Transitions (#59)
Transitions in life are about change. Transitions can happen suddenly, such as an accident, death, divorce, job loss, or serious illness. Other transitions in life come from positive experiences such as getting married, going away to college, starting a new job, moving to a new city, or giving birth to a child. Even though these positive events are usually planned and anticipated, they can be just as life-altering as the unexpected events. Whether positive or negative, transitions in life force us to leave behind the familiar and adjust to new ways of living. They can leave us feeling completely unprepared and throw us into a personal crisis.
During my 24 years in the Army, I lived in 18 different places and held 19 different jobs. The longest times I spent in one job was as a company, battalion, or brigade commander — each job as a commander I was fortunate to hold for about two years. Every one of the 18 jobs had a different set of leaders to work under, slightly different version of the Army culture to become a part of and enhance, peers to get to know and work alongside, teams to forge, processes to implement, and soldiers to lead. Leaving the Army in 2017, I had to make another transition. That transition was even a bigger challenge — from the structured bureaucracy of the U.S. Army to the amorphous and challenging world of being an independent consultant. I also had to transition my identity from being a soldier to being a leadership coach. None of these transitions were easy, but I have discovered a few tips that make them easier.
Transitions. Which way from here?
Whether you are transitioning jobs, transitioning to working in a new environment, or transitioning to supervising virtual school for your kids, think about these five concepts to make it a little easier:
Simpler is better: The transition is a huge obstacle to overcome. Anything else you can do to simplify your life helps reduce the unneeded expenditure of energy that you need to use on the transition. Ideas on simplification include meal prep for the week, using similar outfits (like Steve Jobs) at work, implementing a daily routine (see post #44 — https://www.thefivecoatconsultinggroup.com/the-coronavirus-crisis/personal-operating-rhythm ), unsubscribing from unwanted emails, decluttering your office or home, and writing a to-do list before you go to sleep.
Organize: Spend time prior to the transition or right afterwards organizing yourself. Make a check list for the transition. Think it through. Don’t just react to events as they come at you.
Work transitions: These three points helped me with work transitions:
Be ready to go to work on the first day. You only have one opportunity to make a first impression. Be ready to make it a good one.
Talk to the organization on the first day. It is important to connect with the organization on your first day, especially if you are a leader or manager. This should happen even if it is by Zoom or Teams. The organization wants to start getting to know you and gauge how much change you are bringing. And it gives you the opportunity to establish an azimuth on your first day.
Read everything in the desk within the first two weeks. Your predecessor had years in the desk and accumulated files. If you can quickly read or scan the files you may be able to anticipate and minimize problems that your predecessor dealt with.
Mindfulness. Whether you favor yoga, meditation, praying, or workouts, make time for mindfulness. For me, making sure I get in a good workout every day helped to maintain balance and better manage the stress of the transition.
Share the experience with friends, family and peers. Talking about the transition to your support group also helps to handle the stress of the transition.
Whatever the transition is that you are going through or will go through in 2020, use one or all of the five concepts to help make it a little easier.