Use Kurt Lewin's Change Model in Change Management Implementations
Use Kurt Lewin's Change Model in Change Management Implementations
Use Kurt Lewin's Change Model in Change Management Implementations
Unfreeze
Kurt Lewin's model suggests that one of the best ways to motivate
people to change is to first get people to see the need for change.
Even when a change if for the persons long term health benefits
such a ceasing a bad destructive habit, few people ever change
because someone else tells them to. People generally need to see
for themselves the need for change, for the catalyst to occur, to
provoke them to "unfreeze".
Transition
People are at this stage looking for new and better ways to do
things. The behavior may initially be mechanical but they are
starting to perform and behave in ways that support the new
direction.
This process can be lengthy and almost certainly will not happen in
a matter of just a few days. It will take time for people to feel
comfortable and start to act in ways that are supporting the change
initiative. There may be some mayhem and confusion at this point
though with a properly structured approach to the change this can
be managed well.
Once people begin to see how the change is benefiting them, the
company and those around them, they will begin to take ownership
in the change and drive it. However we must not as leaders and
change agents take for granted that everybody will be the same.
Some people even though they themselves can see the benefit for
the business and its people, may still create difficulties and may
have to be removed. Unfortunately this is a fact of business life.
It will benefit the project and is great for leaders and the change
initiators to get out in the field and talk and be apart of the people's
approach. This aspect is part of what makes a good leader.
Freeze
When the people, structure, and strategy elements all seem okay,
when things are looking well, it is time to lock things in. We act here
to make sure that the improvements stick and this is the freezing
phase. We continue here until the changes become the 'way we do
things around here'.
Tips to Freeze
The Kurt Lewin model was developed to summarize what Kurt Lewin
believed were the basic steps in good planned change.
Have you read over this Kurt Lewin change management model and
reviewed the other change management theories, tools and
strategies for managing change in the workplace available on this
site? If so, then you have a very good foundation for achieving
successful organizational change. You can do it.
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What is the Lewin’s Change Model?
“Stagnation means decline” is a famous saying in many dynamic
organizations. This is why reorganizations, adjustments and other changes
take place within organizations. Unfortunately, employees are not always
happy with these changes and change therefore often encounters resistance.
To handle this properly, the German-American psychologist Kurt
Lewin developed the “Unfreeze-Change-Refreeze” model (Lewin’s change
model) in the 1950s. The Lewin’s change model describes the change in
three stages and is about change in general. Nevertheless, it is widely used
within companies.
Stable situation
To overcome resistance, people need to let go of old habits and structures.
This is a difficult assignment because change leads to a disruption of a stable
situation. People like to keep the old situation as it is, because it is safe and
predictable. People are only capable of accepting change when they know
what this change will bring them.
Change stage
It is of crucial importance that the change is implemented within a short
time. The longer the change process takes, the more employees are inclined
to relapse into old habits and rituals. This stage is sometimes referred to as
the “move stage” because it causes a ripple effect within an organization. By
acting vigorously and implementing the change within a short time, the
employees will become aware of the importance of this change more quickly.
Refreeze stage
This stage, refreeze the change, is about solidifying the change. After the
change has been implemented in the change stage, employees are inclined
to revert to their old habits. Therefore, it is advisable to make proper
arrangements and carry out interim evaluations, monitor and make
adjustments (when necessary). Only then the new situation can be stabilized
and the employees will understand that there is no turning back. Eventually,
they will act in accordance with the new situation and realize that there are
advantages to it.
Need
Change processes often fail because an organization does not succeed in
communicating the need for change to their employees. People/ employees
will only be able to make concessions and let go of the old situation when
they are aware of the need for change. The only way in which management
will succeed in convincing staff of this need, is openness, transparency and
honesty. When the employees are involved in the process, they will
understand the need for change and they can work on their awareness of
the change.
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recognize the need for change and to search for new solutions. This problem or
event is the catalyst that creates the pressure for movement of attitude or thinking,
and for change to occur. And key to this unfreezing catalyst is communication.
Two examples are:By doing attitude surveys of all staff, it may show management
thatmoral is quite low and that as a result of this low morale the risk tosafety is
quite high. This may in±uence a manager who has beenresisting change to begin to
take action.Similarly when information is being delivered to the ²eld, but
thennegative events in the ²eld are continuing to occur, this mayconvince
management that the message is not being heard andsome required changes are in
order.During the unfreezing step generally most staF and managementare willing
to change. Those that are not usually require somethingmeaningful to provoke
them to change their attitude. These twoexamples above demonstrate that there are
many positive andconstructive ways to do that.Kurt Lewin's model suggests that
one of the best ways to motivatepeople to change is to ²rst get people to see the
need for change.Even when a change if for the persons long term health
bene²tssuch a ceasing a bad destructive habit, few people ever changebecause
someone else tells them to. People generally need to seefor themselves the need for
change, for the catalyst to occur, toprovoke them to "unfreeze".Educating
employees in regards the pressures for change is a ²rststep.³ollowing on from that
leaders can begin tohighlight gapsbetween the current and desired statesand
present a vision asit needs to be. Then further begin to convey the change in terms
ofspeci²c outcomes that the company expects from the operation andemployees
and their con²dence and belief that these changes arepossible.
The existing system needs to be broken down before a newway of operating can be
installed
Change Theory: Critical Analysis Paper
By lisa8306 on September 14, 2014
Change is a constant issue in healthcare. The need to improve comes from many
directions and requires dedicated attention and follow through to make sure it’s done
right. Leaders have the added responsibility of choosing which changes need to be
made, planning the change process and motivating change in others. When done
wrong, change initiatives fail, motivation for future improvements declines, and
patient care outcomes suffer. The study of change theory can help leaders understand
what it takes to make change happen, motivate others through change and produce the
desired outcomes.
The specific change this paper will focus on is the change initiative my team is
currently working on to overhaul the case management model in use at all five of our
system’s hospitals. The model, or lack thereof, currently in place at our hospitals is
well-described by this: “Many well-intentioned case management programs may start
off with the goal of providing proactive, progression-of-care case management, but
fall short of their goals because of inadequate preparation of the case management
professionals, lack of understanding of relationship building, inadequate
communication skills, and, too often, weak leadership with little knowledge of
hospital case management practice” (Daniels, 2011, p. 114). Our model changes in the
past have not utilized a change management theory and our leadership lacked a
theoretical framework which lead to a disorganized rollout and lacked ongoing
management of the change process. As we move forward with our newest change
initiative, employees who weathered the last change are expressing concern with the
newest plan. As leaders, it is my team’s responsibility to bring about significantly
constructive change this time. I will review the change theories of Kurt Lewin (1947)
and John Kotter (1996) to compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of each
theorist’s ideas to assist understanding and planning for the changes we are making.
Lewin’s (1947) change process includes three stages starting with unfreezing. During
this phase, the motivation for change needs to be understood and explained to the
organization and the staff. The key for leadership during this phase is to develop a
compelling message explaining why the old ways of doing things cannot be sustained
and provide a vision for the future (Borkowski, 2011). We are presently in the midst
of this stage of change with our redesign in that we have assessed that a change is
needed and have communicated the message to staff. During this phase we have
caused a crisis within the department as employees are expressing a variety of
responses as they feel their job security is eroding and they are demanding to
understand why “the way we’ve always done things” is no longer good enough.
Managing the emotions, answering questions and helping employees see the vision of
the future is a large part of what I spend my time doing as a manager during this
phase.
The second stage is the change itself. During this stage an organization comes to
terms with the implications of the change plan and is in the process of transitioning to
the new way of doing things. At this stage, employees need to take an active role in
the changes and it will become evident if some employees are unwilling or unable to
make the necessary changes. This is the stage that includes acting in ways that support
the new vision and includes the process of reorienting and setting up new operating
practices (“Lewin’s Change Model,” 1996-2014). To prepare for our care
management redesign, we have created new job descriptions and are working on our
hiring and orientation plans so that our rollout will be well organized. While we are
not at this stage of implementation yet, it is important to have it mapped out fully
including any pitfalls we expect. In order to succeed, we plan to implement the
changes one hospital at a time so that we can focus fully on the area going through the
change, make improvements to our process as we go, and can show success on a small
scale before impacting the entire organization.
Lewin’s final stage is refreezing which starts once the changes are in place and the
organization is beginning to embrace the new way of doing things. At this stage, it is
important to manage for consistency so that the changes are internalized by staff,
monitored for reinforcement and adjusted if needed. Standard work stabilizes during
this stage, allowing employees to feel safe again and develop expertise in their new
roles. It is also important to take time at this stage to celebrate the successes of the
transition. “This is a critical time in the change process and if the change is to be
sustained or “stick” over time, the leader must play a pivotal role during this stage by
reinforcing the new behaviors with positive feedback, encouragement, recognition and
rewards, or else the change will be short-lived and the employees will revert to their
old equilibrium or behaviors” (Stichler, 2011, p. 168).
In contrast, Kotter (1996) describes eight stages of change including four steps that
coincide with Lewin’s unfreezing, three steps matching the change stage, and step
eight that mirrors his refreezing stage. In step one Kotter describes the need to create a
sense of urgency to motivate people to move out of their comfort zone and willingly
participate in the change. In order to kick start the change process, the leader must
have both a solid business case and be able to inspire an emotional response from
employees that convinces them of the need to change. “Leaders who know what they
are doing will “aim for the heart.” They will connect to the deepest values of their
people and inspire them to greatness. They will make the business case for change
come alive with human experience, engage the senses, create messages that are simple
and imaginative, and call people to aspire” (Kotter International, 2012).
Steps two through four relate to preparing the vision and the management team. In
step two, a powerful guiding coalition is created including people with the power and
respect to lead the organization through the change. This team develops the vision and
communicates it to the organization, eliminates barriers to the change, and leads the
change projects. To be effective, this team needs to have productive group dynamics,
effective group decision-making skills, and be able to trust each other (Borkowski,
2011). In our department redesign, it has taken us over a year to develop a strong and
cohesive team and we are still working on recruiting at least two more leaders before
we implement our change.
Developing the specific vision and strategy to make the change happens during step
three. A defined vision helps simplify and clarify the direction of the change so that it
makes sense to the minds and hearts of stakeholders. An ambitious but doable vision
can motivate employees and guide the direction of the change when linked to a
credible strategy and endorsed by senior leadership. Ultimately, the vision needs to be
simple enough to be quickly communicated and easily understood. In step four the
vision is communicated and spread throughout the organization so as many
stakeholders as possible hear, understand and buy into the message. It is important
when communicating the vision that the management team presents a unified front
and leads by example. It is a powerful message for the organization when the entire
management team has a singular message and exhibits consistent cohesion concerning
the change (Kotter International, 2012).
The next three of Kotter’s steps coincide with Lewin’s change stage. In step five the
management team eliminates barriers, encourages risk taking and helps solve
problems. At this stage, structures and behaviors that could undermine the change
need to be addressed and overcome. Often the barriers are related to internal company
structure or policy and this is the time to realign policies and goals to coincide with
the change that is desired. People who are barriers to the change become obvious
during this step and need to be managed directly and honestly, calling out their
undermining behaviors and setting up clear expectations. Step six drives planning for
short-term wins which are visible and clearly related to the planned change. The
importance of short-term success is that it motivates people to keep going, shows that
sacrifices are producing the wanted results and increases optimism for the future.
Small wins diminish the credibility of naysayers and help turn those who were
questioning the value of the change into supporters. Management needs to consolidate
gains and push forward with the change in step seven. Instead of relaxing after
celebrating the small wins, step seven drives more change and consolidating
improvements so momentum is not lost. At this stage the change needs to be
translated into the culture of the organization to prevent regression. Leaders at this
stage need to stay engaged, may add projects to bolster the change, hire addition staff
and keep the urgency for the project in the forefront (Kotter International, 2012).
The final step in Kotter’s change model, step eight or “making it stick” coincides with
Lewin’s final stage of refreezing. In this step the change is institutionalized so that it
is firmly settled into the culture of the organization. At this point, the organization has
made the shift, has seen the positive outcomes and has built new structures to support
the change (Borkowski, 2011).
As I work through these two theories and apply their framework to the change process
we are planning at my hospital system I am struck by many thoughts and ideas to
improve our implementation plan. Lewin’s change process has intuitive appeal and
can be incorporated into our change message to help employees understand the stages
of the change and help them develop a framework for what to expect. For the
management team, we can use the model to keep us focused in the right direction and
remind us not to skip any fundamental steps such as formulating a compelling change
message and celebrating small successes along the way. When applying Kotter’s
change process to the same project, it becomes clear that Lewin’s theory is too
simplistic to truly provide the roadmap for such a large change. Many critics point out
that Lewin’s process is only; “Suitable for small change projects, that it ignores
organizational powers and politics, that it is top down and management driven, and
that it assumes that organizations operate in stable states” (Mitchell, 2013, p. 34).
While both change models provide direction for a leader to use when moving an
organization and individuals through a change process, Kotter’s provides more details
to conceptualize the progression and forewarns of many more obstacles faced during a
change process. Using the framework provided by Kotter’s change model, our
management team can create a detailed roadmap to stay on track and plan for barriers
that might have surprised us had we not been thoughtful in planning. For instance,
step four, communicating the vision, is often underutilized by companies, many of
which; “Undercommunicate their visions by at least a factor of ten” (Kotter
International, 2012). While my management team has a vision for our future and feel
we have been communicating it for a year now, we continue to get feedback that
many stakeholders do not understand what we are doing or why we need to do it. We
recently received feedback that many physicians do not understand what case
management is or why it would be better than the reactive discharge planning process
we have been limping along with for years now. Hearing this feedback has hit our
management team hard and caused some discouragement, which would not be so
emotionally derailing to my team if we knew to expect it and/or had been better at
creating our simple but compelling vision and spreading it throughout the
organization. Because we are in the beginning stage of our change rollout, we still
have time to readjust our message and refocus our efforts by aligning with a change
theory and clarifying our strategy.
I find that both theories, in providing structure to a complex and ever changing
process, can help focus the planning for our change and keep us from making major
mistakes. While Lewin’s process is too simple to help plan the details of the change, it
can be effective to use when spreading the message to employees about the change
process precisely because it is simple and concrete. Kotter’s theory is much more
detailed and more applicable to my management team as we plan the changes we need
to make. Without a framework like this, we are creating our plan as we go, getting
sidetracked by obstacles we did not expect and are only thinking one or two steps
ahead at a time. At times it feels like we are reacting to company politics more often
than necessary and losing sight of our direction and goals. Using a theoretical
framework can bring our plans back into focus and keep us on track moving toward
our ultimate goal.
As helpful as these theories can be for keeping our change process on track, neither
are complex enough to truly explain or provide the roadmap to navigate some of the
intense politics and emotional reactions we have encountered. The step by step outline
that these theories assume suggests that change occurs in a single direction which
does not take into account the reality that change can be chaotic at times and unfolds
with many steps backward along the way. In the literature there are critics of the many
theories of the “planned approach” who raise concerns with the fact that a prescriptive
model; “Reduces the management of change to a simplistic, linear process that
ignores or down plays the complex and iterative nature of change. By declaring
change to occur through a series of predetermined steps it does not allow for new
emerging factors that typically come into play in most change programs” (Shanley,
2007, p. 543). Another concern with simple change models is that they downplay the
importance of the personal impact of change and that leaders need to acknowledge
and weigh the cost-benefit of negative consequences such as low morale, stress and
insecurity on both staff and leaders. Research has shown that leaders; “Expressed
difficulty in managing change and that a significant number reported stress, worry,
angst and grief at a level that would normally be associated with disasters,
catastrophes or even abuse” (Shanley, 2007, p. 543). Managers need to be aware of
the possibility of such negative feelings at all levels of the organization and
understand that these feelings can compromise the effectiveness and outcome of the
desired change.
Change is complicated and using change theory to manage change in healthcare can
assist leaders to be successful in implementing needed improvements. While there is
no perfect theory to guide change, there are many published theories that leaders can
use to help guide the process and by understanding the different approaches available
leaders can choose the one that best matches the particular situation. Some may
question the usefulness of theory because using it does not produce easy answers or
provide clear guidance to maneuver through change. If that is the case, why does it
remain important and useful to study and use theory? The fact is; “Every choice made
about the management of change is based upon the consideration of theory – if only at
an implicit level….The quest is not to find the “right theory” but to develop an
awareness of the theoretical underpinning of our actions – making the implicit explicit
and thereby taking responsibility and being accountable for our actions” (Shanley,
2007, p. 544). While no theory will provide the perfect roadmap to make change easy,
not using a theoretical framework leaves change managers wasting time, inventing the
steps as they go, finding themselves distracted from predicting easy to spot hurdles
and missing many of the important steps easily learned from the many change theories
available in the literature.