Page 286 - Just Promoted A 12 Month Road Map for Success in Your New Leadership Role

Creating Your New Life Integration 271

Principle 3. Leaders Who Are Moving Up Are in a
State of Transition
The process of transition can be understood and effectively managed by indi-
viduals and by families. We have examined some of the issues that both the
Doyle and Sterling families faced and highlighted some of the family and work
systems implications that upwardly mobile leaders can anticipate. We have
begun to view executive change in different ways. William Bridges, in his mas-
terful book Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes, points out that our lives
are composed of hundreds, even thousands of transformations, changes, or
transitions that shape who we are and where we are going. Quoting Oscar
Wilde, Bridges notes, “The gods have two ways of dealing harshly with us—
the first is to deny us our dreams, and the second is to grant them.” 3
Bob Doyle was granted his dream. He sighted the job that he wanted, went
after it, and was selected for it. But Bob Doyle and his family did not appreci-
ate the dynamics of personal transitions. People do not automatically change.
Some have difficulty operating on any new channel. For others it is easier and
essentially a matter of fine-tuning. Some have trouble letting go of what exists,
while others imagine the catastrophe that will be. Many individuals seem to
shift smoothly from the conclusion of one job to the beginning of another. For
the many who encounter difficulty in moving up or in changing jobs, homes,
or responsibilities, there is often a lack of understanding and subsequent dif-
ficulty in managing the transition process. Typically, there is a period of ori-
entation, disorientation, and reorientation. Many of our life’s anchors are
uprooted or shaken. We are challenged to maintain or establish new support
in our lives.
Bridges views life transitions as having three stages, which occur in a pre-
dictable sequence:

1. An ending
2. A period of confusion and sometimes distress, which he calls
the “neutral zone”
3. A new beginning 4

We have already seen that a seemingly single transition is usually con-
nected to many other issues in our lives—work, love, family, friends, leisure
time, material possessions, and so on. Bridges’ sequence of phases helps to
explain what is happening and how we can deal more constructively with it.