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COMPEL Glossary / lewin-s-unfreeze-change-refreeze

Lewin's unfreeze-change-refreeze

Kurt Lewin's foundational three-state change model: unfreeze the current equilibrium, introduce change, refreeze the new state into a stable equilibrium.

What this means in practice

Historical but still cited as the intellectual origin of the modern change-management tradition; limitation is that AI transformation rarely reaches a stable "refreeze" state given continuous model and capability updates.

Synonyms

Lewin 3-stage model , unfreeze-change-refreeze

See also

  • ADKAR — Prosci's five-stage individual change model — Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement — that describes the sequence through which a single person adopts a change.
  • Kotter 8 Steps — John Kotter's organizational-level change method with eight sequenced steps: create urgency, build a guiding coalition, form strategic vision, enlist volunteer army, enable action by removing barriers, generate short-term wins, sustain acceleration, institute change.
  • Bridges Transition Model — William Bridges' three-phase psychological transition model — Ending (letting go of the old), Neutral Zone (disorientation and exploration), New Beginning (adoption of the new).