HLSC605 Module 4: Activity 2 by Sue Gledhill https://padlet.com/sue_gledhill/674yy1utzyiw 3. How could you help your employees to be better ready and prepared for the coming change? What strategies could you use to help them “unfreeze” (using Lewin’s term)? en-us 2016-07-11 05:11:15 UTC 2016-09-28 11:24:15 UTC hello@padlet.com Hello Sue and All                                                                                                                                   One of the key principles that is reflected throughout Lussier and Achua (2016) and many other works on leadership and organisational change is that of celebrating a shared vision. As such, a philosophy of Lewin’s model of change is that participation. As the leadership team become aware of the need for change, for example, loss of competiveness, the leadership team may then begin to develop strategies to implement that will maintain the organisations equilibrium. It is at this crucial point of strategizing that followers may need to be involved if the leadership team are to realise an overall desire to change. I recall a strategies implemented within my work place to promote a change in the way staff worked including the immediate physical environment. The goal was to create a leaner work force by decreasing clutter in the work place including extra activities that could be considered superfluous. A senior staff member was chosen to become the champion of lean, and to then promote the strategy within the work place. The workshops where mandatory which meant leaving work to pile up. The other part to the initiative was workplaces where given large industrial bins to dump all physical items that cluttered the work place. Again this took half days of work meaning that clinical work piled up. Once the initiative had been rolled out, staff where then engaged in participating in how to make their own work place leaner. However, the decision had already been made, the issues already identified long before any staff where asked to become involved. The staffs concerns over loss of work time and the impact this has on their greater work load may be indicative of restraining forces that can impact on the organisations change strategy. Needless to say, this initiative did not have momentum and I recall collegial conversations that interpreted the strategy as a representation of the leadership team not having faith in the work ethic and capabilities of staff. I noted resentment also towards the senior staff member challenged to be the driver of the strategy. Just to add context, the lean strategy was adapted or adopted from an international airline carrier whose management team used the lean model to increase returns and improve service provision. In context to Lewins model of change, the first step towards this successful change may have been to share the vision of a more efficient work force. As Sinek (2009) indicated start by asking why. For example why should we have a leaner business practice? This may begin the unfreezing process by generating a participatory engagement to developing strategies. Perhaps this was the missing link in the ‘lean’ example, as the management launched into how long before staff new why. As a leader this would be a place I would start. Why are we doing what we are doing? I would intend that this would generate conversations about value and mission statements that may then support inspired change from within. Lussier & Achua (2016). Leadership theory, application, & skill development (6th ed.). Boston, USA: Cengage Learning.  https://padlet.com/sue_gledhill/674yy1utzyiw/wish/125583841 Amanda]]> 2016-09-22 00:17:22 UTC https://padlet.com/sue_gledhill/674yy1utzyiw/wish/125583841 Strategies to help with unfreeze. https://padlet.com/sue_gledhill/674yy1utzyiw/wish/126912075 Lewin’s stage model of change really helped me to understand the change process better. The term unfreeze reminds me of another word I have used for people who are stuck when change is being introduced, namely “concrete”. My own experience has been some people get caught in one aspect of the change and cannot see the bigger picture. The reading by Klarner, By & Diefenbach (2011) presenting employee’s emotional responses would be a significant characteristic of the unfreezing and transitioning into the change. This is a complex area when emotions are part of the mix and highlighted my own emotional responses and others emotional responses to major change.
Communication is highlighted in this model as very important in the unfreezing stage, by informing staff of the change, the logic behind it and how it benefits the employee will contribute towards the unfreezing. Hopefully this would then transition towards a shared vision, as the actual change process starts to happen. I would also suggest if this stage is handled well the emotions involved would be far more positive than negative with the change being embraced more easily.
My own response to change has been to listen to people’s experiences and to not be affected by the contagion effect evidenced in the service at times when significant change is occurring (Klarner, By & Diefenbach, 2011 p. 338). The importance of acknowledging staffs experience and helping staff move forward in their understanding would be a goal of preparing them for change. I was involved with a change process a year ago where the team did not refreeze the result and the change reverted back to the original way of managing. One person managed this reverting back while the rest of the team looked on. We could not believe this happened, but understanding the importance of the refreeze stage has been my greatest learning. Kerry
  
Hartzell, S. (2014). Lewin, stage model of change unfreezing changing refreezing animated: Part 5. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kerDFvln7hU

Klarner, P., By, R. T., & Diefenbach, T. (2011). Employee emotions during organizational change - Towards a new research agenda. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 27, 332-340. doi: 10.1016/j.scaman.2011.06.002
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