The Process of Letting Go
摘要
Letting go during the process of organizational transformation is not a simple cognitive process but a sequential emotional one. First, parallel to individual transformation, it starts with a state of turmoil. With the rising anxiety levels, normal organizational processes stop or become ritualistic, and few people are ready to accept these unavoidable changes. Second, once the change begins, other modes of behavior can appear—fight, flight, dependency—which may impact corporate culture. Third, people have to accept change as inevitable/necessary, and when this happens in an organizational setting resistance to new initiatives weakens and the first tentative explorations of a new reality take place. Fourth, once the adjustments and reshuffling are complete, people in the organization have to redefine themselves and prepare to move forward collaboratively. To navigate these stages, astute leadership is essential. Leaders must recognize that to relinquish the old and embark on the new takes time, and that people facing organizational change require time to mourn the past. Leadership that effectively instills vision, and empowers and energizes its workforce, must also set up appropriate structures and control systems to facilitate this. The chapter concludes with two factors that can facilitate change: social support and personality type.