on waste of precious time, resources and opportunities. Melt the ice with education about the rationale and the benefits of change. Do not ignore the costs, both human and financial. Make sure consultation is honest about potential difficulties and gives all stakeholders an opportunity to suggest refinements. It is possible to do this and still hold on to the vision.

The second stage of Lewin’s change

Wikipedia states that “Change management is a structured approach to change in individuals, teams, organizations and societies that enables the transition from a current state to a desired future state.”

So, why is it that the implementation of change breaks down so often in organisations?

Kurt Lewin postulated that there are 3 broad stages to change; these being:

· Unfreezing (i.e. planning and preparation)

· Change implementation, and

· Refreezing (consolidation and refinement)

The language of “freezing” is illustrative of reality in organisations. People do naturally become “frozen” into familiar patterns, environments and behaviours. Life does need to have a degree of predictability in order for us to function. However, herein lays a major challenge for a significant change.

Effectively implementing organisational change is clearly a management responsibility. However, human beings throughout an organisation need to “feel” the need for change. Even an intellectual understanding that things could be done better is not enough to engage individuals in a change process. Nothing beats the proverbial WIIFM (“What’s In It For Me”) factor!

This is a major reason that consultation is so important in working toward change. The WIIFM factors for individuals will vary widely, but the sense of being included and listened to are fundamental in motivating people toward change.

Remember, Lewin’s theory talks about “unfreezing”. Change is not about creating an ice sculpture. Change management can take this approach, but the organisation risks breaking off critical pieces well into the change management process. This is a wanton waste of precious time, resources and opportunities. Melt the ice with education about the rationale and the benefits of change. Do not ignore the costs, both human and financial. Make sure consultation is honest about potential difficulties and gives all stakeholders an opportunity to suggest refinements. It is possible to do this and still hold on to the vision.

The second stage of Lewin’s change

n)

· Change implementation, and

· Refreezing (consolidation and refinement)

The language of “freezing” is illustrative of reality in organisations. People do naturally become “frozen” into familiar patterns, environments and behaviours. Life does need to have a degree of predictability in order for us to function. However, herein lays a major challenge for a significant change.

Effectively implementing organisational change is clearly a management responsibility. However, human beings throughout an organisation need to “feel” the need for change. Even an intellectual understanding that things could be done better is not enough to engage individuals in a change process. Nothing beats the proverbial WIIFM (“What’s In It For Me”) factor!

This is a major reason that consultation is so important in working toward change. The WIIFM factors for individuals will vary widely, but the sense of being included and listened to are fundamental in motivating people toward change.

Remember, Lewin’s theory talks about “unfreezing”. Change is not about creating an ice sculpture. Change management can take this approach, but the organisation risks breaking off critical pieces well into the change management process. This is a wanton waste of precious time, resources and opportunities. Melt the ice with education about the rationale and the benefits of change. Do not ignore the costs, both human and financial. Make sure consultation is honest about potential difficulties and gives all stakeholders an opportunity to suggest refinements. It is possible to do this and still hold on to the vision.

The second stage of Lewin’s change

g organisational change is clearly a management responsibility. However, human beings throughout an organisation need to “feel” the need for change. Even an intellectual understanding that things could be done better is not enough to engage individuals in a change process. Nothing beats the proverbial WIIFM (“What’s In It For Me”) factor!

This is a major reason that consultation is so important in working toward change. The WIIFM factors for individuals will vary widely, but the sense of being included and listened to are fundamental in motivating people toward change.

Remember, Lewin’s theory talks about “unfreezing”. Change is not about creating an ice sculpture. Change management can take this approach, but the organisation risks breaking off critical pieces well into the change management process. This is a wanton waste of precious time, resources and opportunities. Melt the ice with education about the rationale and the benefits of change. Do not ignore the costs, both human and financial. Make sure consultation is honest about potential difficulties and gives all stakeholders an opportunity to suggest refinements. It is possible to do this and still hold on to the vision.

The second stage of Lewin’s change

. The WIIFM factors for individuals will vary widely, but the sense of being included and listened to are fundamental in motivating people toward change.

Remember, Lewin’s theory talks about “unfreezing”. Change is not about creating an ice sculpture. Change management can take this approach, but the organisation risks breaking off critical pieces well into the change management process. This is a wanton waste of precious time, resources and opportunities. Melt the ice with education about the rationale and the benefits of change. Do not ignore the costs, both human and financial. Make sure consultation is honest about potential difficulties and gives all stakeholders an opportunity to suggest refinements. It is possible to do this and still hold on to the vision.

The second stage of Lewin’s change

on waste of precious time, resources and opportunities. Melt the ice with education about the rationale and the benefits of change. Do not ignore the costs, both human and financial. Make sure consultation is honest about potential difficulties and gives all stakeholders an opportunity to suggest refinements. It is possible to do this and still hold on to the vision.

The second stage of Lewin’s change model also poses some challenges. Even with a critical mass of support, implementation can be severely hampered by bad decisions and missed opportunities. For example, if the change requires a change in physical facilities, equipment or tools of trade, how are decisions made on how these are assessed for suitability and acquired?

An organisation recently implemented a significant systems change within a key area of the organisation. Not only did management neglect the unfreezing process, but the “tools of trade” introduced to support improved business outcomes actually caused and exacerbated injury to a number of the staff. Subsequently a range of remedial (and not particularly effective) strategies were introduced at great cost.

Never underestimate the negative impact of such a scenario on the trust between employees and management. Management can be so dedicated to implementing a change that any constructive criticism is dismissed as the product of “dinosaur mentality”. Employees will readily recognise this response for what it is, as management step up the promotional activity and dabble half-heartedly with minor variations to the change strategy. In turn, disenfranchised employees tend to confirm the management view that “the only way to get things done round here is to crack the whip”. Whip cracking is sustainable for a few days, weeks, or maybe even months. When whip cracking becomes the norm to sustain business outcomes, it is a burden on everybody in the organisation and ultimately undermines productivity.

The third stage, Refreezing, is the least demanding IF stages 1 and 2 have been well managed. Nevertheless, it would be na?ve t