Embracing Change in the Community Sector

Part 1

Change in our lives is inevitable. Without change there would be no life as inertia sets in and stagnation results. Without change there would be no growth! Without change our communities would not flourish!

Change and the Community Sector

The purpose of this series of articles is to support people working in the community sector in understanding and working with change. These articles represent the tip of the iceberg regarding strategies for managing change. The aim is to introduce you to some fundamental concepts and provide some simple practical tips on how to implement change successfully in your workplace and/or community.

Change Impacts in the Community Sector

Change inevitably occurs in all areas of our life! In the community sector change impacts all levels and it is important to address each of these levels in somewhat unique and different ways:

  • Individual
  • Group
  • Organisational
  • Institutional
  • Societal

We will firstly address the individual level.

The individual Level - Change and Transition

At the individual level change is a personal experience for us all! There are many ways to assist individuals through change. A fundamental concept at this level is that proposed by William Bridges who differentiates change from transition. William Bridges is a famous change guru who differentiates change and transition and describes change as the tangible outcome.

Some examples of changes impacting the community sector include new legislation, new technology and new policies. Alternatively transition is a much longer process and includes the psychological, social and emotional factors that support us all in implementing changes in our lives and in the community.

You have no doubt observed and even experienced new change yet noticed that individual’s acceptance of the change takes much longer. This is a classic example of the difference between change and transition. As we are all human it can often take much longer for us to transition to new changes. Think of the time taken to adopt new technology! Sometimes it takes us some time to embrace the technology and this time is not without its challenges!

According to William Bridges there are three key psychological processes we all experience in transition these include:

  • Endings – where we may experience denial, shock, anger and frustration in leaving the ‘old’ and transition to the ‘new’.
  • Neutral Zone – where we may experience ambivalence, skeptism, acceptance and start to create routines around the ‘new’ way while sometimes reverting back to our ‘old’ way of behaving.
  • New Beginnings – where we fully embrace the change and experience hope and optimism for the future. (Adapted from William Bridges)

By understanding this concept of change and transition it is possible to more effectively support individuals in your community in embracing change.

Practical Tip – Be mindful that change will not happen overnight and that individuals will all experience varying degrees of emotion. In the community sector this means displaying empathy for people transitioning to the ‘new’ by listening, validating emotions and responses, and acknowledging the reality of their experiences. As such it is important to provide time for the transition and support people through communication; resources; social networks;opportunities for trial and error; adequate training, mentors and coaches to learn any new skills; and providing forums for individualsto contribution ideas on how to best to implement new changes. These strategies empower people and enable them to embrace change with positive emotions and vigour.

In future articles we will address other levels of change providing practical tips for managing these impacts.

“Never doubt that a group of committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead

References

Bridges, W. (1991). Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change.Cambridge, MA: William Bridges and Associates.