Kubler-Ross

In Short

Help people understand and normalise emotional responses to change
Best for: Change/grief curve model
Kubler-Ross is a structured tool for coaching and facilitation. Help people understand and normalise emotional responses to change. It provides a repeatable framework that can be adapted to individual, team, and leadership development contexts.
Type of tool: Change/grief curve model
Expected outcomes:
- Improved ability to help people understand and normalise emotional responses to change
- A concrete action or development plan to take forward from the Kubler-Ross process

In Detail

Kubler-Ross is a structured framework designed to help coaches, leaders, and facilitators help people understand and normalise emotional responses to change. It sits within the category of Change/grief curve model, making it particularly useful for practitioners working on capability development, team performance, and individual growth in organisational settings.

In practice, Kubler-Ross is delivered as a 5-step process. The process begins by introduce Kübler-Ross's five stages: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance. The session closes by plan communication and engagement that meets people where they are. The structured approach ensures that participants move through a consistent experience while leaving room for the facilitator to adapt pacing and depth to the group's needs.

Kubler-Ross provides a shared vocabulary that persists beyond the session itself. When team members reference the same model in day-to-day work, coaching outcomes become embedded in practice rather than remaining as isolated insights from a single workshop.

How to Use

Introduce Kübler-Ross's five stages: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance.
Apply to organisational change: 'Where does each person in your team sit on this curve right now?'
Map the team on the curve.
Identify what support each person needs at their current stage.
Plan communication and engagement that meets people where they are.

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Provides a shared vocabulary that persists after the session and supports ongoing conversations Structured approach ensures consistent application across different cohorts and contexts Directly addresses the challenge of help people understand and normalise emotional responses to change through a proven conceptual structure	Risk of over-applying the model — not all situations fit neatly into any single framework Conceptual frameworks require skilled facilitation to connect theory to participants' actual work Some models have limited research evidence; practitioners should be transparent about this

Created by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

When to Use

This tool is suited to the following coaching and facilitation contexts:

Context	Relevant
Individual Coaching
Team Coaching	✓
Leadership Development
Facilitation / Workshop
Online / Virtual

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