A simple illustration often used in the Bible to demonstrate
the process of God bringing change to people’s lives is the picture of a potter
reshaping clay. The prophets, for example, often used this imagery to lead
people toward change:
“O Lord,
you are our Father. We are the clay, you
are the potter; we are all the work of your hand” (NIV Bible, Isaiah 64:8).
“‘Can I not do with you as the
potter does?’ declares the Lord . ‘Like
clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand’” (NIV Bible, Jeremiah 18:6).
The apostle Paul in the New
Testament used the same picture:
“Does not the potter have power
over the clay…” (NKJV Bible, Romans
9:21)
I once had the privilege of
watching a potter give a demonstration of his craft. He began by reaching into
a burlap bag and pulling out a brick of clay. It was very stiff, hard and cool
to the touch. As he held and pressed it in his hands for a while, it started to
become more pliable as it began to warm up. After warming and kneading it in
his hands the potter was eventually able to roll the one time stiff brick into
a pliable ball which he then pressed into the center of his spinning wheel. Adding
a little bit of water as the wheel began to spin, the potter skillfully began
to reshape the lump of clay carefully into a new form. After finally reshaping
the clay into the desired shape of a beautiful vase, the potter explained that
the next step in the process was the most critical of all. In order for the new
vase to retain its shape it would have to be re-hardened by baking it in a
kiln. Then it would not only be beautiful to look at, but it would be strong
enough to be able to be used for the purpose it was created.
This process of un-hardening
something to reshape it and then re-hardening it again serves as a simple
illustration of the three basic steps of Kurt Lewin’s change theory model.
Students of leadership have probably studied Lewin’s concepts of unfreezing, changing and refreezing.
Unfreezing
The concept of unfreezing
refers to the observation that the stability of human behavior is based on
“quasi-stationary equilibria” or resident organizational forces which tend to
resist change. In order for change to occur, these forces or embedded norms of
operation must be removed if the organizational equilibrium is to be moved
(Schein, 2002-2006, p. 1).[1] Put
more simply, the first step toward change is to unfreeze the hardened,
non-pliable norms of operation to make possible the reshaping and change of the
organization.
Changing
This is perhaps the most exciting and fun part of Lewin’s
change theory because it has directly to do with actually changing. This is
where the potter begins to create something new. This is the process of
reshaping the old organizational structure anew. This is the stage that the
effective change agent has had to restrain him or herself from jumping into
prematurely. However, once the careful and thoughtful unfreezing has been
completed, the anticipated change can be started.
Refreezing
When we finally come to the ideal place where all the new
changes have been put into position; the processes of disconfirmation, trial
and error have yielded the desired results; the organizational team is on
board, well educated and informed; we dare not forget the advice of the skilled
potter. The beautiful newly created vase will remain vulnerable to collapse unless
it is fired in the kiln. Unless the carefully prepared organizational changes
are refrozen; unless they are firmly set into the culture of the organization,
they may collapse and fade away much more quickly than it took to build them.
The key point to be made is that if refreezing is to take
place, the new behavior must be congruent with the rest of the behavior of the
learner or it will simply set off new rounds of disconfirmation. This can lead
to the unlearning of the very things that have just been learned (Schein,
2002-2006, p. 4).[2]
The model of unfreezing, changing and refreezing offers a
vivid conceptualization of change leadership. As a minister I have witnessed
all too often the results of churches that have been stifled by old methods and
traditions which have led ultimately to the closing of their doors for lack of
current relevance in the communities they were meant to serve. I have seen new programs started by pastors
that begin with enthusiasm and great initial success only to fade away once the
pastor is reassigned, moves on or simply runs out of gas. Key learning to take
away from this change model is not only the three key phases for lasting
change, but the reality that the entire organization needs to be involved with
the process and buy into the reshaping if the desired change is to be enduring.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thoughtful comments are always appreciated.