Understanding Change Management

To understand Change Management, first we need to know what Change Management means. There are many different definitions of Change Management. For the purpose of this Blog, Change Management can be defined as the controlled transformation of an organization from its current operational state to a future operational state.

There are currently at least two schools of thought on Change and Change Management. The first school of thought is based on Lewin’s Three Stage Model. The Three Stage Model uses the concept of Unfreeze, Change, Refreeze, which basically has the Organization moving from stability {Unfreeze from status quo} through change back to stability {new status quo}. (See link Lewin’s Three Stage Model for more information on the Three Stage Model).

The second school of thought, as articulated, in Herding Cats: Human Change Management and An Improvisational Model of Change Management, sees Change Management as an ongoing process not a temporary state. In this school of thought the desired future state is not a state, instead it is a stage in the ongoing evolution of the Organization. Organizations needs to stop viewing change as a project with a distinct beginning, middle and end as exemplified by the Three Stage Model. Instead of Refreezing and ending the change initiative, Organizations need develop structured Change Management as an ongoing operational process. This will allow the Organization to continuously adapt to the internal and external changes it faces.

While I was trained in the Three Stage Model of Change Management, I find myself in agreement with the emerging view that Organizational Change Management is an ongoing process allowing the Organization to evolve in the face of an ever-changing environment.