What Is Lewin’s Change Theory? Explanation, Pros and Cons

According to Prosci research, projects with excellent change management are seven times more likely to meet or exceed objectives compared to those with poor change management. This underscores the importance of choosing time-tested, research-based approaches when navigating complex organizational shifts.

Kurt Lewin's model, one of the earliest in change management, breaks change down into three essential stages: Unfreeze, Change and Refreeze. Structured approaches like this one help organizations prepare, manage and solidify change effectively.

In this article, we explore how Lewin’s model addresses complex change processes, examining its core principles, benefits and potential challenges. We also compare Lewin’s model to the Prosci ADKAR® Model, providing actionable insights for planning, implementing and sustaining effective change within your organization.

What Is Lewin’s Change Theory?

Lewin’s Change Theory, developed by Kurt Lewin in the 1940s, outlines a three-stage process for organizational change: Unfreeze, Change, and Refreeze. This provides a structured way to understand how organizations transition from a current state to a desired future state.

The Unfreeze stage involves preparing the organization for change by identifying the need for transformation and fostering readiness. The Change stage focuses on implementing new behaviors, processes or systems. Finally, the Refreeze stage aims to stabilize these changes, integrating them into the organization’s culture and practices to maintain the new state.

This model has been widely referenced in change management discussions over the last 70 years. But, while Lewin’s Change Theory offers a broad framework, it doesn’t provide detailed guidance on executing each stage, which may limit its applicability in complex scenarios. However, it remains a useful reference point for understanding the general stages of change, and many change management models use a version of Lewin’s three stages.

3 States of Change: Comparisons

The 3 Stages of Lewin’s Change Model 

Each stage of Kurt Lewin’s Change Model guides organizations through the change process. Here’s how Lewin describes them:

Unfreeze

The Unfreeze stage sets the groundwork for change. During this phase, organizations identify the need for change and prepare individuals and teams for the upcoming transition. This often involves breaking down existing mindsets and behaviors that may act as barriers. It’s a time to challenge the status quo, highlight inefficiencies, or address external pressures necessitating change.

Key actions in this stage include:

• Communicating the rationale for change to create awareness.
• Gathering support from leadership and key stakeholders.
• Assessing readiness through tools like surveys or readiness assessments.

For example, before implementing new enterprise software, the organization’s leadership might conduct workshops to explain the benefits and address concerns. These activities aim to reduce resistance and build momentum.

Change

The Change stage focuses on implementing the transformation. It’s where new processes, systems or behaviors are introduced, and teams begin adapting to the shift. This stage can be dynamic as individuals and groups work to internalize new ways of operating.

Key actions in this stage include:

• Providing training and resources to build the necessary skills.
• Offering continuous support through coaching or mentoring.
• Monitoring progress and making adjustments as needed.

For instance, when an organization adopts new workflows, team leaders may hold regular check-ins to ensure employees understand their roles and responsibilities. Challenges and resistance behaviors might arise, but ongoing support helps reduce these issues.

Lewin's Model of Change Management

Refreeze

Refreeze is the final stage, aimed at stabilizing and embedding the change into the organization’s culture. Without this stage, there’s a risk that people will revert to the old ways of working. The goal is to reinforce new behaviors and ensure they’re sustained over time.

Key actions in this stage include:

• Establishing new policies and procedures to support the change.
• Recognizing and rewarding adherence to the new way of working.
• Continuously gathering feedback to identify areas for improvement.

For example, after introducing a new customer relationship management (CRM) system, an organization might update its performance metrics to new ones that the new system can track and provide ongoing training to reinforce usage. Regular feedback loops can help maintain the new processes and ensure alignment with organizational goals.

Using this simple, three-step system has some key advantages that have contributed to its longevity.

Advantages of Lewin’s Change Theory

Lewin’s Change Theory offers a straightforward framework for understanding and managing organizational change. Its simple, three-stage process provides several advantages for organizations looking to guide transitions effectively.

Simplicity and accessibility

One of the most notable strengths of Lewin’s Change Theory is its simplicity. The model’s three stages are easy to understand, making it accessible to practitioners across different experience levels. This simplicity helps reduce confusion during the planning and execution of change initiatives, enabling teams to focus on the key objectives of each stage.

For organizations new to change management, Lewin’s model can serve as an entry point, offering a clear framework without overwhelming complexity. After all, having any model for change is better than an unstructured change process.

Versatility

Lewin’s model is versatile and applicable across various industries and organizational contexts. The framework can be adapted to suit diverse needs, whether the change involves implementing new technology, restructuring teams or shifting organizational culture. Its broad applicability makes it a valuable tool for organizations dealing with different types of transitions, particularly those that are linear and straightforward.

Structured approach

The sequential nature of Lewin’s model offers a structured way to manage change. Clearly delineating the preparation, implementation and stabilization phases helps organizations avoid skipping critical steps. This structured approach is particularly valuable in projects where maintaining order and focus is essential to success.

However, other theories of change have arisen since Lewin’s creation, in part because it has some critical flaws. Here are some of the things that make Lewin’s theory less useful.

Drawbacks and Limitations of Lewin’s Change Theory

While Lewin’s Change Theory was once a popular model for managing organizational change, it’s not without limitations. Understanding these drawbacks is crucial for organizations to determine whether this model aligns with their specific change management needs.

Linear and rigid structure

One of the main criticisms of Lewin’s Change Theory is its linear and sequential nature. The model assumes that change follows a straightforward path through the stages of Unfreeze, Change, and Refreeze.

However, in many organizational contexts, change is not a linear process. Complex changes often require iterative approaches with overlapping or revisited phases. For instance, in dynamic environments where external factors rapidly evolve, organizations may need more flexible models to adapt in real time. That’s one reason why many organizations choose non-linear models like our ADKAR Model.

Limited guidance for complex changes

Lewin’s model provides high-level guidance but lacks detailed steps or tools for managing the complexities of large-scale or multifaceted changes.

For example, it does not specify how to address the unique challenges that arise in global transformations, such as managing cultural differences or aligning diverse stakeholder groups. This can make it less effective for organizations operating in highly complex or fast-paced environments. Today, more and more organizations are in rapidly changing industries, and the pace of change is steadily increasing.

Lack of focus on individual change

Another limitation is the model’s focus on change at the organizational level. While the Unfreeze, Change, and Refreeze stages consider collective behavior, they offer limited insights into individual change journeys.

Modern change management practices emphasize the importance of addressing individual transitions to ensure the overall success of organizational change. Models like the Prosci ADKAR Model provide more granular steps for guiding individuals through change.

No consideration for cultural factors

Lewin’s model does not explicitly address the cultural dimensions of change. These factors often play a significant role in determining the success of change initiatives. Organizations might need to supplement this model with additional frameworks or strategies that focus on cultural understanding and alignment.

Limited pace of change

Lewin’s Theory of Change was developed when organizational environments were relatively stable, and change typically occurred as a discrete event rather than a continuous process. The model’s three stages—Unfreeze, Change and Refreeze—imply that change can be fully implemented and “frozen” in a new state. This approach assumes a clear start and finish to change, with a stable end state that can be maintained until another change is needed.

However, today, organizations often face ongoing, iterative changes rather than isolated, one-time transformations. For example, technology companies need to continuously adapt their strategies, products and structures in response to rapid advances and shifting market demands.

In such contexts, “refreezing” after each change can be impractical, as it implies an increasingly rare state of permanence. Organizations today often need to remain fluid, with processes and practices that are adaptable, responsive, and open to frequent adjustment.

Comparing Lewin’s Change Theory With the Prosci ADKAR Model

Lewin’s Change Theory and the Prosci ADKAR Model are both well-known in change management. While they serve the common goal of facilitating successful transitions, their approaches differ significantly in structure, focus and application. Understanding these differences can help you select the model that best aligns with your change initiatives.

Prosci ADKAR Model

Structure and focus

Lewin’s Change Theory emphasizes change at the organizational level, focusing on group dynamics and team collective behavior. In contrast, the Prosci ADKAR Model focuses on individual change and consists of five sequential elements: Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement. These elements represent the outcomes that individuals must achieve for change to succeed. 

By emphasizing individual transitions, our ADKAR Model helps organizations remove obstacles for people, build commitment, support competency, and ensure sustained adoption of new processes or behaviors.

Lewin’s Change Theory is a high-level framework that describes change as a three-stage process. It provides a broad roadmap for managing transitions with flexibility in how to approach each stage but without prescribing specific actions or measurable outcomes. This can make it challenging to operationalize in complex or large-scale change efforts.

Unlike Lewin’s theory, the ADKAR Model provides detailed, actionable steps and measurable goals for each stage. This is especially important when considering the change process's individual nature. Although Lewin’s model focuses on the three defined states of change, individual people often transition between stages at their own pace, which requires structure and intent to manage. When people are not supported with effective change management, people will experience barriers they can't move past. 

The result can be a “Swiss cheese” change process in which only some team members make it to the “future state.” To avoid this, our ADKAR Model supports individuals in achieving all the elements they need to be successful from the current state to a future state.

Applicability to different types of change

Lewin’s model is best suited for linear and relatively straightforward changes. Its simplicity allows organizations to plan and execute changes in a structured manner. However, in today’s fast-paced environments, where changes are often iterative and complex, the model’s linear structure can be a limitation. Organizations undergoing multiple concurrent changes may find it challenging to apply Lewin’s framework effectively.

The ADKAR Model, by contrast, is adaptable to both linear and nonlinear changes. Because it focuses on individual transitions, it can be applied to diverse scenarios, including large-scale transformations and continuous improvement initiatives.

Additionally, its flexibility allows practitioners to revisit earlier stages, such as returning to Awareness or Desire, if resistance or barriers arise. This makes our ADKAR Model particularly useful in dynamic environments where change is ongoing and multifaceted.

Actionable insights and measurement

Another key difference is the level of guidance and measurement provided. Lewin’s Change Theory offers limited direction on how to implement each stage of change, leaving much to the practitioner's discretion. Although this flexibility can be seen as an advantage in more straightforward projects, it doesn’t provide enough structure for complex changes. Furthermore, Lewin’s model doesn’t include mechanisms for measuring progress or success at each stage.

The Prosci ADKAR Model, on the other hand, provides clear guidance for each outcome, and is built into specific tools such as the ADKAR Blueprint, to plan and measure progress. Its focus on measurable outcomes enables organizations to identify barriers early and adjust their strategies accordingly. By providing a more granular view of the change process, the ADKAR Model enhances accountability and supports continuous improvement.

Adoption and industry recognition

Both models are well-recognized in change management. However, adoption varies depending on organizational needs. Lewin's Change Theory, one of the earliest models, continues to be used, but usually in combination with more advanced change models.

The Prosci ADKAR Model, developed through extensive research and practice, is used by thousands of change practitioners and leaders seeking a detailed, evidence-based approach. Its emphasis on individual change aligns with modern change management practices that focus on the people side of change.

Our ADKAR Model’s widespread use and reputation for delivering measurable results make it a preferred choice for many organizations, especially those undertaking complex or large-scale transformations.

Complementary use

While these models differ in their approach, they’re not mutually exclusive. Organizations can use Lewin’s Change Theory to outline the overall stages of a transformation while applying the ADKAR Model to manage individual transitions within those stages.

For instance, during the Unfreeze phase of Lewin’s model, practitioners can leverage ADKAR’s Awareness and Desire elements to build readiness and commitment among employees. Similarly, ADKAR’s Reinforcement stage during the Refreeze phase can help sustain the changes by ensuring continued adherence to new behaviors.

How to Address Every Stage of Change

While Lewin’s Change Theory provides the basics for transitioning from a current state to a desired future state, many organizations require more detailed guidance—especially during complex changes. This is where the Prosci ADKAR Model, with its practical, evidence-based recommendations, offers value.

Our ADKAR Model supports Lewin's stages of change and offers actionable insights to support individuals through each phase. By focusing on individual transitions, the ADKAR Model ensures smooth progress from one stage to the next. While Lewin’s model establishes the foundational framework, the ADKAR Model equips organizations with the tools needed to implement change effectively, with clear, measurable outcomes.

The combination of Lewin’s broad perspective with the detailed, people-focused approach of ADKAR allows for comprehensive change management. This blend supports maintaining a structured plan while addressing the nuanced needs of individuals, leading to sustainable and effective transformations.