Lewin's Three-Stage Model of Change, also known as Unfreezing-Change-Refreeze, is a popular framework used to understand and manage organizational change. The model was first proposed by Kurt Lewin, a pioneering social psychologist, in the 1940s.

The Three-Stage Model of Change suggests that organizations must "unfreeze" their current state before moving to a new, desired state. This unfreezing process involves breaking down the psychological barriers or "set points" that keep an organization stuck in its current state. Once these set points have been broken down, organizations can then implement the necessary changes to achieve their desired state. Finally, once the changes have been made, organizations must "refreeze" themselves, or establish new set points, to solidify the changes and prevent backsliding.

Examples of how this can be used in business are:

  • A company might want to increase sales by 10% in the next quarter. In order to do this, they would need to unfreeze their current state (e.g., by breaking down the set point that says it's not possible to increase sales by 10% in a quarter), implement the necessary changes (e.g., by changing their marketing strategy), and then refreeze their new state (e.g., by establishing new quarterly sales targets).

  • A company might want to improve employee satisfaction levels. In order to do this, they would need to unfreeze their current state (e.g., by breaking down the set point that says employees are unhappy), implement the necessary changes (e.g., by improving communication and increasing benefits), and then refreeze their new state (e.g., by establishing new employee satisfaction targets).

The Three-Stage Model of Change has been criticised for its linearity, as it does not always reflect the reality of how organizational change actually happens. Additionally, the model does not take into account the different types of resistance that can occur at each stage of change. Nevertheless, the model continues to be a popular tool for understanding and managing organizational change.

Keywords: Lewin's Three-Stage Model of Change, unfreezing, change, refreezing, set points, Kurt Lewin, organizational change, linearity, resistance.