ABSTRACT
Literature on leading change often describes a linear and managed approach to enacting a change project, such as Kotter's (1995) change model. The implication being that if you follow a series of steps, you can achieve a successful change. Such models are often developed in corporate settings and found wanting when applied to the complex and multi-hierarchical environments of higher education. In response to this, the CIRCLE model for change management has been developed in a university in order to provide a way of understanding the complexity of change in relation to educational change projects. CIRCLE provides a different, cyclical approach to realising change, one that explicitly acknowledges that the action of starting a change in a large-scale project, changes the environment of that project and therefore models of change need to be flexible and responsive. This is illustrated through two case studies of institutional-wide educational change projects, where the CIRCLE model has been developed. We argue that our model provides a more effective way of leading change and engaging stakeholders in complex environments.
