Getting Them Through The Wilderness: A Leaders Guide to Transition

by William Bridges, Ph.D.

[http://www.wmbridges.com/pdf/getting-thru-wilderness-2006-v2.pdf]

Preamble on Leadership Readings

Writing about leadership is a bit touchy. It has been my experience that whenever I’ve commented about behaviors or interpretations, someone will assume I am talking about them. The truth is, that I am reflecting on my understanding of the world around me. So if this feels to someone that I might be thinking of them when I write about leadership, they might be correct but I don’t mean it as criticism or as a call for some sort of insubordination. I’m just working through some ideas.

notes

This reading comes from a mentor. I’ve been struggling to find some direction in my librarian career. The library I work at has been in a transition since I started and we’re still working through it. At the same time, I have very little influence and my input is usually perceived as a threat to those who have been here longer. It’s a mess. So, this reading is, in part, intended to help me understand how transitions might be best managed without actually participating in the one going on around me.

The article uses the metaphor of Moses leading the Jews out of Egypt to transition from slavery in Egypt to be the rulers of their own “promised land.” I read the article in two parts separated by several weeks so I don’t remember the first half as well as the second. Still, I’ll try to recount what I found interesting in both parts. Again, some parts probably felt more relevant to my situation but they are not intended as a critique.

from the article

• Transition and change are not the same
  • Change is situational and can be the tactics
  • Transition is a 3-phase reorientation process people go through while coming to terms with the changes and new goals
• Phases of transitions -
  1. People are confronted with the new reality
  2. People transverse the neutral zone - old behaviors and attitudes must die out… best chance for innovations and experiments to succeed.
  3. Beginning again in the new state-of-attitude, etc.
• Orgs must go through all 3 phases to successfully arrive at the final phase
• When the old ways of doing things aren’t working and gradual changes are failing to yield results, leaders can no longer solve problems but must let them escalate to an inflection point.
• Incremental changes can delay the more radical changes necessary - some times until it is too late to make them
• During the escalation, leaders must allow the old system to encounter self-destruction without damaging the elements and people from which the new system will be built - i.e. don’t burn everyone out - don’t lose staff - don’t lose key assets.
• The old ways must be left behind with a clean break. There can be no suggestion that the old says are not actually gone. These can be tactics or policies justified by the old goals or vision. These could also be people who were particularly effective or sympathetic to the old ways of doing things. “The past needs to be ‘drowned’…
  • While killing off the old - it is important not to denigrate it. The goals have changed - the old way was justified under the old goals.
  • “The past did its job and got us to where we are today - but new situations call for new things”
  • Expect people to idealize the way things used to be while in the neutral zone - these may be in the form of “murmurs” or chatter
• While in transition - it is important to find areas where quick and sure successes are possible and push towards those outcomes quickly even if it is more expensive than normally justified.
• “Picasso put well when he said, ‘Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.’”
• People will want to leave during the transition. There appear to be “greener fields” elsewhere. This can result in turnover.
• Senior leadership should be among the organization and in close communication. It shouldn’t trickle down through managers.
• “Between the old and the new, individuals or an organization should do its brain-storming, its metaphorical thinking, and its creative problem-solving. This is the time for the experiments that people have been thinking about for years.” It is a naturally creative period.
• Failing and falling apart during the transition is essential. It provides new identity and purpose.

my thoughts

While the metaphor of Moses felt a bit kooky, it makes sense in the context of a transition. Having gone through some of these transitions in prior work environments, I can say that there really was a wilderness - or neutral zone - where a lot of creativity and failure happened. It takes a lot of courage to part with the old ways. I don’t see that very often in libraries. I think the other aspect not covered by this article - which is fine for the article - is that there needs to be a clearly defined vision of the land of milk and honey and the goals to get there. That is also something I rarely have experienced in libraries. Perhaps the journey is made easier if we’re going somewhere and especially someone as exciting as the “promised land.” Right now, it usually feels much more like a journey to slight variance or some sort of neoliberal imposed ideal. Perhaps creation of visions and goals will be a good target for future readings.