Bridges

Lou Sheehan
ITPM 560-01 Organizational Leadership
Individual Case 1
Source: Managing Transitions 3rd Edition by William Bridges, PhD.

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this paper is to discuss – in a non-technical way – the psychological journey via a generalized pattern or sequence a typical employee undergoes when he/she encounters change at the workplace. Additionally, suggestions for overcoming the less functional, i.e., negative, human reactions which can accompany change are mentioned.

In our hypothetical fact pattern we have posited a very effective upgrade in technology coupled with a decrease in productivity.

“Under no circumstances are you to cross into the Neutral Zone without my direct orders.” Captain James T. Kirk, TOS Episode 9, Balance of Terror.

Absent a starkly militarized incursion into the Romulan-Federation Neutral Zone, Bridges proposes a generalized model of a sequence of change consisting of three broad experiences:

(i) Ending, Losing, Letting Go;
(ii) The Neutral Zone, and
(iii) The New Beginning.



Ending, Losing, Letting Go

In Bridges’ model, people do not inherently resist change, per se, but rather they resist the losses to their power, ego, etc., that they experience and fear as a result of the transition following the ending.

To minimize the negative effects and, further, to encourage positive and successful change, Bridges advocates that Leaders adopt a number of practices. First, the Leader should do his or her best to identify and subjectively empathize with and acknowledge the employees’ losses. Further, the Leader should accept that the employees will naturally undergo a grieving process and he/she should be willing to express his/her own genuine (if any) sense of loss.

Additionally, the Leader should respect the employees and express that respect by keeping the employees fully informed of the entire process in the context of respecting past successes achieved by doing things the old way and by delineating what will and what won’t change. More, reality should be acknowledged and explanations given as to why the changes will more likely ensure the continuity of the organization with such survival’s accompanying benefits to employees. As much as possible, employees should be compensated for their losses.

Given the positive effects of symbolic ceremony for most people, the Leader should consider actively celebrating the past and the future by way of an/several organized event(s) and provide momentos as part of that process.

The Neutral Zone

This stage represents that very stressful period of time when the employees are in limbo between the old organization and the conjectured new organization. In this Zone, the Leader should be savvy enough to set realistic output standards given the significant flux employees experience on a very regular basis. The Leader should encourage and tolerate risk taking and the expression of new ideas even as he/she recognizes the sometimes-debilitating pressures with which the employees wrestle. Significantly, the Leader must be on guard against favoritism practiced to benefit any single or subset of employees so as to not undermine the group’s team spirit.

New Beginning

Inevitably, new standards are established in the reincarnated organization. It is important that the Leader walk the new walk so as to avoid fueling employees’ cynicism … or worse. Additionally, Bridges argues that in this stage, leaders should be sensitive to the four P’s: (i) purpose, (ii) picture, (iii) plan and (iv) the part to play. That is, the Leader should:
(i) unambiguously express the motivations for (the ideas behind) the change,
(ii) try to create a picture of what employees will experience in the newly re-created organization,
(iii) reassure the employees that they will be prepped to successfully exploit the changes, and
(iv) make it very clear that employees are encouraged – even better, expected – to contribute input, suggestions and the like to further the success of the organization.

Finally, the leader should formally celebrate the new beginning and use symbols to express the merger of the old and new and indicate that the Leader, the employees, etc., are all a part of the (new) team.


CONCLUSION

Fundamentally, in my opinion Bridges’ makes the point that for a Leader to enable his/her employees to be as productive as is reasonably possible, the Leader must operate in a context of understanding human/employee psychology. Such understanding cannot be limited to simple cash incentives and a disregarding of human emotions, but rather, must consist of an appreciation of human imperfection and what environmental ingredients are most likely to facilitate successful individual – and organizational – change.
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