Page 5 - Phase 2 - Identifying entrepreneurial actions for school improvement

Challenges in Transition

Ending

According to Bridges (1980), there are five aspects of the natural ending experience—

Method Aspect Description
To disengage from the contexts in which we understand ourselves.
To break up the existing system which served to pattern our roles
Disenchantment and behaviours. The inexorable process of change begins clarified,
guided and supported with disengagement. It leads towards
Intrinsic development and renewal.

To break up with the existing system, we served to pattern
Dismantling in sequence. It eventually leads towards development and
renewal step-by-step.

A person loses ways of self-identification in breaking the old
connections to the world. Most people in transition experience
Disidentification insecurity with who they are any more. They need to loosen the
bonds of whom they think they are and avoid being intoxicated
by past achievements so that they can go through a transition
towards a new identity.

Many significant transitions begin with disenchantment. It is
Extrinsic crucial to notice and reflect on one’s insufficiency by growing
Disenchantment new connections and identities. The disenchanted person
recognises the old view as sufficient in the past but insufficient
now. He/she rejects the embodiment of the earlier perspective

Often, one in transition would be taken to unfamiliar territory
beyond their experience, and left for a prolonged period. People in
Disorientation
transition need to understand that ‘feeling lost’ is the start of
change.

‘Exploring’ – The Neutral Zone

The neutral zone is a temporary state of loss to be endured. It is the period a person would
remain in for a time, removed from the old connections, bereft of the old identities and stripped
of the old identity. People in the middle of transition tend to find ways of being alone and away
from all the usual distractions, as it’s meant to be a moratorium from the routine activity of our
everyday experience.

The New Beginning

Anyone launching a new beginning needs to understand that new beginnings are accessible
to everyone, and it is unavoidable to encounter trouble in the process. People in transition need
to realise what undermines our resolve and casts doubt in their plans. They need to be able
to distinguish between a real new beginning and a simple defensive reaction to an ending.

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