Book SummaryManaging Transitions, by William Bridges and Susan Bridges

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Managing Transitions

In Managing Transitions, organizational change consultants William and Susan Bridges offer a step-by-step guide to support organizational leaders in effectively managing change. They argue that the external changes we experience are not nearly as challenging as our internal, emotional process of coming to terms with those changes, and therefore it’s critical that organizational leaders support their teams through the internal transition process.

William and Susan Bridges collaboratively run William Bridges Associates, a consulting firm dedicated to helping organizational leaders better manage the “human-side of change.” Both well-renowned experts in the field of change management, the couple has published multiple books on the topic. Leaders and management consultants still use the Bridges Transition Model, developed by William Bridges in 1979, as a tool for navigating the challenges of organizational change.

In this guide, we’ve organized the authors’ ideas into three parts:

1. In Part I, we’ll more clearly define the authors’ distinction between change and transition.
2. In Part II, we’ll clarify why it’s important for organizational leaders to...

Managing Transitions Summary Part I: Understanding Change vs. Transition

William and Susan Bridges explain that to effectively manage transitions, you must first understand the difference between a change and a transition. In this section, we’ll start by defining these key terms.

The authors make an important distinction between change and transition:

• Change is external. It happens to us and around us. For example, a canceled flight is an external change—something beyond our control.
• Transition, on the other hand, is internal. Transition is the psychological process by which we deal with change. For instance, when our flight gets canceled, we have to emotionally come to terms with a new plan we didn’t anticipate.

(Shortform note: While psychologists have long distinguished between external changes and how humans internally process those changes, the language of “change” and “transition” became more common after the introduction of the Bridges Transition Model. When defining the difference between change and transition, psychologists often cite the work of William and Susan Bridges. Psychologists have applied the Bridges...

Managing Transitions Summary Part II: The Importance of Managing Transition

In the previous section, we defined the difference between change and transition. Next, we’ll briefly discuss why it’s critical for organizational leaders to learn how to manage transition effectively.

Simply put, organizational leaders must learn to manage transition because every organization experiences transition. All organizations will naturally change over the course of their lifetime as they grow from an idea to a start-up to an established company. A well-managed transition is critical if an organization is to move successfully from one stage of its evolution to the next.

(Shortform note: William and Susan Bridges emphasize the importance of managing people through the stages of organizational growth. Implicit in their argument is the importance of broader cultural change during these periods of transition: Get enough people (or the right people) on board, and it triggers the necessary cultural change for the organization to evolve. But just like internal psychological transitions, [cultural change can’t be...

Managing Transitions Summary Part III: How to Effectively Manage Transition

In the previous section, we touched on the importance of managing transitions in the context of the organizational life cycle, and the impact of revitalization in the longevity of an organization. In the next section, we’ll expand on the idea of transition and introduce the three phases of transition in the Bridges Transition Model:

• Phase 1: Closing (referred to in the book as “Ending/Losing”). The closing is the first stage of the process when people experience sadness or loss about what is ending.
• Phase 2: The Bridge (referred to in the book as “The Neutral Zone”). The bridge is the second stage when an organization is in between systems and everything feels uncertain.
• Phase 3: Emerging (referred to in the book as “A New Beginning”). Emerging is the final stage of the process when the changes have been implemented and there is widespread buy-in within the organization.

In order to successfully implement changes, organizational leaders must guide their teams through each phase of this transition process intentionally.

(Shortform note: For each stage of transition, the authors outline a different set of management strategies. While the suggested strategies are...

Shortform Exercise: Differentiate Between Change and Transition

The Bridges Transition Model makes a clear distinction between change and transition. William and Susan Bridges suggest that being able to effectively manage change requires understanding the difference between the two.

Think of a change you experienced recently in a professional context. Describe what changed.

Shortform Exercise: Plan for Change

When leading a team through a transition, William and Susan Bridges recommend the following strategies for each stage of the transition process: planning ahead, leading with empathy, and communicating with intention. Imagine that you’re crafting a transition plan that accounts for each of these strategies.

Think of a change that needs to be implemented at work. Briefly describe it here.