but a signal to explore
• Common sources of resistance in the public sector: fear, fatigue, legacy identity, change overload
• The difference between passive resistance and active pushback - and how to respond to both
• The emotional demands of leading change: doubt, frustration, burnout
• Building your own resilience: mindset, reflection, peer support, boundaries

Key takeaway - resistance is not a barrier - it’s feedback. The leaders who succeed aren’t the ones who avoid resistance, but the ones who meet it with curiosity, empathy, and staying power.

Module 6: Engaging Stakeholders with Intention and Impact

This module explores how to move beyond transactional communication and toward authentic, trust-building engagement. It acknowledges the diverse ecosystem of stakeholders in the public sector - internal, external, formal, informal - and the need to tailor your approach based on influence, interest, and emotion.

• Who are your stakeholders, really? Mapping influence beyond org charts
• Engagement ≠ communication: the difference between informing and involving
• Empathy as a leadership strategy: understanding what people fear, value, and need
• Tailoring your approach: listening, co-design, empowerment
• Navigating tough relationships

Key takeaway - change doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It happens in relationships. Your ability to see, hear, and engage people where they are is one of your most powerful change leadership tools

Module 7: Leading Change Starts With You

This module invites participants to pause and reflect on their own leadership patterns, strengths, and blind spots in the context of change. It reinforces that successful transformation isn’t just about systems or strategies - it’s about the behaviors and energy leaders bring to the process.

• Change doesn’t just test organizations - it tests leaders
• The emotional weight of leading transformation: uncertainty, resistance, burnout
• Adaptive vs reactive leadership: shifting from control to curiosity, from compliance to courage
• Self-awareness as a foundational change capability
• The paradox of change leadership: being the calm in the storm and the spark that ignites momentum

Key takeaway - the most powerful lever for change is you. Leading transformation starts with self-awareness, emotional clarity, and the courage to show up with intention - even when it’s hard.

Module 8: Capstone Case Study – Leading Change at Transport Canada

This final module brings together all the concepts from the course in a real-world public sector change scenario. Through an in-depth case study from a public sector organization, participants will analyze a complex digital transformation effort - including its challenges, resistance points, leadership dynamics, and outcomes - and reflect on how they might respond in similar situations.

• Facilitator-led presentation of the case study:
  • Context: The public sector environment, strategic goals, and drivers for change
  • What made the transformation necessary - and what made it hard
  • How resistance showed up at different levels
  • The leadership behaviors and change tactics used throughout
  • What worked, what didn’t, and what lessons emerged

Key takeaway - theories and frameworks matter - but what you do as a leader matters more. This case reminds us that transformation lives or dies in the space between vision and execution - and in the way leaders show up in that space.