Kübler-Ross was Wrong!
The Change Signal with Jacqueline Kappers
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If you lead change projects inside a large organization, you already know that most transformation efforts struggle not because the strategy is wrong, but because the human response is misunderstood.
In this episode, Jacqueline Kappers challenges the reflex use of the Kübler-Ross grief curve in change management. It was never designed for organizational transformation, and when we force people through tidy stages, we risk doing change to them rather than with them.
Her central idea is simple and uncomfortable: every change begins with loss. Promotion, restructuring, system rollout — it doesn’t matter — something ends before something new begins.
She also introduces the idea of a “grief fingerprint” and a “change fingerprint.” People don’t move through change in neat phases; they oscillate between past and future, certainty and ambiguity.
For senior leaders in change leadership, transformation, and organizational development, this conversation offers a more human, practical way to build change capacity and unlock performance — without pretending that loss isn’t part of the deal.
Here are three questions sparked by this Change Signal conversation with Jacqueline Kappers:
What loss are you ignoring in your latest transformation?
Where might you be grief-shaming your people?
What would change look like if you treated it as individual, not linear?
ABOUT JACQUELINE:
Jacqueline Kappers is a change practitioner and researcher focused on the human side of transformation. Drawing from grief research and thanatology, she helps leaders understand the neuroscience and psychology of transition — and how to support individuals through change in healthier, more effective ways.
Music Credits: Rest in the Garden - SackJo22 ft Duckett & The Stubble Field Break (Mana Mixed) - Mana Junkie ft Apoxode
