Lewin's Three Stages and Managing Change Well

Kurt Lewin’s three-stage model (Unfreeze, Change, Refreeze) is older and simpler than Kotter’s eight-step model. It remains useful because it focuses on the central transition.

Lewin’s three stages

Kurt Lewin, the social psychologist who also developed the Force Field Analysis, proposed a three-stage model of change in the 1940s. The model has been refined many times since, but the core remains useful.

Unfreeze

Unfreeze means preparing the organisation to accept that change is necessary. It involves breaking down the existing status quo. Start at the core: challenge the beliefs, values, attitudes, and behaviours that currently define the organisation. Prepare a compelling message about why change is needed.

Unfreezing is the first stage. The current state has to be loosened before change can happen.

The image is of frozen water. While it is frozen, it cannot change shape. It must be thawed first. Then it can take a new form. Then it can be frozen again in the new form.

For an organisation, unfreezing means:

1. Challenging the current beliefs. What we used to assume may not be true any more.
2. Surfacing dissatisfaction. The current state has costs that have been tolerated; making them visible reduces tolerance.
3. Communicating the case for change. Why now, why this direction.
4. Reducing the holding power of the current state. Making it less comfortable to stay.

Unfreezing is mostly cognitive and emotional work. It happens through conversations, communications, and shared analyses, not through physical changes.

A school head who skips unfreezing announces change too early. The staff is still attached to the current state. The change collides with resistance and stalls.

Change

During the change stage, people begin to resolve their uncertainty and look for new ways to do things. They start to believe and act in ways that support the new direction. They need to understand how the changes will benefit them, and hands-on management is the best approach.

Change is the middle stage. The new practices, the new structures, the new behaviours are introduced and adopted.

This is the transition state. It is messy. Productivity dips. Emotions run high. The school is between the old and the new.

The principal cannot stay in her office during the change stage. Staff need to see her, hear from her, be supported by her. Hands-on management means visible presence, daily attention, real engagement with the difficulties.

A school head who delegates the change to others and disappears damages the change effort. Staff often interpret her absence as lack of commitment.

Refreeze

During refreeze, people and the organisation internalise or institutionalise the changes. The changes are used all the time and are incorporated into everyday work. With a new sense of stability, employees feel comfortable with the new ways of working.

Refreezing is the final stage. The new state becomes the normal state. The fluid period ends. Stability returns.

Refreezing matters because without it, the change slips back. Staff revert to old practices. The change becomes a memory, not a reality.

For an organisation, refreezing means:

1. Embedding the change in systems. Procedures, policies, training, appraisal all reflect the new practice.
2. Embedding the change in culture. The new way becomes “how we do things here”.
3. Recognising and rewarding the new behaviour. What gets rewarded gets repeated.
4. Confronting backsliding. When staff slip back, addressing it.

A school head who declares victory after the change stage skips refreezing. The change does not hold. A school head who continues to attend to the change after the new state is established sees the change become permanent.

Comparing Lewin and Kotter

Lewin’s three stages and Kotter’s eight steps describe similar journeys. Kotter is more detailed; Lewin is more memorable.

The mapping is rough but useful. A school head familiar with Lewin’s simpler model can use Kotter’s more detailed model without losing the overall arc.

What to expect from change

A few patterns recur during any real change.

A sense of loss and confusion. People feel loss even when the change is positive. The familiar is being given up. Confusion is normal as the new ways are not yet mastered.

Mistrust and a “me” focus. Trust tends to drop during change. People wonder whether they will be okay. The focus shifts to self-protection.

Fear of letting go of what led to past success. The current practices have worked, at least in some ways. Letting them go feels risky.

People holding onto and valuing the past. Nostalgia for the previous state intensifies during change. The past gets idealised. The future gets feared.

High uncertainty, low stability, high emotional stress, high conflict. The transition state is emotionally demanding. All of this is normal.

A school head who expects these reactions handles the change better. She does not interpret loss, mistrust, or conflict as failure. She knows they are the normal byproducts of change. She manages them rather than letting them stop the change.

Addressing mind-set

Several practical moves help manage the human side of change.

Learn the change-matter thoroughly yourself. A school head leading change must understand what she is leading. Half-knowledge produces inconsistent communication and weak leadership.

Explain the purpose of change. Frequently and from multiple angles. Staff need to hear the why often.

Convey the benefits. Not just the benefits for the school. The benefits for individual staff. What will each teacher gain from the change?

Link daily activities to higher purpose and benefits. When a teacher is doing the new practice, she should know how it connects to the larger goal. Without the connection, the practice can feel arbitrary.

Paint a picture of the successful future. Describe what the future will look like, concretely. Vague visions do not motivate; concrete pictures do.

Build relationships. Throughout the change, invest in relationships. Staff who trust the principal tend to handle change better than staff who do not.

A practical change leadership checklist

A school head leading change should:

1. Understand the change yourself. Step 0.
2. Build urgency. Make the need felt.
3. Form a coalition. Build a guiding team.
4. Develop the vision and strategy. With the team.
5. Run Force Field Analysis. Identify the forces; plan to address them.
6. Communicate continuously. Multi-channel, frequent, honest.
7. Unfreeze. Challenge the current state; reduce its holding power.
8. Empower action. Remove barriers; give support.
9. Move to change stage. Be hands-on. Visible. Engaged.
10. Generate short-term wins. Visible early successes.
11. Don’t let up. Keep pushing through difficulty.
12. Refreeze. Embed in systems, culture, recognition.
13. Watch for backsliding. Address it promptly.
14. Eventually create new culture. Behaviour first, culture follows.

The list is long. Change is real work. A school head who runs through the list deliberately leads change better. A school head who improvises tends to struggle.

Flashcard

What are Kurt Lewin's three stages of change, and what is the most often-skipped stage?

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Answer

Unfreeze, Change, Refreeze.

1. Unfreeze. Loosen the current state. Challenge beliefs, surface dissatisfaction, communicate the case for change. Cognitive and emotional work.

2. Change. Implement the new practices. Messy transition; hands-on management essential; visible leadership critical.

3. Refreeze. Embed the new state. Systems, culture, recognition all reflect the new practice. Stability returns.

The most often-skipped stage is Refreeze. School heads declare victory after Change and move on. Without deliberate refreezing, the change slips back. Staff revert to old practices. The new way does not hold.

A school head who continues attending to the change after the new state is established sees the change become permanent. A school head who treats Change as the final step does not see it last.