Quotes About Transition

change and endings go hand in hand: change causes transition, and transition starts with an ending. If things change within an organization, at least some of the employees and managers are going to have to let go of something

This same kind of overreaction occurs when an ending is viewed as symbolic of some larger loss. The minor layoff in a company that has never had layoffs before is an example. It isn't the loss of the particular individuals—it's the loss of the safety people felt from the no-layoff policy.

Learn to look for the loss behind the loss and deal with that underlying issue. You'll get much further if you can show people that Loss A is really unrelated to the dreaded, larger Loss B than if you simply try to talk them out of their reaction to Loss A.

You need to bring losses out into the open—acknowledge them and express your concern for the affected people.

When endings take place, people get angry, sad, frightened, depressed, and confused. These emotional states can be mistaken for bad morale, but they aren't. They are the signs of grieving, the natural sequence of emotions people go through when they lose something that matters to them.

The neutral zone takes a heavy toll on most people's self-confidence because it is a period of lowered productivity and diminished feelings of competence. It may also, if it resonates with past difficulties in a person's life, activate serious problems of low self-esteem. For that reason people are likely to need some fairly quick successes if they are to return to their former effectiveness.

It is important for leaders to comprehend the implications of what they are trying to achieve and not to let their understanding that renewal is essential blind them to the painful transitions that will be necessary to make things turn out as intended. It is also important for the HR and OD specialists who advise the leaders to recognize that transition management must be built into the very fabric of organizational renewal efforts.

transitions will need to make sense to people, for otherwise people will resist them and make it far harder for the organization to grow as it must.

What is this new beginning going to require of us and of others in the organization? The sooner you start embodying the behaviors and attitudes that fit the new beginning, the sooner others in the organization will have the leader they need.

But remember: in your communications you need to speak to wherever people are now, not to where you want them to go, and they need your help, not in getting to the destination you want them ultimately to reach, but in taking the next step in the transition they find themselves in because of your big change.

One of the most difficult aspects of the neutral zone is that most people don't understand it. They expect to be able to move straight from the old to the new. But this isn't a trip from one side of the street to the other. It's a journey from one identity to another, and that kind of journey takes time.

the First Law of Organizational Development is evident: those who were most at home with the necessary activities and arrangements of one phase are the ones who are the most likely to experience the subsequent phase as a severe personal setback. They will talk about it as a "strategic mistake," as "dumb," "unnecessary," and "too expensive.

Even though there is a new situation in place and they have started to grapple with it, people are still in the neutral zone, feeling lost, confused, and uncertain. The beginning will take place only after they have come through the wilderness and are ready to make the emotional commitment to do things the new way and see themselves as new people. Starts involve new situations. Beginnings involve new understandings, new values, new attitudes, and—most of all—new identities.

No pain, no gain," they say. But many change efforts fail because the people affected experience only the pain. The company may gain, but for employees it seems to be all loss. Trying to talk them out of their feelings will get you nowhere.

the outlook, attitudes, values, self-images, and ways of thinking that were functional in the past have to "die" before people can be ready for life in the present.

it is natural to feel somewhat nervous and confused at such a time. As the old patterns disappear from people's minds and the new ones begin to replace them, people can be full of self-doubts and misgivings about themselves and their leaders. As their ambivalence increases, so does their longing for answers.

every previous level of change comes to be called "stability." Seen in this light, what people today call "nonstop change" is simply a new level of what has always existed. It isn't pure chaos—simply a new experience. When people adjust to it, they will look back upon it as "the stability that we used to enjoy.

You can try hard to protect people from further changes while they're trying to regain their balance.

People can deal with a lot of change if it is coherent and part of a larger whole. But adding unrelated and unexpected changes, even small ones, can push people to the breaking point.

Review policies and procedures to see that they are adequate to deal with the confusing fluidity of the neutral zone. The "rules" under which you operate were set up to govern ongoing operations when things weren't changing as much as they are now.

One of the biggest problems that endings cause in an organization is confusion. Things change, and obviously the organization won't do some of the things it used to do.

STRENGTHEN INTRAGROUP CONNECTIONS The neutral zone is a lonely place. People feel isolated, especially if they don't understand what is happening to them. As I have already noted, old problems are likely to resurface and old resentments are likely to come back to life. For these reasons it is especially important to try to rebuild a sense of identification with the group and of connectedness with one another.

One of the most important leadership roles during times of change is that of putting into words what it is time to leave behind. Because talking about making a break with the past can upset its defenders, some leaders shy away from articulating just what it is time to say good-bye to. But in their unwillingness to say what it is time to let go of, they are jeopardizing the very change that they believe they are leading.

Don't just talk about the endings—create actions or activities that dramatize them.