If you want truly to understand something, try to change it.1 Show
- Kurt Lewin When you want to change something, you need to understand it. Kurt Lewin truly believed in what he said, as he developed a change management model to help people and organizations tackle changes. Read along to learn more about Lewin's change model, its three stages, and its advantages and disadvantages. Lewin's Change Management ModelKurt Lewin was born in 1890; he was a psychologist specializing in social psychology and behavior study. He wrote many books on sociology: "A Dynamic Theory of Personality," "Principles of Topological Psychology," "Resolving Social Conflicts," etc.2 But it was only late in his career that he developed the model that made him famous in the change management field. Change management is a process that helps an organization adapt to changes. Like many other psychologists, Kurt Lewin realized that people resist changes, which is why implementing changes in organizations is tricky. For this reason, he developed an easy-to-apply model to help organizations plan and implement changes. This model has three steps: unfreeze, change, and refreeze. It became very popular because of its simplicity and easy-to-apply process. Lewin's model of change is not the only model of change management he created. He also developed a force field analysis model that can help determine the forces that are working for the changes and the forces working against them. The idea is to use the tool to give some recommendations. You can find Lewin's force field diagram below (Fig. 1): This model has five steps:
Lewin's 3-Stage Model of ChangeKurt Lewin's model is straightforward and has three stages3: Unfreeze: Preparing for the changes. This step is about unfreezing the status quo and preparing for future changes. That's where the management needs to gather support within the organization so that everyone recognizes the need to change. In this step, the leadership will determine what needs to be changed. They will also create and communicate the new processes. Change: Implementing the changes. This step is about implementing the necessary changes the organization will go through. Even the best plan must evolve, and the organization should adapt its plans and changes accordingly. In this stage, the organization must ensure that everyone participates and reaches the common goal. Refreeze: Creating a new status quo. It's crucial that the recent changes stay anchored in the company and that people don't return to their old ways. This step is about creating a new status quo and ensuring that those changes are now part of the company's culture and will stay there over the long term. You can use the following figure (Fig. 2) to help you visualize Lewin's 3-step model. You can use Lewin's force field analysis in the unfreezing stage to help you develop a strategy and analyze the forces that will help and work against the change you plan. Kurt Lewin was one of many change management leaders who created a model or a theory to help organizations implement changes. We can cite: The bridge transition model, Kotter's Eight-Step model, Action Research, Organizational development, etc. 1. The Bridges Transition Model The Bridges transition model is another popular change model. This model focuses on how people perceive the changes; it's about understanding how people feel. The model identifies three stages people go through when a change occurs: Endings: This is the stage where people understand that something is ending and something else will start. Neutral zone: This is the transition phase where new processes are not totally in place, and people must adapt to the new status quo. New beginnings: This is the stage where people understand it's a new beginning.4 2. Kotter's model of change Finally, John Kotter also developed a change model for organizations. Kotter's model has height steps:
Lewin's Change Model Real-Life ExampleLet's take a practical example to apply Lewin's change model: You become the CEO of a company that produces chemical products and would like to improve safety and reduce the number of incidents. Having heard about Lewin's model, you decide to implement it. Unfreeze: you determine that there are three types of incidents in your company: serious, moderate, and small. Your goal is to reduce all incidents and ensure you don't have any serious ones. You organize a meeting and share your vision with the company's leaders. You then start to plan the changes that will happen: new training, new procedures, safer machinery, etc. Change: you implement the company's new training, procedures, and structural changes; you buy the latest machinery, etc. You also encourage and reward your employees for coming up with innovative ideas for implementing new and safer processes. Refreeze: you ensure that the new process and structure are well ingrained in people's minds. You ensure that a new, safer culture is implemented in your company. Advantages of Lewin's Change ModelThere are a couple of advantages of using Lewin's change model:
Disadvantages of Lewin's Change ModelHowever, Lewin's model is not perfect, and many criticisms exist. Some of the disadvantages of Lewin's change model are:
Lewin's model is a straightforward model that can help an organization plan for changes. However, the model is quite simple, and the organization will likely need other tools to implement those changes. Lewin's Change Model - Key takeaways
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What is refreezing in Lewin's model?Phase III – Refreezing
The final stage of Lewin's change model is refreezing when the organization moves from making changes to “business as usual” (the new status quo). This means that everyone has bought into the changes and is committed to maintaining them.
What is refreezing in change management?The stage of Refreezing is the ultimate stage in which people accept or internalize the new ways of working or change, accept it as a part of their life and establish new relationships.
What are Lewin's 3 stages of change?Lewin's change model is a simple and easy-to-understand framework to humanize the change management process. These three distinct stages of change (unfreeze, change, and refreeze) allow you to plan & implement the required change.
What is unfreezing in Lewin's model example?Unfreezing means getting people to gain perspective on their day-to-day activities, unlearn their bad habits, and open up to new ways of reaching their objectives. The current practices and processes have to be reassessed for the wheels of change to be set in motion.
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