Empowering Yourself and Your Team in Transition

We are in some major transitions right now.  How much have you recognized this for you and team?  Doing so helps to move through the phase faster and go in the new direction, but can seem counter intuitive. Even though it seems we have adjusted to this new way of operating, many of us are still in this transition phase and will be again as we move back into an office work schedule.  

By nature, we are impatient.  As things around us change, we want to change with it – and quickly.  However, our minds and bodies need time to adjust.  A transition time is the time between events.  Whether we are aware of it, or not, our brains have been working toward a future vision.  Once that future changes, it takes time and energy for our brain to readjust and we go through a grieving period.  This can show itself in the body and we become more fatigued (as evidenced by COVID nap times) and it is harder to make decisions.

Here are some tips for helping you and your team honor the transition time and also move forward.

Recognize where you are in transition.  In coaching there is a saying – when you name it, you claim it.  Have a discussion with each of your team members.  Journal for yourself.  Everyone is at a different point.  A client this week had no transition time.  She went from leaving a job to starting her own business, while home schooling kids and having no electricity for days because of the storm. What she needed most was sleep and hadn’t allowed for this.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how well do you think you are doing in this time of transition, and why?

List what you still have.  It is easy right now to think about what has been lost.  With another client this week, she recognized her ability to have deep relations with her clients has always been there and is even more important now, regardless of negativity she felt from the company.  If you are a manager, this moves your team to a positive state of mind.

What are your traits and abilities that have created success for you in the past?

How has their importance changed today?

Imagine your future self.  Helping the brain to visualize a new future “rewrites” the neurological pathways to move into a new, more solid direction. 

Imagine yourself past the stage of the unknown or fear.  It is a day in which you are successful in the future.  What do you see?

What do you need to rely on in yourself now to move toward this future? 

What do you need to let go of so you can do that?

Make an agreement.  Making an agreement with yourself or your team member solidifies next steps and a time frame.  It is important to have a commitment that is both energizing, a little challenging and realistic.  As a manager, we tend to want more control and can end up squashing the autonomy that lets individuals really shine. 

What can we agree on that you will do this week that is a little challenging, energizing and realistic? 

How can I support you? 

Transitions can be tough and sometimes we don’t even recognize where we are in the process or why we are feeling the way we do.  Ironically, this is exactly what is needed to move forward to the next successful stage.