10 Best Change Management Books

The ability to implement change initiatives efficiently and effectively is often what defines great leaders and businesses.

When leaders and change management professionals possess adequate skills and knowledge, they’re much more likely to succeed when implementing their change solutions. And reading change management books, written by specialists on the subject, is among the best way to obtain key change management skills.

In this guide, we've listed the change management books that we believe will provide you with the tools to successfully implement change.

Leading Change, which covers the author’s eight-step process for managing change, is a go-to resource for change management professionals across the world. It’s a step-by-step guide to implementing and managing change.

The author, John P. Kotter, is an award-winning leadership and change management specialist. He’s the Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership, Emeritus at the Harvard Business School. Kotter International – Kotter’s ’s business consultancy company – utilises his research and principles to help clients deliver positive transformation and change.

If you’re facing change of any kind, Leading Change is an invaluable tool to have on your bookshelf.

The Effective Change Manager’s Handbook is a resource designed to help employers, leaders and academics implement change initiatives and develop their change management capabilities.

It covers multiple topics related to change management, including stakeholder strategy, change readiness, project management and training. The book also goes into detail on the most effective models to help you deliver change efficiently and effectively.

The authors and editors are international change management consultants and members of the APMG international examination panel for change management. Additionally, The Effective Change Manager’s Handbook is endorsed by the Change Management Institute (CMI).

As such, those using the book to enhance their change management capabilities are in good hands.

Our Iceberg is Melting is the story of a colony of Penguins who are faced with change as their home begins to melt. We follow their journey as they attempt to manage this change and succeed in finding a new home.

In simple terms, this is complex guide to change management in the form of a fictional story about penguins.

Our Iceberg is Melting offers many valuable lessons on change. As we see the penguins overcome extremely challenging problems, we gain insight into some of the best solutions and approaches to change. We also learn lessons about motivation, determination and cultural change.

Managing Transitions is one of the leading books on change management, providing an easy-to-follow framework for managing change and transitions. It offers insight into tried and tested change management strategies, as well as useful processes that you can apply to help guide you through periods of change.

Author of The Female Vision and Thriving in 24/7, Sally Helgesen, described the book as ‘indispensable for leaders trying to guide their organizations through a period of unsettling change’.

Managing Transitions is particularly beneficial for those involved in mergers, acquisitions and major organisational change.

Coaching for Cultural Transformation is a comprehensive guide to coaching and leading large-scale cultural transformations.

Cockburn-Evans covers valuable change management strategies, as well behavioural psychology theory, inspirational leadership and much more. This book is unique in that it focuses on coaching culture to facilitate the successful implementation of change management solutions.

Making Sense of Change Management is described as the complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organisational change.

544 pages long, Making Sense of Change Management contains everything leaders and businesses need to know about change management. It also includes chapters on digital transformation, business sustainability and leadership.

The Theory and Practice of Change Management is a textbook that combines the theoretical and practical elements of change management.

The Theory and Practice of Change Management is a bestseller and highly regarded book in the field of change. Hayes presents his knowledge and research in fluid chapters that include case-studies, diagrams and tools that can be applied in real-world scenarios.

Change Management: A Guide to Effective Implementation is a step-by-step guide to the models and strategies used to deliver change.

The book includes a number of complex case studies that help the reader understand the processes and strategies of change management, as well as chapters on how to manage the human issues associated with change.

In ADKAR: A Model for Change in Business, Government and Our Community, Jeffrey Hiatt explains his unique model for change management - the ADKAR model.

ADKAR stands for Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement. This is an acronym for the fundamentals of the ADKAR model.

With over 500 reviews, the book is rated 4.5 out of 5 on Amazon. It includes a number of helpful case studies, along with advice on how to implement the AKDAR model.

Agile Change Management provides a practical framework for the planning and implementation of change. As well as examples and expert advice, Agile Change Management covers the cutting-edge techniques that optimise the effectiveness of change management initiatives.

Melanie Franklin is an expert on change management, with a wealth of experience facilitating change and serving on boards for commercial and not-for-profit organisations.

We hope you've found this guide to change management books helpful. Interested in more career-related books? Check out our list of 14 great career books.