How to Coach Yourself and Others Essential Knowledge For Coaching | Page 55

Kurt Lewin - Change Management Model
Kurt Lewin emigrated from Germany to America during the
1930's. Lewin is recognised as the "founder of social psychology"
which immediately points to his interest in the human aspect of
change.
His interest in groups led to research focusing on factors
that influence people to change, and three stages needed to
make change successful.
Unfreeze, Change, Freeze
Kurt Lewin proposed a three stage theory of change commonly
referred to as Unfreeze, Change, Freeze (or Refreeze). It is
possible to take these stages to quite complicated levels but I
don't believe this is necessary to be able to work with the theory.
But be aware that the theory has been criticised for being too
simplistic.
A lot has changed since the theory was originally presented in
1947, but the Kurt Lewin model is still extremely relevant. Many
other more modern change models are actually based on the
Kurt Lewin model. I'm going to head down a middle road and
give you just enough information to make you dangerous...and
perhaps a little more to whet your appetite!
Let's look at each of the three stages:
Stage 1: Unfreezing
The Unfreezing stage is probably one of the more important
stages to understand in the world of change we live in today.
This stage is about getting ready to change. It involves getting to
a point of understanding that change is necessary, and getting
ready to move away from our current comfort zone.
This first stage is about preparing ourselves, or others, before
the change (and ideally creating a situation in which we want the
change).
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