1. Unfreeze and Super
Perform!
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PRESENTS
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2. In a recent Blog on ‘Managing Complexity For Super Performance’, while looking
at going with the flow to manage the ‘Tide of Change’ we came across an
Iceberg!
More specifically, we touched upon Kurt Lewin and his, ‘Unfreeze, Movement,
Refreeze’ model of managing complex change.
In fact, the Un-Freeze/Re-Freeze model is one of the simplest for understanding
both Organisation & Social Change, but what was he actually talking about
when he first came up with this theory?
Well Kurt Lewin was a physicist turned social scientist and you don’t get many of
them to the pound! And because of his professional background, he preferred to
use physical science analogies to help make sense of and explain social
phenomenon. So, we have an Iceberg, or quite simply a block of ice.
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3. Now if you want to change the shape of that block of ice, say perhaps you want
to change it from a rectangular block to a circular block, what might you do?
You could try squeezing it – You might try hitting it with a hammer – but most likely
if you try to use force of any kind it will be resisted because the block of ice is in
fact a complex system of inter-related H2O crystals in a configuration that will
resist such attempts to change it.
So, take a step-back and ask the simple question, ‘What would make frozen H2O
receptive to change?‘ (or put another way, ‘What will it take to make my Team,
Organisation or Business receptive to change?’).
In the block of ice’s case its’ simply to melt it so its liquid and in that state
amenable to change. An important lesson then before you begin any change
process is to ask some quite basic questions. For instance, ‘Why are we
undertaking this change?’, ‘What are my Team or my employees going to need
to understand about this change?’, ‘What is really going to involve and engage
them and help ameliorate any resistance?’, ‘What are the short-term, quick-wins I
can put in place to underwrite, provide ballast and also give momentum to drive
the process forward?’.
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4. A forthcoming Blog entitled, ‘Be Transformed & Super Perform’ looks at the six key
steps you might want to follow to ensure your Change Process is successful and
we will also be looking at the importance of having a, ‘People Plan For
Change’ in a subsequent Blog. Another powerful tool to use in support of any
Change Process is, of course, Appreciative Inquiry and regular followers of
these Blogs will know we have recently looked at this technique in some detail.
The three stages of Unfreezing, Change or Movement, & Re-Freezing can be
used to describe any change in an organisation, including social changes, but
the problem is in the organisational context, we can sometimes (nay oft-times)
forget Step One, or Step Three. We do Step Two, of course – We make the
Change, but it is never really successful because not all three stages have been
considered and implemented.
Sounds familiar? Let’s then take a closer look at all three stages and what each
might entail.
Firstly, how do you Unfreeze an Organisation or an Individual so that it/they will
accept change? How do you in other words make the person/system receptive
to change?
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5. One approach might be to follow the Pain & go to where the Hurt is! Perhaps
though you should actually be looking to go to where the Pain is going to be felt
and ask yourself what can be done to help your employees recognise the need
for change where the change needs to happen?
A simple survey could help the Unfreezing process and the feedback would
provide data to highlight and demonstrate that there are problems, tensions &
emotions running high to be addressed. Using Appreciative Inquiry techniques
could also majorly help the Unfreezing process. Interestingly, Unfreezing is often
overlooked in management training programmes. You’re simply sent on a course
– you don’t have a context, you might not then be particularly receptive to
learning or changing your practice. Indeed, if you feel that you’re on the course
because you’ve done something wrong in your job and you have to change the
way you do things, then quite naturally your guard is going to be up & your
resistance high!
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6. If you want change to happen then you have first to Unfreeze - You then move
forward to making the change: Proposing the solution to the problem; clearly
communicating all the steps in the Change Journey; creating a common/shared
purpose; engaging Key Stakeholders, Local Change Sponsors, Champions &
Leaders of the Change on the ground; providing opportunities for feedback,
review and the celebration of quick win wins and incremental changes that will
create the momentum to deliver the bigger changes.
Then lastly you need to Re-Freeze and it will probably not surprise you to realise
that it is often this step that is most neglected. You change the way you work
following training, or the Organisation undergoes change and new processes
and practices are introduced, but in either case are any steps taken to embed
these changes. What you are actually looking for are ways you can weave the
change into the fabric of the organisation, making it part of the culture and the
organisational narrative. You are looking to make the Change permanent!
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7. Your Turn!
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Do you use Kurt Lewin's 'Unfreeze, Change, Refreeze' methods? How do you
manage change in the workplace?
Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below and if you enjoyed this
post, remember to 'like,' share and subscribe. :-)
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Questions?
© 2013 The Mudd Partnership | www.themuddpartnership.com | @muddpartnership | www.fb.com/muddpartnership