Brought to you by Jeff Thoren, DVM  

Change is nothing new to leaders, or their constituents.  Business conditions can change overnight and yesterday’s assumptions and practices no longer work.  Organizations need to be innovative to survive, and innovation means change.  We can’t avoid it, change happens!

Transition occurs in the course of any change, planned or otherwise.  Transition is the state that change puts people into.  The change is external (the different policy, practice, or restructuring that is happening), while transition is internal (a psychological reorientation that people have to go through before change can work).  Transition happens much more slowly than change.

Leader’s must understand the dynamics of personal and organizational transition that occur during times of change and then coach and support others through the transition process.  This month we’ll look at some practical tips which can help leaders help their constituents navigate the winds of change.

Here’s this month’s feature ...

Leading Transition: A New Model for Change -- by William Bridges & Susan Mitchell

From Leader to Leader -- No. 16, Spring 2000

Highlights from the article:

• Transition takes longer than change because it requires that people undergo three separate processes, and all of them are upsetting:

1. Saying Goodbye.  The first requirement is that people have to let go of the way that things -- and, worse, the way that they themselves -- used to be.  People have to grapple with letting go of what feels to them like their whole world of experience and their sense of identity.  What makes sense logically can take more time to reckon with emotionally.

2. Shifting into Neutral.  Even after people have let go of their old ways, they find themselves unable to start anew.  The neutral zone is full of uncertainty and is particularly difficult during mergers or acquisitions, when careers and policy decisions and the very “rules of the game” are left in limbo while details are being worked out.  The neutral zone is uncomfortable, so people are driven to get out of it.  Some people try to rush ahead into some (often any) new situation while others try to back-pedal and retreat into the past.  Successful transition, however, requires that an organization and its people spend some time in the neutral zone.  This time is not wasted, for that is where the creativity and energy of transition are found and the real transformation takes place. 

3. Moving Forward.  Some people fail to get through transition because they do not let go of the old ways and make an ending; others fail because they become frightened and confused by the neutral zone and don’t stay in it long enough for it to do its work on them.  This third phase of transition requires people to begin behaving in a new way which, like learning a new skill, can be a little scary because it puts each person’s sense of competence and value at risk.

• Managers can see the intended destination before others even know the race has begun, therefore they need to remember that others will take longer to make the transition; letting go of the old ways, moving through the neutral zone, and, finally making a new beginning.  Transitions give managers an opportunity to embrace and exercise powerful leadership skills of understanding and empathy.  This can be difficult, but certainly not impossible, for those that come from backgrounds where technical, financial, or operational skills are paramount. 
    

• Leaders can’t effectively lead change -- which is what leadership is all about -- without understanding the transition process and paying attention to a few essential steps.  Here’s a Practical Method for Managing Transition:

1. Learn to describe the change and why it must happen succinctly.

2. Be sure that the details of the change are planned carefully and that someone is responsible for each detail.

3. Understand just who is going to have to let go of what in people’s work lives and careers.

4. Help people let go of the past by providing people with the information they need, by accepting the symptoms of the natural grieving process, and supporting people as they give up the status quo.  Engage people in conversation about their issues and show your concern.

5. Help people through the neutral zone with plenty of communication that emphasizes connection with and concern for the followers.  Review the “4 P’s” of transition communications below.  Nurture an emotional, heart-to-heart connection with people.

6. Specifically address the problems and uncertainties created when people enter the neutral zone.  Make sure that they are treated with respect and suffer as little as possible.

7. Help people launch into the new beginning by articulating the new attitudes and behaviors needed to make the change work -- then model and reward those behaviors.

• The 4 P's of Transition Communications:

The Purpose: Why we have to do this.
The Picture: What it will look and feel like when we reach our goal.
The Plan: Step-by-step, how we will get there.
The Part: What you can (and need to) do to help us move forward.

For the full text article, go to ...
http://www.leadertoleader.org/knowledgecenter/journal.aspx?ArticleID=28

Five Myths About Changing Behavior

Changing people’s behavior is the most important challenge for businesses trying to compete in a turbulent world.  The central issue is never strategy, structure, culture, or systems.  Harvard Business School ’s John Kotter notes that “Behavior change happens mostly by speaking to people’s feelings.”  This is true even in organizations that are very focused on analysis and quantitative measurement.  “In highly successful change efforts, people find ways to help others see the problems or solutions in ways that influence emotions, not just thought,” he adds.  

Here are 5 myths (and the contrasting reality) about change:

1. Crisis is a powerful impetus for change (90% of coronary bypass patients can’t sustain changes in the unhealthy lifestyles that threaten their lives).

2. Change is motivated by fear (Compelling, positive visions of the future are a much stronger inspiration for change).

3. The facts will set us free (Our thinking is guided by stories and our values, more than by facts;  change is inspired best by emotional appeals rather than factual statements).

4. Small, gradual changes are always easier to make (Radical sweeping changes are often easier because they quickly yield benefits).

5. We can’t change because our brains become “hardwired” early in life (our brains have extraordinary “plasticity,” meaning that we can continue learning complex new things throughout our lives -- assuming we remain truly active and engaged).

Source: Fast Company -- May 2005

Transition can be a powerful and positively transforming experience.  How we embrace it makes all the difference!

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to go to the forest to gather wood, saw it, and nail the planks together.  Instead, teach them the desire for the sea.” 
-- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Next Month

What leader isn’t interested in improving results and achieving success?  Most leaders think about these things all the time.  Let’s not forget the “soft skills” that will help carry our organizations toward our goals.

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