Which statement best distinguishes a change agent from a change leader?

• A. Change agent promotes or enables change; Change leader assesses readiness for change
• B. They are the same
• C. Change leader promotes or enables change; Change agent assesses readiness for change
• D. Neither involved in change

Answer: (A)

The idea being tested is how responsibilities differ between someone who drives the change on the ground and someone who shapes its direction. A change agent’s job is to promote or enable the change in practical terms—planning, coordinating activities, communicating with stakeholders, training people, and removing obstacles to adoption. A change leader focuses on the bigger picture—setting the vision and direction and assessing whether the organization is ready for the change, including sponsorship, culture, structures, and capacity to support it. Because leadership is about readiness and alignment, while the agent is about execution and enablement, the statement that best distinguishes them is that the change agent promotes or enables change, and the change leader assesses readiness for change. In many real-world efforts they work together, but the roles are distinct: readiness assessment belongs to leadership and strategy, while promotion and enablement belong to the change agent. Other options blur or invert these roles, or suggest neither is involved, which doesn’t fit how change initiatives are typically managed.