The three phases of a change program. These phases were first articulated by the great psychologist Kurt Lewin, who said that there is nothing so useful as a good theory. But this model is more than theory, we can apply it and use it in a very practical sense. He started off by talking about change, having driving forces that make the change happen and restraining forces that hold it back. restraining forces like adherence to group norms, and fear and reluctance on an emotional level. So, Lewin's first stage of change was unfreezing we have to unfreeze the restraining forces, we have to loosen people up and get them ready for change.

We have to break through their desire for the certainty that they feel With the status quo, I've showed them that the status quo is no more certain than change, we have to show them that although there are established group norms, those norms need to change. We have to prepare them for the change by showing them that fear of losing what they had can be balanced by the advantages of gaining what we will gain. So that's the unfreezing stage and then we move into the second stage, which he called change. And this is where we have to deal with the uncertainty we have to deal with the rumors. We have to train and educate people in the new ways of working. leading people through this transition requires good leadership.

It requires good communication because in uncertain times, when we don't have enough information, gossip, rumor fill the void, but gossip and rumor Never accurate, they amplify the problems and they diminish the advantages. So feed people communication so that they don't need to engage in gossip, and they can understand the limitations of the rooms. Lewin's third stage of change is what he called freezing. Some people call it rephrasing the organization into its new configuration. This is where you give people support during the period after transition, when they're getting used to the new ways of working. Here is where people adapt to the new realities.

And sometimes they will make decisions for their own future. Don't be surprised if following a major change in your organization, that's when a few people opt out and they look for new jobs and new careers, because the change doesn't suit them. But for those who stay, it's all about establishing a new mindset. In the personal development world, there's a saying that you can create a new habit in 21 days. And in 91 days, three months, you can create a new lifestyle. And that sentiment is very much true in the world of organizational change.

It may take longer than 21 days to get people used to the new habits that they'll need to succeed and thrive in new organization. And it may take more than three months to really change mindsets across the organization. But what these numbers do do is they tell us that we will have to be prepared to continue to work at it to reinforce the new habits and the new mindsets because it will take time, it may take more, it may take less than three weeks to establish new habits. It will almost certainly take more and it may take less it may take more than three months to establish a new mindset and start creating new culture, it will almost certainly take longer. But it will happen if you continue to work at it. The mistake too many people make is they assume that when we're finished with the transition, the organization will freeze into a new state of its own and won't need any further support.

So the organization disband the change management team because it costs money to continue to support it. That would be a mistake. And if you're leading change your managing change in any capacity. Make sure that you fight for the time, the resources and the budget to properly freeze the organization into its new culture and mindset.