Is the Change Style Indicator a Valid and reliable Assessment?

Yes. Before you use any psychometric tool with your people or clients, you need confidence in two things: that it gives consistent results (reliability), and that it measures what it claims to measure (validity). The Change Style Indicator® Second Edition (CSI™ 2) has been thoroughly tested on both, as well as for fairness across different groups.

Reliability: consistent results you can trust

The CSI 2 shows strong evidence of reliability in two ways:

• The questions work together. The assessment items measure change style preference consistently, with strong internal consistency (α = .81).
• Results are stable over time. People who completed the CSI 2 twice received very similar scores, both after a short gap of 1–2 weeks (rc = .80) and a longer gap of 13–15 weeks (rc = .75).

In practical terms, the score a participant receives is a dependable picture of their preference, not a result that shifts from one day to the next.

Validity: measuring what it’s meant to measure

• It builds on a proven foundation. CSI 2 scores correspond very closely with the original CSI (rc = .94), confirming that it measures an individual’s preferred approach to change.
• It measures something distinct. CSI 2 results show almost no overlap with other behaviours or traits such as emotional intelligence, hardiness or psychological flexibility (median rc = .07). Change style is its own construct, so the CSI 2 adds insight that other tools don’t provide.

Fairness: suitable for diverse teams

The CSI 2 item and report content has undergone a thorough cultural review, and revised content avoids language or assumptions that favour one group over another. This keeps the assessment broadly applicable and respectful of people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

The CSI 2 has also been tested across demographic groups, including world regions, genders and U.S. racial/ethnic groups, and no meaningful differences in scores were found. This indicates the assessment yields fair, unbiased results.

Whether you’re leading a multinational team or a local community group, you can use the CSI 2 with confidence to strengthen your change management strategies.