Right now, so many people are feeling overwhelmed by the pace of organizational change with all of the endings and beginnings happen at the same time. Our challenge as leaders is to differentiate between change management and transition management. Change management is situational and outcome focused, i.e. the destination. Transition management, on the other hand, is psychological, personal and emotional, i.e. the endings. As the late William Bridges wrote, “Transition is different. The starting point for transition is not the outcome but the ending that you will have to make to leave the old situation behind.” Transitions start with an ending and finishes with a new beginning. The hard part about this is that it starts with letting go of the old ways, the old identity, and dealing with losses.
There are five stages within transition management and the leader's role in each stage is important. The first stage is “Before the Transition.” Here, you as the leader know that change is in the works. When thinking about this stage, realize most employees do not know that change is coming and are mostly focused on making sure the day to day operations are working well. So, the first step as a leader in this stage is to figure out how to sell the problems that lead you and others to feel that change is the best solution.
The challenge to doing this level of work is to remember that the problem is defining the problem. Some people will see the problem as technical and others as adaptive. Your goal as the leader is to define the problem in a clear and concise manner. To help you prepare your thoughts, put them in writing. In specific, write a one minute speech about what the problems are that lead you to deciding to make change happen. Next, put together a one minute speech about why it is necessary now given how busy every one is. Then, practice giving these two speeches and ask for feedback so clarity can be achieved.
While you work on your two speeches, I also encourage you to assess the level of trust in the organization's leaders. Remember that there are three levels of trust: personal, strategic and organizational. Once change has been initiated, trust will be stretched and challenged. Recognize that you can give everyone a voice but not a vote in what is taking place.
Another step in preparing yourself and the organization is to visit with key leaders on a one to one level. Start by checking about their clarity for why the organization must change. And then, why it must happen now. Check also on the leadership competencies of key positional leaders. Everyone who is mission critical to success should have the ability to communicate well and cascade information well. They need to be good transactional and transformational coaches and understand data based decision-making. If you are struggling with team work issues, review the material from the following book: Lencioni, Patrick. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Jossey-Bass, 2002. It has good diagnostic material inside of it.
The second stage of transition management is called “During the Ending.” Here, all involved have learned that change is taking place. Now we are seeing people let go of the old ways, let go of identity as defined by the old way of doing things and dealing with the losses. We as leaders need to remember that loss is a subjective, personal experience while leadership is objective.
During the ending stage, do not overreact to resistance and opposition. Instead, frame it up as a form of feedback. Recognize that it is normal for people to resist the loss of clarity, connections, confidence, control and their understanding of the definition of success. You will also see grieving behaviors, e.g. anger, bargaining, anxiety, sadness, disorientation, and depression.
As you and others move through this stage, continue to define what is and what is not over. Always treat the past with respect, and show how the endings ensure the continuity of what really matters.
This week, reflect on the first two stages of transition management and teach those around you about it. This will help with short term issues and long term results.
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