More Answers... (8/3/25 Newsletter): Let August Teach Us About Transitions

Hi Everyone,

Here's the blog version of the Sunday Evening "More Answers..." to get a friendly boost to setup your work week! 

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Transitions Are Harder When You Don't Feel A Benefit...
(But hindsight? There is ALWAYS benefit to transitions...)

If you live in the northern hemisphere, you have noticed the days getting shorter already. Dusk feels more pronounced, and no matter where you live, the air feels cooler when the sun goes down.

It's the inevitable wind-down of the northern hemisphere summer, and it something different for everyone: that one thing they think of when they realize the days are getting shorter.

For some it means relief from the heat and humidity. For others it means they enter hurricane season. For some it's a sadness (or a relief) knowing the kids will re-enter school soon, and yet for others, especially those above the 42 North, it means crisp Fall days ahead, maybe a cozier feeling, too, but shorter days leading into a block of time that has real effects on our mental and physical wellbeing, especially in the drag-out-days of January and February when the clouds hang around... persistently.

If we look at the seasons as transitions, we can learn a lot from August. It is a pronounced "transition month" that can teach us how to embrace and appreciate change because it offers a bit of transition for everyone. Even if for those who do not want Winter's cold arrival, you know by August that if you hang in for a few months, the days get longer again by late February, the air starts to break by late March, and buds arrive soon after.

Every transition in leads to a transition out, and there's always benefit to a transition-- even if it is the simple reinforcement that every transition in leads to a transition out. The factor that helps us is time. 

The Work of Organizational Transitions

With the recovery and reset work I do, it's common for me to work myself out of a job if I'm doing it the right way, and of course if I'm hired full time to clean things up for longer initiatives.

I've come to realize that my career has been based on transitions, and my work is about transitions.

Let me explain. 

The longer initiatives I've been hired for were often related to and included the following in the title: Organizational Effectiveness, Transition Strategies, Transformational Efforts, Strategic Programs, Corporate Strategy. Each role lasted 4-5 years and was heavily tilted toward consistent internal transitions for the first 3 years or so.

Two transitions even included working with a Board in stealth to make some hefty strategic changes, which I'll probably write a book about some day.

But I digress...

In my first 2-3 months, I come in and meet with as many employees as possible to learn the people and the business, assess where the recovery and remediation efforts will have the biggest impact, and focus firstly on those efforts to immediately reset where needed. Those efforts are usually 3 years, with rolling initiatives starting up and finishing in such a way that common denominators are improved with each new initiative.

Then sometime around year 3 or 4, I'll create Strategic Programs and Operational and/or Commercial Excellence disciplines so the organization builds core competencies for staying business-healthy. 

The organization then folds those disciplines into their organization as needed, and within two years, I'm on my way, and that means I've done my job.

Many times for all of us, a transition means we've done our job, and life is moving us on to be someplace else, which enables growth, even if painful at first.

I realize transitions are not simple or easy. Like most people, I've been laid off, too. I'm in the 4x-Lay Off Club because I happen to love building start-ups, too, not just cleaning up a mess, but I'll say this: every time a transition came up I wasn't expecting, or even if I expected it, I took it as an opportunity to make changes in other areas of my life, too. And if you can manage the emotions of transitions: loss, grief, upset, confusion, disorientation... you'll find that for the most part, you land on your feet.

Transitions Matter: Use Them To Reflect, Reset, Realign

And so, in recognizing that life transitions can be disruptive and inconvenient at best, and devastating and destructive at worst (those who have lost near/dear loved ones feel those transitions deeply), we all know life takes us places we don't always feel ready for.

When that happens, take time to reflect. Your life has already been paused-- use that to your advantage. Take the pause as a benefit to the transition. A time to reset, re-align what matters most. Consider who your people are, where you will get the most care, who you can go to. Forgive those who demonstrate they are not the people you thought they were if you ask for support during a transition and they cannot provide any.

Take the pause to be thoughtful about your personal mission. Your values. Your needs.

Assess where some recovery and remediation in your own life will have the biggest impact, and focus firstly on those efforts to immediately reset where needed. Look for the common denominators you want to change. Create a more strategic plan about your life and your career OR decide whether it's time to be less strategic and just go with the flow.

Transitions can be wildly liberating, so as we move into August, I ask that you consider what this month brings all of us as a way to reframe what a transition-- wanted or unwanted-- means to you and can do FOR you.

BOOSTER FOR YOUR WEEK!!!  

Christa Says: Transition Is the Ongoing State of Change 

In my newsletter, I offered  a powerful YouTube TEDxPrincetonWomen talk from Tana Jenkins, J.D. She tells her story of transitioning from being a New Jersey Public Defender, which was her full identity, to being a writer.

It's from 2020, so you may feel touched and/or mindful of the last five years (and the USA's own ongoing transition-- but remember, every transition in has a transition out) as she talks about change and transition as a mark of growth.

To me as a transition and change expert whose entire career has been built on change and transition in one form or another: transition truly is the ongoing state of change.

An important note: Tana anchors her talk around the Baobab Tree, which has roots and various stories related to enslaved people. I realize in 2025 that topic may not feel comfortable, but I assure you she offers the stories as part of the weaving to encourage and ENTITLE us to move through life embracing change and viewing transitions as part of the ebb and flow of life.

She finishes with one of my favorite African Proverbs: To get lost, is to learn the way.

Let August teach us about transitions...

See you next week!!!

With kindness,
Christa

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