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Course · Leading Change with Evidence
Is there a change management course that shows the research behind each step?
Yes, where a step has research behind it. Leading Change with Evidence, a self-paced course by Gabriel Lopez, shows the evidence grade for each research claim. When the course says a step is supported by research, it names the study, says how it was designed and gives its grade. Where only the abstract was read, it says so. When a step has no study behind it, the course says so and calls it practice.
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How the course grades evidence
The grade measures evidence strength only: how much weight a study's own design, execution and finding can bear. The grade asks three questions.
- Design. Did the researchers test the idea against a comparison they controlled, such as a randomized trial? If not, did they study real organizations systematically, through a survey, a comparison of organizations or long fieldwork in one? Or is it an argument, a practitioner article or an account of one manager or one program?
- Execution. Is the sample big enough for the design, and does no more than one serious limit apply? The five limits are: data from a single organization, accounts gathered years later, causes and results reported by the same people at the same time, researchers who ran the change they studied, and students standing in for managers.
- Clarity. Does the study show a specific link between a condition and an outcome, and is its main result clear rather than marginal?
The answers combine into a grade:
| Grade | What it takes |
|---|---|
| High | A controlled test that passes both execution and clarity, or a meta-analysis that pools many controlled tests and shows a clear main result. |
| Medium | A controlled test that fails execution or clarity, or a systematic study of real organizations that passes at least one of the two. |
| Low | An argument, a practitioner account or a single account, or a systematic study that fails both execution and clarity. |
From Lesson 0.3: What a grade means, in Module 0. These grades are one reader's judgment, made by a rule you can check. No one else has graded these studies independently. Where a High grade rests on the abstract alone, the course says so next to the grade; treat it as provisional until the full text is read.
Tested finding or practice
- A finding is something a study tested and reported, at a stated grade.
- Practice is something experienced practitioners do because it makes sense and seems to help, with no study yet testing it.
Both belong in a change plan. The mistake is passing practice off as a finding. When a step is labeled practice, your sponsor knows it is a judgment call, and you know to watch it and drop it if it doesn't help.
Graded steps, as the course and the Loop state them
From Lesson 0.5 · Brightwater Supply, a fictional company
Dana's first draft plan for the portal has four steps. Here they are, labeled.
| Step | Label | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Write down where things stand before the change starts | Practice | No study the Evidence Library holds tests whether recording a baseline improves a change. Module 1 covers it. |
| Share what she found back with her team | Practice, with nearby trial evidence; not tested on its own | The closest trials gave feedback to leaders as one part of a larger program, so the step wasn't tested on its own. Module 1 covers it. |
| Run a short review every two weeks that ends in one fix | Finding for debriefs in general; the two-week rhythm and the one-fix rule are practice | A meta-analysis of 46 samples linked debriefs to about 25% better performance on average than comparison groups (Tannenbaum & Cerasoli, 2013, rated High); many of the pooled studies were quasi-experimental. Module 7 covers it. |
| Hold off adding new work while the change settles | Practice | No trial yet tests a pause on new work. It stays labeled as judgment. Module 7 covers it. |
From the Unfrozen Loop · Part 4: Review on a rhythm, then hold the pace
Graded: Tannenbaum & Cerasoli 2013, meta-analysis, rated High: debriefs were linked to about 25% better performance on average than comparison groups; many of the pooled studies were quasi-experimental.
Untested: Holding off new work while a change settles has no trial yet in the studies I've graded so far (October 2026). It stays labeled as my judgment.
From the Unfrozen Loop · Week 0, before you start
Graded: Molan et al. 2018, randomized trial across 49 small units of one disability-services nonprofit, rated High from the abstract, so the grade is provisional: staff who got their survey results back rated the relational side of their own service higher.
Still untested: whether a manager who records a baseline gets a better change outcome. No study I've graded so far (October 2026) tests it.
The full Loop, with the evidence and the untested steps for every part, is on the Unfrozen Loop page. The course uses the Loop for what the middle has to do inside each process (Lesson 0.6).
What it is not
You receive a certificate of completion stating instructional hours. This is not a certification. Applications for HRCI recertification credit and ACMP Qualified Education Provider status are planned; credit is not yet approved.
This course is independent of ACMP and is not approved or endorsed by ACMP. The Loop is version 0.2. It is not yet proven as a whole.
Start with the free lesson
The first lesson, Module 0, is free: about 50 minutes, and it opens right away when you sign up. Founding enrollment is the course's first enrollment period. The price and what enrollment includes are on the course page. Full refund within 14 days of enrollment if you haven't completed Module 2.
$399 one time · Change Toolkit included · Full refund within 14 days of enrollment if you haven't completed Module 2.
Common questions
How does the course grade the evidence?
Each study gets a grade of High, Medium or Low from three questions. Design: Did the researchers test the idea against a comparison they controlled, such as a randomized trial? If not, did they study real organizations systematically, through a survey, a comparison of organizations or long fieldwork in one? Or is it an argument, a practitioner article or an account of one manager or one program? Execution: Is the sample big enough for the design, and does no more than one serious limit apply? The five limits are: data from a single organization, accounts gathered years later, causes and results reported by the same people at the same time, researchers who ran the change they studied, and students standing in for managers. Clarity: Does the study show a specific link between a condition and an outcome, and is its main result clear rather than marginal? The grade measures evidence strength only: how much weight a study's own design, execution and finding can bear.
What is the difference between a tested finding and practice?
A finding is something a study tested and reported, at a stated grade. Practice is something experienced practitioners do because it makes sense and seems to help, with no study yet testing it. Both belong in a change plan. The mistake is passing practice off as a finding.
Is it a certification?
You receive a certificate of completion stating instructional hours. This is not a certification. Applications for HRCI recertification credit and ACMP Qualified Education Provider status are planned; credit is not yet approved.
Is there a free lesson?
The first lesson, Module 0, is free: about 50 minutes, and it opens right away when you sign up. Founding enrollment is the course's first enrollment period. The price and what enrollment includes are on the course page. Full refund within 14 days of enrollment if you haven't completed Module 2.
A course from one person's practice and published research. It is not legal, HR or medical advice.