Reflections for My Mirror: Help, I’m Melting, Melting…
This week, Schein’s chapter 16 about the conceptual model for change, with its unfreezing, restructuring and refreezing really spoke to me. Firstly, I love the simplicity of the languauge with which Schein describes the whole change model. I think the three steps are described so succinctly by those three words. It makes so much sense that to undergo transformative change, of any type, you need to “unlearn” the way you’ve been doing things and why would you want to leave your comfort zone and unlearn anything unless there was some sort of disconfirmation that was producing anxiety? For me personally, I know it often takes some level of anxiety for me to find the motivation to make a change. It stands to reason that an organization would need to experience this to move towards change, considering groups are probably even more entrenched in their habits/culture.
One of the things I contemplated throughout this chapter is how the change model relates to my agency. We have been going through a modernization initiative (or looking to begin one). All of us in the agency have been told about the changes we should be anticipating for the near future. It’s obvious to me that we’re all currently in the stage of unfreezing – trying to unlearn some of the habits we’ve held so close for so long – so we can begin the process of restructuring. I’m hopeful that with the productive and positive culture in my agency this will go pretty smoothly, but I know change is never easy.
I’ll Stop the World and Melt With You:
