Coaching Clients through a Transition
by Paul LEBLANC

Coaches who specialize in career transition often deal with clients struggling with unfinished issues in their job search.

Typically the clients have not yet been able to let go of a significant issue in their past. Their recent demise could be due to weak performance, an organization or industry cutback, or poor chemistry with their new manager.

This inability to deal with the past often hinders their effectiveness in finding a new position.

One of the models that I have found effective in this context is the work primarily of William Bridges and somewhat of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. It makes a distinction between an Ending and a Beginning, and helps individuals deal with the often most difficult period between those events - the Neutral, the hiatus, the ‘wilderness’ in Bridges’ words.

The focus for the coach in these interventions is to assist the client in learning how to let go of inappropriate practices, bring closure to an experience, explore creative options and launch a successful campaign towards attaining their next position.

The model is equally applicable for organizations in renewal where the same principles apply but in which the involvement of several hierarchical levels is critical.

Change refers to an event that occurs when something in life ends or is replaced by another event or way of doing something. It occurs when something new starts or something old stops. It takes place at a particular point in time. It is best described as something which happens to you.

Transition refers to the gradual psychological re-orientation people experience as they adapt to a change. It is best described as something which happens inside you.

A classic example is when someone moves. The change is the new neighborhood, postal code, neighbors, telephone number and location of the nearest Couche Tard. The transition is the period it requires for the individual to feel comfortable and part of the new surroundings.

Former work colleagues captured this distinction aptly in describing how, after their move to another city they would return home one week-end each month to visit their parents in their former city. As they were preparing to return to their new city one Sunday afternoon, one partner said to the other that they needed to leave to ‘get home’. This was the first time they had described their residence in their new city as ‘home’ despite being located there for 7 months.

Individuals who have recently undergone job shift – especially if imposed – often state that this phenomenon is very common. In my work with such individuals I focus on the three phases of ending, neutral zone and beginning. The schema below provides a visual representation.

In describing the phase of managing an Ending, I encourage clients to be aware that they need to let go before embracing a beginning. Feelings of anger and betrayal result in discussions of ‘holding on and letting go’, of honoring the past and retaining the fruitful feelings and experiences, while accepting the need to focus on the future.

The Neutral Zone is often the most troublesome and disorienting as it underscores a person’s feelings of helplessness, even chaos, of being at a loss and without control. The metaphor I often use is the feeling while awaiting medical test results. There is little one can do for a while; even if the results are less than desirable, the individual can then at least activate corrective measures. With that comes a sense of return of control and independence.

The Beginning phase follows more the timing of the mind and heart than the calendar. While there is a definable moment and start date or event, it usually provides wide variation among individuals. It is most noticeable when vocabulary changes, regular behavior patterns alter and there is a general feeling of comfort, ownership, adaptation and involvement in the new milieu.

The primary emphasis I suggest in the successful application of this model is that one has to begin with the ending, that between the ending and the beginning there is often a pronounced and understandable feeling of being lost, that this period can be creative and liberating, and that people go through transition for varying durations and at different speeds.