Using The UNFREEZE – CHANGE – REFREEZE Model To Prepare For The Future

One thing we can all agree on is that the world has dramatically changed because of COVID-19. The way we work, engage with others, shop, learn and many other day-to-day activities have been altered. These changes make it necessary for us to look for new and different ways to be effective at work.

I have been using a framework developed by Kurt Lewin called the Unfreeze – Change - Refreeze model to help me focus, adapt, and grow during this time. Lewin, recognized as the “father of social psychology”, explained organizational change using the analogy of changing the shape of a block of ice. Lewin’s model is focused on large scale organizational change but it has been useful for me as a practical framework to refocus and prepare for the new normal. In its simplest form, the three stages are:

Unfreeze – Awareness that things are changing and personal change is needed

Change – Moving towards a new and desired set of behaviors

Refreeze – Setting this behavior as the new normal

I have adapted this organizational change model to use as a guide for how individuals can focus on making the necessary changes to be prepared for a shifting world of work.

UNFREEZE 

As the COVID-19 virus has spread, we have seen many aspects of our daily lives “unfreeze”. It is important to pause and question what these changes mean for you and your work. 

Think about a time when you were part of a group photograph. When you get the opportunity to look at the picture, what is the first thing that draws your eye’s attention? Most people will answer by saying that they immediately focus their eye’s attention to how they look within the group picture. The same can be said for how we experience change and uncertainty. The first thing you will need to pay attention to is how this time of change impacts you being successful within your work? Below are some questions you should ask yourself.

• What is over? and What is still the same?
• How do I need to work differently?
• What do I need to do differently?

CHANGE

When you realize that your typical habits, behaviors, and thinking are not enough anymore because this new situation calls for you to bring forward new behaviors, it is time to focus your attention by setting change goals. We know that setting effective growth goals provide the benefits of clarity, focus, increased professional development, and accountability. Below are important considerations for setting effective change goals.

Define one achievable goal at a time - Too many goals will ensure you will lose focus and not succeed at accomplishing the desired behavior change.

Define the “Why” of your goal - Is it meaningful and important for you and your leadership success? If not, choose a different development goal.

Plan for obstacles - You should define what obstacles will get in the way of your success in achieving your new development goal and what actions you will take to mitigate the obstacles.

REFREEZE

This stage, refreeze the change, is about solidifying the change. After the change has been implemented in the change stage, it can be easy to revert to our old habits. Research shows the powerful combination of feedback and reflection helps us to continually learn from our experiences and to anchor our new behaviors into habits.

Ask for Feedback

To receive honest and unfiltered feedback you must be deliberate about creating a safe environment by actively giving permission and expressing an openness and desire to receive feedback. The practices below will help leaders to minimize potential threats while encouraging others to provide them with accurate and honest feedback.

Be Specific with Feedback Request –If you ask general questions like “How am I doing?” or “What can I do better?” it makes it very difficult for the individual to understand what is wanted and “okay” to provide. It is helpful when you make a request for feedback to begin with a statement that you have a desire to improve in a specific area followed by a specific request for feedback.

Ask for Feedback Often – It is important to be seen frequently asking others for feedback about how they can improve your performance. As this becomes part of a regular routine people will begin to feel safe about providing you honest feedback.

Avoid Defensiveness – The quickest way to ensure you will rarely receive honest constructive feedback is to act defensively. If you are perceived as being defensive or denying the other person’s perspective, you are demonstrating that you don’t want or value constructive feedback.

Reflect to Learn from Experience

A regular practice of reflection increases one’s capacity to demonstrate emotional intelligence, social skills, and learning agility. Rolfe et al.’s (2001) reflective model is one of the most practical reflection approaches because it centers around asking three simple questions: WHAT? SO WHAT? NOW WHAT? This framework helps leaders quickly assess past experience, make meaning of the experience, and decide what the experience means for future action.

Below are some example reflection questions to consider for your practice:

WHAT? - What happened? What did you notice (5 senses)?

SO WHAT? - What worked / What didn’t? What are the connections between this experience and previous experiences?

NOW WHAT? - How will you do things differently or the same next time? What will you do to move forward?

How are you focusing your energy to learn, grow and adapt to succeed in this new world of work?

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Tony Gambill is the founder and principal for ClearView Leadership, an innovative leadership and talent development consulting firm based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Tony brings more than 20 years of executive experience in leadership development, coaching, and team effectiveness within global for-profit, non-profit, technical, research, healthcare, government and higher educational industries.