Change in an organization can be hard for anyone. Emotionally employees often can face a difficult time managing through the transition (or the psychological changes associated with the external shift). As William Bridges says in Transitions, "It isn't the changes that do you in, it is the transitions." So in a organizational environment where we are not supposed to speak about emotions how do you as leaders deal with the transitions?

First understanding what the transition phases are is important as well as taking appropriate actions. According to Bridges the three phases are:

Letting Go phase - you are letting go of the comfort zone of the past and feelings of uncertainty, anxiety, and confusion arise. Here leaders can communicate the Case for Change as well as listen to the concerns and feelings of their employees.

Neutral Zone - the past is gone, but the new is not quite established yet. Here there are feelings of confusion, doubt, caution but also a phase of creativity, innovation, and advancing new ways of doing things. Here leaders can ask for input and feedback, continue to communicate why the change is occurring and the benefits, as well as assist employees in prioritizing their tasks.

Beginning a New phase - the establishment of new processes and ways of thinking. Here employees are starting to see opportunities, get energized by the new ways of working, and begin to settle into new habits and behaviors. In this phase leaders can reward new behaviors, celebrate quick wins, and continue to support employees if they should regress.

What phase are you in with your change? How can you support your employees through the transitions that they are going through?

• Leading change efforts in an organization can be hard. People do not like to change which is why I had a job in change management for so long. In order to truly gain buy-in and acceptance by those being impacted by a large change initiative leaders have to work to ensure that they bring those impacted along. There are key steps that can be done in order to gain trust and limit resistance to a change implementation. Some of these steps include:
  
  Get employees involved in the change process - the more that employees are a part of the change and have input into it the more they feel like they can impact the effort. They also feel then that they can make a difference and ensure that it gets implemented in a way which is takes into account their needs.
• Get continuous feedback on the process - the more that employees feel like they are heard and can express any doubts that they have for the change, the more that their resistance will begin to lessen.
• Show quick wins - the more that you can show progress with the change and the benefits of those quick wins, the more that employees can tell that it is really happening and there is no going back.

What are you doing to gain buy-in from your employees? What can you begin to do more of?

Are you initiating a change in your organization? Are you trying to figure out how to mobilize your organization to come along with you through the transition process?  I always say the best way to initiate a transformation is to communicate the Case for Change. This case includes the following key elements:

• What is the change? What are the key differences from now to the end vision? What will be different once the change is implemented?
• Why you are making the change? - What are the key drivers that instigated the change so that people understand the logic behind it? Distill them down into tangible, practical bit sized needs either using data to show the need for the change and/or emotion to show the urgency for the change.
• What are the benefits of the change? What are the key benefits and/or advantages of implementing the change to the organization and/or the employees? Show the benefits for different audience groups impacted by the change.
• When is the change going to be implemented? Provide a high level roll out plan on when the changes will be taking place and directly impacting the employees.

These four components provide the basis for engaging audiences in wanting to learn more about the initiative and answers the key questions that they may have as the transformation begins to happen.