Every change is a journey, and like any journey, it unfolds in stages. Those familiar with these phases of change management will not be caught off guard by sudden dips in performance or emotional outbursts within the team. It is entirely normal for morale to fluctuate during a transformation—what matters most is how you handle it.

The Psychology of Change

Academic theory often distinguishes between various phase models. The most well-known is Kurt Lewin’s 3-phase model, which we today typically break down into more detailed steps:

• Phase 1: Unfreezing: In this phase, the status quo is called into question. Shock or denial often prevails. Here, your task is to communicate the necessity of the change clearly and unequivocally. 
• Phase 2: Moving (Changing): — the most challenging stage. Employees experiment with new approaches, make mistakes, and feel insecure. Performance often dips temporarily (the "Valley of Tears"). Here, support and coaching are essential. 
• Phase 3: Refreezing: The new processes become routine. The goal is to stabilize what has been achieved so that the team does not revert to old patterns.

Visualization as an Anchor in Every Phase

Why are visuals particularly valuable during the various phases of change management?

1. In the *Unfreezing* phase, an image helps to depict the necessity of the change in a vivid and easily understandable way. 
2. In the *Moving* phase, the image serves as a roadmap. Should the team lose its bearings, the dialog picture points the way toward the ultimate goal. 
3. In the *Refreezing* phase, the image transforms into a success story. It serves as a record of what has been achieved together.

Proactive Management of Resistance

Resistance typically emerges during the middle phases of change management. It is not a sign of malice, but rather of fear. If you can show your employees what the future looks like—through concrete visualization—you strip the unknown of its intimidation.

Your Roadmap for the Future

Change requires time and patience. By understanding the various phases and providing communicative support throughout them, you minimize friction and accelerate success.

Would you like to visualize your specific change management phases? Let's work together to map out how you can safely guide your team through the process. You can find further information on our "Change Management" landing page.

2020 INITIATIVE FUTURE

ANNUAL OVERVIEW OF CHANGE MANAGEMENT PROCESSES

As the market leader in electrical wholesale, Sonepar sells high-quality branded electrical goods for customers in the trade, retail and industry segments.
In addition to the large product selection in the online store, more than 5,000 employees in around 200 branches are also busy fulfilling special customer wishes. In this way, Sonepar is constantly working to meet the ever-changing requirements of its customers in an innovative and sustainable way.

The sudden outbreak of the pandemic also influenced already established structures here.

With the help of the "2020 Initiative Future" image, DIALOGBILD is once again working with Sonepar to design an annual overview of the change management processes, which records the company's realignments and annual projects. As a visual instrument, it is intended to help the workforce to orient themselves within the process flows and to understand interrelationships.

OUR CULTOUR CHANGE

AOK Rheinland-Pfalz/Saarland - The health insurance company is the largest health insurance company in the two federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, with over 1. 2 million insured persons and 85,000 supervised employers as well as around 3,500 employees. The health insurance fund maintains business relationships with more than 100 hospitals, 10,000 doctors, psychotherapists and dentists, around 1,300 pharmacies and many hundreds of other contract partners. It offers high-quality care for the population and tailor-made concepts in the regions. For this, modern, future-oriented structures are also essential in the corporate culture.

In the framework of the"Together on CulTOUR" programme, develops a vision of the future and principles for leadership and cooperation. The existing brand mission statement of the AOK-community was adapted.

The aim of the dialog picture is to communicate the developed products, to permanently anchor them and thus to create a successive "KulTOURwandel" which will prepare the AOK Rheinland-Pfalz/Saarland for the future challenges of the health and nursing insurance market.

With the help of the dialog picture, the complex contents have been depicted and brought into an overall context. This ensures a common understanding of the new. A further advantage is that all employees deal with the topics not only on the rational, but also on the emotional level, and the dialog picture provides space for constructive discussions and a valuable exchange of experiences or opinions.

ALONG WITH YOU

We are the ones with heart...

... a guiding principle that drives LIVISTO and its more than 500 employees in the development and manufacture of high-quality products for the health of farm and companion animals.

Thus, they work every day to create added value for veterinarians and pet owners and, moreover, to assist them with high-quality and efficient solutions.

LIVISTO is now successful in more than 100 countries, but success must be carefully planned and communicated. A picture is worth a thousand words.

In order to communicate the strategy and initiate the transformation process of the company, the dialog picture is thus an ideal medium in which many stakeholders could participate.

A company with heart, and now everyone can see that.