Change Management – Models and Strategies
WILLIAM BRIDGES AND SUSAN MITCHELL
William Bridges and Susan Mitchell are successful authors
and consultants. In the spring 2000 edition of Leader to
Leader1 (Peter Drucker’s journal of management thinking),
they outline a new model of change based on the concept of
transition (a psychological construct). The result is a model
that will be particularly useful for organisational leaders.
Bridges and Mitchell assert that the majority of change models and
tools fail because they fail to address psychological barriers and the
need for leaders to approach a coaching role. It is not enough to
simply lay down a plan and to expect people to follow it.
The authors argue that the main reason that change programmes
fail is because the psychological reorientation that people need to
go through (which they call transition) is ignored. The change is
external, but transition occurs within organisations and individuals.
Most change leaders ignore or are unaware of the significance of
this reorientation, with the result that their efforts fail.
The process of transition takes much longer than the change itself
because it requires all the participants to engage in three processes
which are often troubling:
1.
Saying Goodbye – getting rid of old ways and behaviours
2.
Shifting Into Neutral – treading water until change occurs
3.
Moving Forward
Some common failures made by change leaders include:

failing to recognise that their team will need time to acclimatise
to the change

failing to appreciate why some people might be unhappy with
change

failing to understand the transition argument
William Bridges and Susan Mitchell, ‘Leading Transition: A New Model for
Change’, Leader to Leader (Spring 2000).
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Furthermore, since most leaders come from technical backgrounds,
they are ill-equipped to deal with coaching a large group on their
own. As a result, the authors strongly recommend a coach for the
leader too (this should really be a trusted colleague).
Unfortunately, a generic training programme is unlikely to be
successful in preparing the leader adequately. Rather they need to
examine their own (and the organisation’s) transition needs very
carefully. The following suggestions will help to guide this
personalised process:
1.
Learn to describe the change programme and why it is
happening in under 60 seconds.
2.
Plan all details of the proposed change meticulously. Ensure
that a communication plan and deadlines have been set.
3.
Understand the sacrifices that will have to be made.
4.
Allow people to come to terms with the change in their own
way.
5.
Reiterate the following in written communications:

the purpose of the change

its final outcome – what it will look like

the whole plan and all its details

what individuals can do to move things forward
6.
Be prepared to innovate temporary solutions to temporary
problems.
7.
Describe how attitudes will need to change to make the
programme a success. Personally embody these attitudes.
Obviously another prerequisite is that the leader and coach
relationship is built on a strong trusting basis. This might mean that
the person cannot be a hired consultant or trainer. The intimate
personal knowledge such a person will have is unlikely to be
enough.
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