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Key Takeaways Change is what happens externally. Transition points to how you feel about an upcoming change. It’s defining your relationship to the change that has or is about to happen.
The leadership goal when implementing change is to move an organization forward, but that can’t happen while teams are still in transition.
It can be hard to wait and let people adapt, but it is a necessary step towards the neutral zone — or the place where there’s no longer any intense pushback or resentment.
Guiding teams through the neutral zone means leaving room for the emotions that arise during transition and addressing the concerns for as long as people have them.
Renowned organizational consultant William Bridges built his career around the concept of transition — and, in particular, the difference between change and transition. Change, in this context, is what happens externally. It’s taking on a new job or a disruption in your usual workflow. Change is the thing that you can easily name.
Transition points to how you feel about an upcoming change. It’s defining your relationship to the change that has or is about to happen. Transition is internal, and we all move through it differently. More often than not, a transition can take a long time — it’s what’s more commonly called today “processing.” You may make a big change on a specific day and time, but processing (or moving through that transition) doesn’t follow the same timeline.
When transition hits
Several questions and concerns arise during transitions. As a leader, you may suddenly feel doubt after a change. You may also be filled with remorse or be holding out for comfortable past patterns. You may also feel a sense of wanting to hold your breath until all aspects of a change are accepted by every team member. I see these same patterns arise with teams of every size following a big change. Because the fact is that change makes people (even if you’re the one who planned the change) nervous.
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