Principally, the most eminent characteristic of life is the eventual changes. Some changes are easy to adapt while others are quite hard. On a personal account, there have been several watershed events that changed my life significantly. For instance, breaking up with my business partner was a watershed in my life. Before that happened, we had been working closely for about two and a half years. We were so used to one another, and we had little problems getting along. I was, at some point, convinced that our business relationship will never end. However, one fateful morning I tried to call my partner a couple of times, but my calls went unanswered. I thought perhaps they could not answer because they were busy. About an hour later, I received a text message informing me that our business relationship was over between the two of us without any further explanation. It was one of the most disheartening messages I had ever received in my life, considering the amount investment and sacrifice I had offered to establish our already rising business. I thought my world could literally crumble since I knew my partner was going to demand her shares. This occurrence was different from any other because I experienced greater pain than ever before.
Analysis of Transitions
The pace at which one moves from the first to the last stage is a function of their levels of comfortability concerning the change (Bridges, 2009). The more comfortable one is with the changes, the quicker they reach the new beginning stage, and the vice versa is also true. In my case, I was not comfortable with ending the business relationship and, therefore, I spent a significant amount of time in the first two steps. As a result, the business performance and relationship with my family were negatively impacted.
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Change versus transition
Change encompasses the external happenings or circumstances that take place (Ngo, Zhou, & Warren, 2005). Some of the examples in the business context include a replacement of the CEO of a company, a merger, a new business strategy, and a break up among others. Ngo, Zhou, and Warren (2005) asserted that changes are mainly a response to external factors or events. That is, a change is mainly a counter-response to specific externalities. On the other hand, a transition is the psychological steps that people go through when internalizing the new status quo brought about by a certain change. This process may be smooth or rough (Dima & Skehill, 2011).
Endings
Paradoxically, the transition process begins with an ending. That is, the outcomes do not precede the ending that one has to make to leave the old status quo behind (Bridges, 2009). Typically, this stage is characterized by massive resistance and emotional upheavals. These reactions emanate from the fact that people are forced to let go of things that they endear and are comfortable with. Arguably, it is not easy to abandon an old reality that defines one or an entity for something new. When I received that message, I initially thought it was some kind of a bad hoax, but later on, the seriousness became more and more vivid. I could not believe that a business relationship we had built for more than two and a half years was over. My heart was filled with immense pain, and at some point, I felt overly betrayed. I spent a lot of time agonizing and hoping that my partner could change their decision.
Neutral Zone
Primarily, this step entails contemplating on what replaces the old reality (Bridges, 2009). In the process of contemplating, people feel impatient and confused due to uncertainties about what the new reality holds. Bridges explains this step as a virtual bridge where the affected people are attached to the old while trying to adjust to accommodate the new. In the process, it is possible to develop skepticism and eventual resentments for the changes. Bridges posits this step as a dangerous and an opportune place if not properly managed (Dima & Skehill, 2011). True to Bridges’s words, I felt lonely and frightened because there were no prior signs of any changes in our business whatsoever, and I almost fell into depression. In order to reverse the new normal to the way things used to be, I tried reaching out several times, hoping that we could resolve our differences. I had not known that all I needed was to embrace the new reality that had emerged.
The New beginning
This is the last step of the transition process. According to Bridges (2009), this step is characterized by acceptance and energy. People start to embrace the new normal and to appreciate the positive side of the change. In this regard, after failing to resolve our differences, and spending a few months agonizing for the loss, I managed to learn how to let go. I emancipated myself from the limbo between our working partnership and the new life. Through advice from my parents, I managed to develop a new pattern of spending my time and resources,
The Insights Gained From the Watershed
Change is inevitable
Arguably, change is inevitable. Regardless of whether people applaud change or not, it still happens at some point in time. Since the watershed event presented in this paper concerns a working relationship, its indubitably a concept that can apply in many business scenario. For instance, one could lose a job abruptly, which may be equated to an abrupt ending of a business relationship. Although the changes may initially seem inconvenient, facilitating it has a wide range of benefits as described below. Notably, these are the reasons why I will strive to embrace changes at my workplace.
Identifying and fixing a problem
Undeniably, workplaces keep evolving as time goes by. As evolution occurs, the organization may identify a certain problem that may need to be fixed. The process of fixing may alter a number of things in the organization. Nevertheless, the organization eventually addresses the issues that continually complicate the operations. This is how organizations come up with the most appropriate technologies to boost their efficiencies.
Changes Can Help an Organization Seize New Opportunities
Besides helping an organization directly, some alterations could help the organization seize new opportunities in the market. For instance, a simple notice like ‘the business under new management’ may attract new clients who may have had an unfriendly consideration of the old management. Furthermore, such a notice could attract job candidates of higher calibers.
Accommodation of Growth
As an organization grows, some of its structural formations may become inappropriate. This is because such a company may be taking more production projects and thereby serving more customers (Zhou, David, & Li, 2006). For it to sufficiently meet the desired outcomes, a structural adjustment may be necessitated. For instance, human resources may need to be increased, including more supervisors and managers to coordinate the new labor force. Such changes will ensure that the organization is not overwhelmed or does not become disorganized.
Accepting Changes Fast Quickens the Transition Process
Spending a lot of time at the endings and the neutral zone lags the transition process. In the context of a business partnership, the impacts may not be as detrimental as it could be in the business environment. As mentioned earlier, these two stages are generally emotionally draining. As such, it is logical to infer that a worker who overstays in these two stages is likely to be less productive. According to Bridges (2009), re-patterning and letting go reorients people amidst the changing business environment. Having such knowledge is of utter importance in a business-related career. Specifically, when a leader is cognizant of all the three processes, they will take all the necessary measures to help the workers get over the challenges that emanate from organizational changes. In this regard, Cawsey, Deszca, and Ingols (2015) asserted that leaders should play the critical roles of imparting a sense of awareness and the adaptability capacity of the workers. In doing so, the leaders will be minimizing the losses that may result from the go-slows that are normally caused by organizational changes.
Conclusion
The most eminent characteristic of life is the eventual changes. Some events in life are more critical than others, and their impacts vary too. For instance, breaking up with my business partner was a major watershed in my life. I thought I had lost everything. However, I was able to go over the loss through the transition of changes, which include the endings, the neutral zone, and the new beginning. Since I was not comfortable with losing my investment, I spent too much time in the first two steps of transition, which are characterized by disbelief and resentment. Nevertheless, I gained a wide array of insights regarding the transition process from that watershed that will be critical in the job market. For instance, I learned that change is inevitable in life and, therefore, the best way to cope with it is to learn how to swiftly absorb changes in an organization. One of the pivotal characteristics is learning how to accept changes for a quick transition to take place.
References
Bridges, W. (2009). Managing transitions: Making the most of change . Da Capo Press.
Cawsey, T. F., Deszca, G., & Ingols, C. (2015). Organizational change: An action-oriented toolkit . Sage Publications.
Dima, G., & Skehill, C. (2011). Making sense of leaving care: The contribution of Bridges model of transition to understanding the psycho-social process. Children and Youth Services Review , 33 (12), 2532-2539. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2011.08.016
Ngo, L., Zhou, W., & Warren, M. (2005). Understanding Transition towards Information Security Culture Change. In AISM , 67-73.
Zhou, K. Z., David, K. T., & Li, J. J. (2006). Organizational changes in emerging economies: Drivers and consequences. Journal of International Business Studies , 37 (2), 248-263. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400186
