Toward a Theory of Change Readiness

This research article describes and constructs a model of performance readiness. The goal of this article is to illustrate how one might meet the challenges of change effectively. The author explores the factors and principles driving the positive transformational change of a high-performing soccer team. Framed by theories of cognitive appraisal, stress, and coping, the study reveals critical variables to the change readiness process to be appraisal, focus, and perceived control. By inquiring deeply into individual appraisals of a change, it may be possible to facilitate a focal shift from “resistance” to “resolution” and from a desire for “power over” a change to a recognition of one's “power to” change effectively.