Welcome to Change

Change invites users to:

• Notice how change might be understood and talked about in an organization

• Engage with others in dialogue

• Try specific, small changes in practice and reflect on learning

This deck contains 42 cards, each showing a different way change may appear in organizational life. None are inherently right or wrong. They represent patterns you might recognize in yourself, your team, or your wider system.

Explore the deck using the Simple Exercise, materials in the Resource Center, or creating your own ways of working with the cards.

Understanding the labels

Each card includes a short label on the back (for example, EOP or AWP). The labels draw on Torbert and Herdman-Barker’s adult (or vertical) development framework, which describes seven worldviews through which people interpret the world. The first letter of the label relates to one of these worldviews, as follows:

O = Opportunist
D = Diplomat
E = Expert
A = Achiever
R = Redefining
T = Transforming
Al = Alchemical

Each label also includes either:
WP (Well-Played) — change expressed in a constructive and balanced way
OP (Over-Played) — change taken to excess

All cards are intentionally paired to show the relationship between well-played and over-played patterns. To find a pair, sort by worldview letter and match the same number (1, 2, or 3, also found on the back of the cards), e.g., AWP 1 and AOP 1. You may choose whether or not to draw attention to the labels and pairs depending on the exercise you are doing.

More Exercises to try