The model offered by Kurt Lewin to implement change consists of three major steps. Unfreezing is the first stage to determine the general requirement for change, study the environment, promote the need, and check resources. The second stage is change itself, during which participants communicate, empower their actions, and involve all reliable stakeholders. Finally, refreezing occurs to examine the offered idea within the existing environment, sustain long-term goals, and support people. Resistance to change is a common phenomenon in organizational management, and the chosen model helps deal with it through communication, leadership, and data control.
When the importance of change emerges, people prefer to demonstrate the highest level of change resistance. In most cases, it is hard for a company or some employees to understand innovation or predict if the idea leads to positive outcomes (Hussain et al., 2018). Lewin’s model presupposes communication between participants at different stages to enhance support, understand the conditions, and frame the issue most clearly. It is possible to move on and start implementation only after the organization creates the need for change. Lewin underlines that effective leadership and information flow are the two obligatory elements in his model to remove biases and clarify all aspects (Hussain et al., 2018). Even when the change is implemented, employees should communicate not to allow their resistance to progress and provoke negative outcomes.
Resistance to change is normal and usually expected in most change processes. Lewin does not reject or neglect the worth of this possibility and offers several ideas on how to deal with it. When people communicate, they exchange their opinions and share information, which reduces dark moments and helps plan the next steps. However, most attempts to change something remain ineffective without a good leader. Therefore, the choice of a leader is one of the obligatory tasks to enhance cooperation and minimize resistance effects.
Reference
Hussain, S. T., Lei, S., Akram, T., Haider, M. J., Hussain, S. H., & Ali, M. (2018). Kurt Lewin’s change model: A critical review of the role of leadership and employee involvement in organizational change. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 3(3), 123-127. Web.