Much attention is paid to how to manage the uncertainty throughout a change process, but often, it can be too late. This presentation will focus on the pre-work of a change initiative. Specifically, I will provide a holistic change model that extends Lewin’s three-stage (unfreeze, change, refreeze) model. The presentation will focus on a missing stage prior to unfreezing: readiness. Increasing readiness for organizational change will increase the effectiveness of a change initiative by reducing uncertainty, setting expectations, establishing clear expectations, and providing appropriate outlets for organizational pressure release.