65 Understanding Endings and Beginnings in Change
A lot of the work in relation to change management in recent years has stemmed from the research and writings of William Bridges.1 He and his team described the ‘endings and beginnings’ that are a natural part of any change that an individual or organisation experiences. He also focuses on change and transition as two complementary areas of focus for leaders.
You can be sure that these concepts and ideas apply just as much to those of you who are delivering on change as it does to leaders who are designing and implementing the changes. In fact, it is essential for those experiencing the change to understand the processes, stresses and gains that come with change. Often change leaders leave many people out of the process of understanding the changes.
One of first concepts Bridges highlights is that people generally go through transition in three phases. These are the phases of Ending, the Neutral Zone, and New Beginnings. Click on the numbers to explore what each of these mean.
Reflect
Take a moment to reflect on these three phases. Imagine the emotions and thoughts that go with these phases. Think about them both as they might occur in someone’s personal life as well as in their professional lives. Even in situations where people have a great deal of control over the changes in their lives and participate in the decisions to make the changes, these phases and the thoughts and feelings that go with them often occur.
If you now reflect on the three phases in someone’s professional life. Try to think about in connection with the Army. You might even want to think about these phases as they impact the families and close friends of those in the Army.
After you have taken a moment to reflect on these phases here is a powerful metaphor we have used in our previous work with people in the Defence space in Australia.
In their book, Choosing Change, Walter McFarland and Susan Goldsworthy2 refer to this transition as the ‘Monkey Bars of Change’. This metaphor helps us make sense of reactions to change. We reach out for ‘new beginnings’ but want to also hold on the safety and security of ‘old patterns’ so may struggle with the endings that may result in some change processes.
Photo by Billy H.C. Kwok/Getty Images
Here is an important insight about change and reactions to change:
People are said to resist change. However, more often, it is the transition that is resisted.
These are the situations and factors people tend to resist and react to:
-
A loss of their identity and their world as they know it.
-
The disorientation and confusion of the Neutral Zone.
-
The risk of failing in a new beginning.
Resistance to transition can occur even when the change is seen as good.
Let’s revisit the phases and look at them in more detail. To remind you, the phases are:
In the Endings phase, people may want to deny the existence of the change initiative and other related change events. Their denial can move them to fear and uncertainty about the future. This diminishes their productivity and the readiness to deal with the accelerating pace of change as the process starts to impact on the business.
People may acutely feel the loss of the familiarity and security they felt before this and other changes occurred. They are likely to be trying to reconcile or accept the fact that things will now be different from the way they have been.
Reflection
Have you seen this within your work environment? How does it feel and what can you do as a leader or as someone who is experiencing a change that is causing stress or challenges?
Here are some tips that are useful to help you and your teams to manage Endings:
Make sure that….
- People understand what is finished and what is not
- You have removed excuses to hold on to the past by marking an ending
- You have used actions or events to highlight that this is a clean break
- You as a participant of transition have understood and accepted that grieving is a normal part of the transition process
- People feel that their losses are seen and acknowledged and they feel respected by you and leaders
- People are getting all the information they need, that they don’t feel in the dark
- You have “sold the problem” without denigrating the past
- People have been able to acknowledge what they are proud of and value about the past that they can take forward into the future
- You have looked for ways to soften the impact of the change and to protect people’s interests, when appropriate
- You have used ceremony, ritual, or symbolic events to gain closure.
To wrap up these points about theEnding phase, stop and reflect. Work your way through the list. Try to imagine how things would seem for someone if some or most of the tips were in place. Compare that to how things might seem if none or only a few of those tips were in place.
The Neutral Zone phase or exploration stage is the time between the current and the desired state. People will be attempting to orient themselves to the new requirements and behaviours of the new initiative. During this time, they will very well be confused about the future and might feel overloaded with competing demands.
This can have a negative impact on productivity. Because things can be chaotic at this stage, people may question the status quo or the accepted way of doing things. You can foster change and process innovation by encouraging creative problem solving. It is important to note that the exploration stage is also a time that is ripe with creative opportunity.
Reflection
Have you seen this within your work environment? How does it feel and what can you do as a leader or as someone who is experiencing a change that is causing stress or challenges? What might be your team’s experience of the neutral zone?
Here are some tips that are useful to help you and your teams to manage the Neutral Zone.
Make sure that….
- Communication is of highest priority. You need to …
- Accomplish the 2 Cs: Connection and Concern
- Connection much more than usual
- Show genuine Concern
- Communicate the 4 Ps: Purpose Plan, Picture, Part – many times
- Explain the Purpose
- Lay out the Plan
- Show/co-create the Picture
- Allocate their Part in the change process
- Temporary solutions are created to get through this phase such as:
- Temporary ways to get things done
- Temporary resources to get through this difficult time including extra time and extra support
- Temporary communication links with people
- Temporary goals to aim for
To wrap up these points about the Neutral Zone phase, stop and reflect. Use the same process as you did for the Endings phase. Work your way through the list. Try to imagine how things would seem for someone if some or most of the tips were in place. Compare that to how things might seem if none or only a few of those tips were in place.
he New Beginnings phase of transition is the time when people are ready to commit to the new direction. They feel secure with the new system and are ready to function as a significant contributor. This typically occurs as the initiative starts to achieve some of its desired goals.
Reflection
How can you support new beginnings within your team?
Here are some tips that are useful to help you and your teams to manage the Neutral Zone.
Make sure that you….
- Talk about how to translate the changes into new behaviours and attitudes
- Provide opportunities for people to practice new skills in low threat situations
- Update the reward structure to support new skills and behaviours
- Focus on and publicise early successes and the new identity
- Build in responsiveness and flexibility to systems and processes.
A final word….
You have just worked on two powerful ways to enable change in the Army and in your role. First you looked at the overall concept of the Batteries of Change, where you worked your way through the Batteries of Change table that showed you the key elements of each of the Batteries of Change. You read through those and thought about the overall patterns that you could see in the table in relation to your workplace and perhaps the Army.
Next you very carefully considered the phases of change and their implications. You imagined or perhaps even remembered the physical and emotional effects of working your way along a monkey bar. The change process can be just like this.
Finally, you explored in more detail the phases of change and examined a set of tips that focus on how to get yourself and others through the phases of change successfully and adapt to the new situation.
This is a very useful and practical sets of tools and process for you to keep in mind as you progress.
References
- Bridges, W. B., Susan. (2017). Managing transitions: Making the most of change. Da Capo Lifelong Books.
- McFarland, W., & Goldsworthy, S. (2013). Choosing Change: How Leaders and Organizations Drive Results One Person at a Time. McGraw-Hill Education. https://books.google.com.au/books?id=oMsTAgAAQBAJ
