By Kerrin Miller
It’s not the changes that do you in. It’s the transitions. Change is external – the new system, the new structure, the new mandate. Transition is internal. It is the psychological process to navigate change and uncertainty. We draw on the wisdom of author William Bridges who focused his life’s work on how organisations can successfully navigate transitions and change.
Teams that know how to move through a transition are both agile and resilient. They understand the uncertainty, fear and resistance that is often evoked by something that is known and certain ending. They are aware of the reactions that are evoked by a grey space, the unknown, a blank page or a hazy path ahead. They understand how to build curiosity and safety to move forward. Once moving into the ‘messy middle’ of any transition, they know this is a marathon not a sprint; and are clear on how to build focus, optimism and resourcefulness, connection and energy to keep going. They are ready to take small actions and celebrate progress. Finally, they know how to build confidence and collaboration as they step into the new world they’re moving towards.
Teams that are agile build key practices:
Holding their purpose and ‘why’ as a guiding star
Awareness into their team preferences and processes for navigating through change;
Clear and consistent communication built on two-way dialogue
Reliability, accountability and trust
Ways of disagreeing and being authentic in differences through psychological safety
Involvement and ways of including everyone
Experimenting, learning and iterating.
Teamery partners with teams to build these agile practices and support teams to tell a new story about change, uncertainty and transition. We’d love to partner with your team. Contact us here.