About SteadMark
Purpose
Paramedicine taught me that change only happens when people feel read, not pushed. Middle managers get handed the rollout and no way to tell how their teams are actually responding, so they guess. Guessing is where change breaks. SteadMark exists to give managers the read they need to lead.
Mission
SteadMark reads the patterns already flowing through the team channels you connect, starting with Slack. It matches what it finds to 12 established change management frameworks and tells managers what to do today, this week, and this month. OCM teams get the aggregate read across every manager. Managers stop guessing how to get adoption. They start leading it.
Vision
In three years, SteadMark will be the default tool middle managers reach for when leading change, the way pulse surveys became the default for engagement. Framework-backed action, grounded in what your people are actually saying, not what a consultant assumed six months ago.
The frameworks behind SteadMark
SteadMark does not invent change theory. It operationalizes it. Every recommendation references one or more of the 12 established change-management frameworks below, matched to the pattern detected in your team's communications.
ADKAR® (Prosci®)
Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement as the five stages of personal adoption.
Kotter's 8-Step Process
Urgency, coalition, vision, communication, empowerment, wins, acceleration, anchoring.
Lewin's Change Model
Unfreeze, Change, Refreeze. The original framework for organizational transition.
Bridges' Transition Model
Ending, Neutral Zone, New Beginning. Focuses on the internal experience of change.
Prosci® 3-Phase Process
Prepare, Manage, Sustain. The operational wrapper around ADKAR.
PCT® (Prosci Change Triangle®)
Success, Leadership/Sponsorship, Project Management, Change Management. Assesses whether all four aspects of a change initiative are healthy.
McKinsey 7S
Strategy, Structure, Systems, Shared Values, Style, Staff, Skills. Diagnostic for systemic change readiness.
Kubler-Ross Change Curve
Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance. Adapted from grief research for workplace transition.
Satir Change Model
Late Status Quo, Resistance, Chaos, Integration, New Status Quo. Used in team-level change.
PDCA (Deming Cycle)
Plan, Do, Check, Act. The iterative engine behind most modern change programs.
Nudge Theory (Thaler and Sunstein)
Small environmental changes that make the desired behavior the path of least resistance.
PCI® (People Centered Implementation, Changefirst®)
Six critical success factors: shared change purpose, effective change leadership, powerful engagement processes, committed local sponsors, strong personal connection, sustained personal performance.
ADKAR®, Prosci®, PCT®, and Prosci Change Triangle® are registered trademarks of Prosci Inc. Changefirst® and PCI® are trademarks of Changefirst Ltd. All other framework names are the property of their respective authors or organizations. SteadMark references these frameworks for educational purposes and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or certified by any of the above organizations. See our trademark notice for details.
Why do people resist organizational change?
Resistance is not a personality trait. It is a response to an unmet need. Self-Determination Theory, developed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan in 1985 and refined across four decades of research, identifies three needs that drive human motivation at work: competence, autonomy, and relatedness. When a change threatens one of these, people resist. Each kind of resistance looks different, and each one responds to a different kind of invitation.
Competence
The person is worried they cannot do the new thing. The answer is a teacher role. Ask them to train the pilot team on the part they already know, or to own the rollout checklist. Their standing rises as they help others, and their own confidence follows.
Autonomy
The person feels done-to. The answer is design authority over a bounded decision inside the initiative. Not the whole thing. One specific piece they get to shape, whether that is the rollout sequence, the tool choice, or the format of the team's standups during transition.
Relatedness
The person fears losing status or relationships with their peers. The answer is a visible champion role that ties their standing to the change succeeding. Pilot team lead, office hours host, feedback liaison.
SteadMark detects which of these three is driving each person's resistance, matches it to a role that fits your authority as a manager, and hands you the specific ask to make. The conversation is still yours to have. SteadMark just tells you which one is worth having today.