Lewin Change Model - the Role of the Leader in the Change Initiative

Change Model Paper

Amy Colsten

Grand Canyon University

LDR-615 Organizational Development and Change

Kimberly Bennett

Sept 5, 2013

The Role of the leader in the change initiative

In the Lewin Change Model, the role of the leader in the change initiative is in Lewin's Three Stage Process of Change: Unfreeze, Change, and Refreeze. In the Unfreeze stage, the leader has to make sure that the employees are ready for the change. In the Change stage, the intended changes are executes, and in the Refreeze stage, the leader ensures that the changes becomes permanent. The leader's role is to convince his or her employees that a change is needed in the organization. Their responsibility is setting the context for the changes within the structure and the workforce in the organization. For the change initiatives support, the leader must provide the important strategies of envisioning, enabling, and energizing, and they must also be able to counsel and coach their employees so that they will learn to adapt to the changes and move through the process of the change successfully.

Overcoming the resistance to change.

Whether people accept the change or resist change, Lewin's Force Field Analysis is a tool and technique used for identifying, discussing, and documenting; it helps understand what is needed for change. Lewin's force field analysis, he uses it to determine which factors in a situation or in the organization drives a person towards or away from a change, and which of the factors opposes the driving forces. Force field analysis is a technique that can be used for identifying, discussing and documenting the factors that support or oppose a change initiative Lewin's stage process; unfreeze also helps to prepare individuals for change in advance. When they are willing to accept the change and not resist it anymore, then the leader can go ahead and proceed with the changes. In the world today, with resistance to change among the employees in the organization, there was the readiness to change and the ability to change. If they don't feel like they are able to adapt to the change, and be productive in the organization after the change has been made, then they are going to resist the change. That is why it is important to develop a good path for the employees so that they can and will be able to adapt to change.

The Communication process.

In Lewin's model, during the unfreezing process, the change communication should work to build the sense of urgency. While communicating the changes in the organization, the leader should focus on helping his or her employees to understand the need for all of the necessary changes that will occur while they are to provide the and emotional support to help them transition smoothly towards the change process. The leaders' needs to make sure that their employees are a part of the change process, communicating with them to address any of their concerns, and make sure that their concerns are understood.

The ADKAR Individual Change Management Model

Role of the leader in change initiative.

The ADKAR ICMM by Prosci describes how a person can make a successful change. The model was initially used as a tool for determining if change management activities like communications and training were having the desired results during organizational change. It describes the building blocks an individual must have to make