Kurt Lewin’s Three Stages model, also known as the Planned Approach to Organizational Development, is one of the cornerstone models that are still relevant today. Lewin, a physicist, and a social scientist proposed the Three-Stage Theory in the early 1950s as a simple framework for understanding the process of organizational change
According to Lewin, change is a complicated journey that may not be very simple and usually involves several stages of transitions or misunderstandings before reaching the stage of equilibrium or stability.
He used the analogy of an ice block changing shape to transform into a cone of ice during the process of unfreezing to explain the process of organizational change.
Stage 1 – Unfreezing:
This is the first stage of transition and one of the most important stages of the entire change management process. It entails increasing people’s readiness and willingness to change by fostering a realization of transitioning from their current comfort zone to a transformed situation. It entails raising people’s awareness of the need for change and increasing their motivation to accept new ways of working for better results. Increasing people’s awareness of the need for change and their motivation to accept new ways of working for better results. During this stage, effective communication is critical to gaining the desired support and participation of people in the change process.
Stage 2 – Change:
This stage is also known as the Transition stage or the stage of actual change implementation. Acceptance of new ways of doing things is required. This is the stage at which the people are unfrozen and the actual change is put in place. During this stage, careful planning, effective communication, and encouraging individuals to participate in endorsing the change are required.
It is believed that this stage of transition is difficult due to uncertainties, or that people are afraid of the consequences of implementing a change process.
Stage 3 – Freeze (Refreeze):
During this stage, people transition from a state of transition (change) to a much more stable state known as the state of equilibrium. The Refreezing stage is the final stage in which people accept or internalize new ways of working or changing, accept it as a part of their life, and form new relationships. Employees should be rewarded, recognized, and given positive reinforcements to strengthen and reinforce new behavior or changes in the way of working. Supporting policies or structures can also help in reinforcing new behavior or changes in the way of working.
The three stages of Lewin’s Change theory can be clearly explained using the example of Nissan Motor Company, which was on the verge of bankruptcy due to high debts and a declining market share.
During that time, Carlos Ghosn took over as the head of the Japanese automaker, faced with the challenge of implementing radical change and turning around Nissan’s operations while keeping the inevitable resistance to change under control by forming cross-functional teams to recommend a robust plan of change in various functional areas. To address business challenges, he devised a change management strategy and engaged employees in the change management process through effective communication and collaboration. To address business challenges, he devised a change management strategy and engaged employees in the change management process through effective communication and reinforcement of desired behaviors. He introduced performance-based pay and implemented an open feedback system to guide and facilitate employees in accepting new behavioral patterns at work to refreeze the employees’ behavioral change.
Change management, according to Lewin’s model, can be implemented in three ways:
- Changing the behavior, attitudes, and skills of those who work in the organization.
- modifying current organizational structures, systems, and processes
- Changing the organizational climate, culture, and interpersonal communication style.
Lewin’s model emphasized the interdependence of various organizational units and subunits. This model assumes that organizations operate under static conditions and move from one state of stability to another in a planned manner, but today’s organizations operate in turbulent scenarios and uncertain business environments. Furthermore, for the following reasons, several critics criticized Lewin’s planned approach to change management:
It was criticized for being overly simplistic and mechanistic, and as a result, it may not be applicable in the current organizational scenario.
Lewin’s planned change model ignores radical or transformational change; it is only useful when incremental change is implemented in an organization.
This model disregards the role of power and politics, as well as conflicts. Furthermore, it disregards the significance of employees’ feelings and experiences, which play a critical role in the entire change process. The model is very goal-oriented or plan-driven.
This model promotes a top-down approach to change management while dismissing the importance of a bottom-up approach in the change management process.