Take care of your mental health during a transition into a new role
Are you about to change jobs, perhaps join a new company?
Did it take some courage to work out what you wanted and decide? Maybe the decision wasn’t that hard, but now you face this self-imposed change, you wonder why you might be feeling excited one moment, then uncertain, or perhaps even a bit disoriented the next. These emotional fluctuations can even have you wondering if you made the right decision in the first place.
The mix of these emotions stems from the stages we generally incur when moving through a change or ‘transition’ process. These can be more easily understood when viewed using the William Bridges model[1] . William Bridges was a very adept change consultant who was particularly active in the 80s to early 2000s, mainly focusing on organisational change. However, the model can be applied to personal transition as much as it does to organisational transition. A big payoff from looking at what is going on for you through this model’s filters does wonders for reducing the stress and worry that is commonly experienced with moving through significant transitions.
Let’s take a moment to look at Bridge’s three phases, what they are and how we human beings typically experience them. My hope is that with this greater understanding, you will be better equipped to handle the effects of change. Even if it is a change that you, yourself, have decided to bring about (as opposed to one out of your control, such as being a casualty of a company restructure, for example).
Bridge’s model proposes three phases that we move through when moving through a transition. Note the distinction here that ‘change’ refers to the reason or cause for the ‘transition’, where transition is the process or steps that are followed to bring the coming change into existence. It’s in the transition that we experience the psychological impacts.
William Bridges proposes that when we move through a transition, we move through three specific phases: we End what we are presently doing, we move through a ‘Neutral’ phase, or ‘zone’ where we have stopped doing what we are familiar with yet have not got into a new routine and come to the ‘New Beginnings’ zone where our new work-life starts. These seem to be simple and apparent steps, yet understanding the dynamics accompanying them can do wonders for managing our emotional selves when going through the trials of transition.
Let’s look at end endings first – before you can begin something new, you have to end what used to be. Why should this be so important? Unless what you are leaving behind is particularly negative or worth escaping from, you will be ‘losing’ or having to ‘let go’ of things that are psychologically valuable to you. This can include routines, friendships with work colleagues, familiarity with business operations, well-established stakeholder relationships, a familiar workspace, etc. Having to leave things of value is likely to prompt feelings of loss – even losing ‘soft’ things like relationships and circumstances that feel familiar can have this effect.
The best strategy for dealing with endings is to take a little time out to acknowledge that an ending is actually underway. Consider the friendships, connections, work patterns, and various other valuable conditions you will need to leave behind. This is an excellent time to have a goodbye lunch or coffee with the people who are important to you. It can also be helpful to inventory the various skills, tools, and methods you have developed or adopted, which could be beneficial to you in your next role. Get them while they are still fresh in your mind. Take time to say your goodbyes and bring things you are across to a close. You don’t want to leave with unfinished business cluttering your mind. Similarly, as the old business saying goes – ‘never burn any bridges’ (no pun intended); your professional networks and associations are valuable and should always be protected, so make sure they are in good order by the time you leave.
Another consideration for a good ending is to clarify why you are making a move – the purpose behind all the disruption you will be experiencing through the transition. After all, it has to be worth it, right? So this career change will seek to meet certain expectations – keep them clear in mind and let them play an essential part in supporting you through the transition journey.
Once we have a handle on the fact that we will end this life chapter and actively manage the endings process, we can start getting ready for the ‘Neutral zone’. The Neutral zone simply means being between the ending and not quite starting the beginning. This zone is critical and potentially highly lucrative despite looking a bit ho-hum at face value. The main reason is that all the usual processes and experiences of the immediate past have gone, leaving your mind open and unencumbered to tap into inspiration and new ideas. This is a highly fertile and rewarding time, and if you are not ready for it, it can also be a highly disorienting and unsettling period. Having severed all that is familiar and not yet having a new familiarity to replace it with can pose quite a psychological load.
So, you want to milk the Neutral zone for all it’s worth. Here you can future-vision your new role, the potential and rewards it can offer, how you will work with people and perhaps even think through how certain potentially tricky situations can be avoided. Carry forward the knowledge and experience gained from past work and apply this to designing your new, better work experience.
This zone is also suitable for creative thinking pitted towards the new role’s achievements and methods. What are the new opportunities that come to mind? How will you work with superiors and peers to get the best outcomes and elevate your career choices? There are many areas where quality, unencumbered thinking can make significant contributions to your effectiveness and welfare. Be sure to use this creative phase as the insights can support you well into the future.
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The New Beginning is your first day in your new role. “Beginnings are strange things,” Bridges says. “People want them to happen but fear them at the same time”. Here, the three P’s can help direct you to kickstart things with your best foot forward.
Be clear on purpose – what is required of you for the new role. Get clear on the expected outcomes and the fundamentals by which they will be achieved. The hiring or new manager will have had their versions of this, and they, therefore, are an essential source of information concerning what you are there to do.
Picture what things will look like to you when you meet your own personal performance expectations and those of your manager. Meet with your manager and seek to get both of you clear on how things will get done as well as purpose. This can be a very positive and compelling activity for both of you.
Plan on how you will manage the subjective, emotional and psychological elements. Adopting the William Bridges model is already working in this space, and this suggests you take an active role in managing your own responses and emotional/intellectual states. If you know you will be feeling uncertain or worried about an aspect of the new position, be ready to see it arise when it does. This will alleviate a lot of the potentially adverse effects that could occur. You may even decide to do more exercise, take more rest, or even work out a strategy for how you will work with specific key figures as may be needed.
Being aware that we move through psychological phases when going through a transition in and of itself can be a valuable and self-affirming understanding. Difficulties experienced whilst in transition are often the result of not really understanding what is happening to us and why we feel the way we do. But once you know the three states and the concerns that are likely to arise in each one, you are well on the way to maximising your level of control. Moreover, it allows one to plan and prepare for a transition well before starting. That can offer the difference between a stressful, disorienting experience and one that provides control, boosts creative thinking and makes transition all the more fun.
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