Change Management Models
3
Lewin's Stages
Unfreeze Change Refreeze
8
Kotter's Steps
Create urgency through anchor in culture
5
ADKAR Model
Awareness Desire Knowledge Ability Reinforcement
Lewin’s Three Stage Model
Lewin starts with Unfreeze (creating readiness), NOT with Change itself. Organizations must disrupt the status quo before introducing new processes. Without readiness, resistance overwhelms the initiative.
Unfreeze
Create readiness, disrupt status quo
Change
Introduce new behaviors and processes
Refreeze
Solidify and reinforce the new state
Related Concept
Force Field Analysis
Also by Lewin. Maps driving forces (pushing for change) against restraining forces (resisting change). Change happens when driving forces outweigh restraining forces. Used during the Unfreeze phase to diagnose resistance.
Kotter’s 8-Step Model
urgency is always step oneCreate urgency
Form a coalition
Develop a vision
Communicate the vision
Remove obstacles
Create short-term wins
Build on the change
Anchor in culture
can you sequence these models correctly?
Practice ordering questions on Lewin, Kotter, and ADKAR
Practice Change Management QuestionsExam Traps
Lewin starts with Unfreeze, not with Change
The most common mistake is jumping straight to Change. Lewin argued that people must first be made ready for change by breaking existing habits and mindsets (Unfreeze). Without creating readiness, the change effort fails. The exam tests this sequence.
Kotter first step is "create urgency" not "form vision"
Kotter insists urgency comes before coalition-building, before vision. If the organization does not feel the burning platform, no coalition or vision matters. The exam may scramble the order and ask you to identify the correct first step.
The exam tests sequence order specifically
Both Lewin and Kotter models are tested as ordered sequences. You will see questions that list steps out of order and ask you to identify the correct arrangement. Memorize the sequence, not just the names.
Lewin = Ice
Melt the old shape (Unfreeze). Pour into a new mold (Change). Let it solidify (Refreeze). Three steps, that order.
Kotter = Urgency First
Step 1 is always "create urgency." If you remember nothing else about Kotter, remember that.
You have an ice cube shaped like a star. You want a circle. You cannot carve ice into a new shape while it is frozen solid. First you have to melt it. In an organization, this means creating awareness that the current state is not working.
Now the water is liquid. Pour it into the circular mold. This is where new processes, new behaviors, new structures get introduced. People are learning and adapting. It feels messy because liquid has no fixed shape yet.
Put the mold in the freezer. The water solidifies into the new circular shape. In the organization, this means reinforcing new behaviors with policies, rewards, training, and updated job descriptions until the new way becomes the default.
Most change efforts fail because leaders skip Unfreeze. They try to pour water into a new mold without melting the old ice first. The result is a broken star, not a circle.
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