Everywhere you turn now, is an emphasis on change management to help employees shift their behaviour from doing things the way they used to do them, to the new way that is now expected by an organization.  While change management to support movement from one set of thinking and practices to another is, rightly so considered an essential ingredient to good leadership, nevertheless, it must be acknowledged that it is not designed to address the emotional needs of those individuals who are required to travel the journey of shifting gears.

Change management is pitched as the missing link that will ensure a smooth ride from the old to the new.  Employees are expected to make the necessary attitudinal shifts as a result of being exposed to change management.  It is assumed that change management will work like clock work, putting a halt to resistance, fear, resentment, and anger by employees because: the new direction/goals have been shared early on in the process; the benefits of the change have been explained; there is on-going communication through various mediums; new policies/manuals have been widely distributed; new techniques have been tested; training is provided; and so forth.  All well and good, but has anybody actually gathered data on the extent to which the emotional reaction to change has been tempered as result of change management?

All the advance warning in the world does not necessarily prepare you for the change when it happens.  Take for instance becoming a parent.  You can read the latest baby books, get advice from your doctor, and friends who already have children, but every parent will tell you, nothing is like the actual experience of having the infant.  Have you ever noticed how a new parent talks like they are the first to experience parenthood?

Another example, you can know that someone you care deeply about is terminally ill with less than five years to live, yet nothing really prepares you for when it happens.  Reading about death, talking to those who’ve lost a loved one, or whatever preparatory steps you take to “ready” yourself for the anticipated death, is not going to leave you feeling prepared for the death when it happens.

Likewise, knowing that your organization/unit is being merged with another, does not make the actual event easier to accept.  What of loyalties to former respected colleagues and bosses? What of guilt-feelings about those who were laid off while you still have a job?  What of the end of procedures/software you may have developed that were working well?  What of the colleague who is now your boss? Does change management help you with those aspects of a change?  Or, does it tend to drive emotions concerning the change underground because expressing them, you may be labelled as not being a team-player?  Is the shadow side of change management suppression of feelings or "acting-out" with their concomitant ramifications?

When it comes to adjusting to change, the head and the heart have to make the shift.  The head and the heart have to be in alignment for the wellbeing of those going through the change, and for change management to be completely successful.  Whether we are talking about the context of the workplace or our personal lives, coping with change effectively requires that we not leave behind unaddressed our emotional needs.

Change management assumes a linear, rational progression from then to now.  Anyone who has gone through life changes knows that all too frequently, the journey towards acceptance of change, and eventual adoption of the new, is one which can be bumpy, with one step forward then two back.

Regardless of whether it was planned, expected, or even initiated by ourselves, change, involves a transition. To use William Bridges’ terminology, transition is the process of moving from “disorientation” to “reorientation”, in the face of change.  For those of you who are not familiar with William Bridges’ book Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes, it is a useful starting point for getting in touch with, and putting language around, what you are experiencing when any change comes your way.  To adjust to change in a healthy way, we need to properly honour endings before we can move to new beginnings.