[MUSIC] Kurt Lewin, a pioneer in applied psychology, was the first to articulate the signs of change in human systems. Lewin's seminal work is the foundation for almost all contemporary approaches to managing change. In this video we will study two important and interrelated ideas of Kurt Lewin, the force field diagram and the change model. Let us begin with the force field diagram. According to Lewin, in any individual group or organization there are two competing forces in operation. These are the forces of stability that aim to maintain the human system in its status quo and the forces of change that push the system towards change. In most human systems, these two forces are evenly balanced. Leading to what is known as quasi-stationary equilibrium. For change to happen, either the forces of change need to be strengthened or the forces of stability need to be weakened. As a diagnostic tool, force field diagram helps us gain a quick and useful diagnostic overview of the forces for and against the change. Let us apply this analysis to an old engineering company that was contemplating internationalization. The company had operated so far only in the domestic market. But was now considering a proposal to acquire a unit in another country. The senior leaders gave careful thought and listed certain rational factors supporting the change. First, in the changed industry context of increased competition internationalization made strategic sense. Second, despite its comparatively small size of operations, the company had financial and technological strength to make the acquisition successful. And in terms of emotional factors supporting change, the senior leaders championing the internationalization move were highly credible. At the same time there were restraining forces against the change. In terms of rational factors, the company's functional structure created hurdles for the proposed move. In terms of emotional factors, the managers and employees did not see a need for change as the unit was consistently profitable. They also felt that the company had no capability to manage an acquisition in a foreign location, and so felt anxious about the change. Does the first step in force field analysis is to thoughtfully identify the important driving and restraining forces. The second step is to assess how strong or weak the different forces are. The third step is to work out a plan of action to make the change happen. By a, strengthening the positive forces, b, weakening negative forces. Or c, creating new positive forces. Lewin argued that enhancing the forces of change could potentially lead to a corresponding increase in restraining forces. For instance, if the senior leaders used their formal authority to push the internationalization agenda hard it could lead to an increase in restraining forces. For example, greater fear and anxiety about the change. Loss of trust in the leadership and lack of willing cooperation from employees. Rather than increase driving forces, it is better to weaken or reduce the restraining forces. For instance, with greater communication to help people see the benefits of the change, the restraining forces are reduced. Lewin refers to this step of weakening the restraining forces as unfreezing. This brings us to his change model, where unfreezing is the first step. Once a system is unfrozen, the existing forces of change will help the system move towards the new state. Finally, the system is refrozen in the new state through the adoption of new habits, structures, or culture. Thus Lewin's change model has three phases, unfreezing, changing, and refreezing. The first stage of unfreezing is aimed at creating an understanding of why the change is needed in the first place. In our engineering company case, as the firm was consistently profitable, the employees were internally focused. So unfreezing was aimed at creating awareness of market trends, technological developments, and competitive scenario to create a compelling need for change. Competitive and financial information was shared, and internal teams took up global bench-marking to understand why internationalization was so critical. The what's in it for me question was also addressed. There will be greater professional and career growth opportunities for employees. The more people understand why a change is needed the more they will be motivated to accept change. As the saying goes, people don't resist change, they resist being changed. Thus, the first phase of unfreezing reduces restraining forces by addressing the question of why change and creating greater awareness of the external context. Next, the stage of changing involves the actual steps to implement change and make it a reality. Efforts are made to create necessary processes, systems, structures, or capabilities. People are constantly reminded of the larger picture to sustain motivation and momentum. In the engineering firm, several actions were carefully planned and executed for moving to the new state. Cross functional teams were constituted, new targets were set, roles were assigned, training was provided, appropriate support was given, and 100 day plan was carefully executed. The final stage of real freezing refers to reinforcing, stabilizing, and so defining the changes. So that people do not revert back to the earlier state or old ways thinking and doing. This is necessary to cement the changes into the organizational culture. To reinforce the move to being an international firm, rather than a domestic company, the engineering company restructured itself. It celebrated successes arising from the changes. Rewarded and reinforced the key contributors, and appointed mentors to support new ways at different levels. So what are the practical lessons from Lewin's foundational change model? First, we should invest in understanding the social system that we wish to change by taking up a thoughtful identification of driving and restraining forces. Force field analysis helps us gain an overview of the potential change levers. Next, we should remember that change is a process, not an event. We can not order change. We have to begin by building a compelling case for change to unfreeze the system. In the second phase, as the change becomes a reality, people are moved out of their comfort zone. So we have to deal not only with the content aspects, but also the emotional and relational aspects of change. Finally, change has to be integrated into social system in the refreezing phase so that it does not end up as a flash in the pan. In the following videos, we will elaborate these ideas to develop a more detailed road map for change management. [MUSIC]
