Saying Goodbye, Part Two: Left Behind

Last week we explored the issue of leaving from the leader’s perspective, when it is precisely the leader who leaves. But what about those left behind in the organization? Filling the void and learning how to carry on after letting some valued colleagues or trusted leaders go can prove to be a lofty undertaking, both for new or existing leaders and for the team members at any level of the organization.  Fear and frustration, sometimes anger are in the air and every group is returned to what my mentor, Will Schutz called the inclusion phase. That is, nobody is really sure they belong here.

Essentially, the group is not the same as it was. Any changes in structure, composition of the group, main task, will bring each member back to the stage where they wonder if people are really committed here, if the task at hand is worthwhile, if it is safe to feel a part of this team anymore. If you have landed in a leadership position after a shakeup of this sort, please do not act as if nothing has happened! It will weigh you down in the long run not to take the time to make the transition from past to present, from longing and nostalgia to vision for the future. Reflect on ways to move forward for yourself and the people in your team. Find ways to value the past for all its worth and learn from what brought your organization this far. Balance with a healthy dose of forward thinking and present action!

It can be a challenge to get back in gear with all that noise in the background. Yet, how much time and energy do you want to spend on the present which is quickly becoming the past?  Though it is important to acknowledge your reactions and feelings as well as those of others, as long as you are here, you will find it more fruitful to move forward. So, lets explore a few things you might want to work on or help others to figure out:

• Realize that you are choosing to be here! All of you. It is your everyday choice to stay on board. If you are feeling stuck, find what you need to get back in the saddle. If others are having this difficulty, explore with them what it is about their job here that inspires them, that makes them want to participate actively in the outcome. Choose to stay in the present, without fearing the past. You can learn from what happened before, but you can only move in the present, so realize that if you might unwittingly be frozen in past actions instead of alive with present ones.
• Leverage your strengths and those of others. In the face of great change, strengths that were previously not valued or went untapped might surface and prove relevant. Find out which of your abilities can now come out to play and enjoy offering your unique contributions to the group, where they least expect them. Discover others and what they might bring to the table that is new, refreshing or unheard of. Where is opportunity lurking for you to show more character, ability, know-how, teamwork? Staying in discovery mode will ground you, put you in the present and bring hope to an unfamiliar situation.
• Support new leadership as it moves into the future. Just as the leader will do well to pass the torch, it is up to new leadership to truly take it. And to those who stay in the organization to follow, to contribute and lend their power to those who will lead them.  Want a better transition? Do not feed  a culture of erasing the past or blaming everything on predecessors. You do not need rupture to explore new ways of doing things. Be straightforward. Explore possibilities that were formerly unheard of or inoperable in the past. People will be energized by possibility long enough to break with past patterns if energy is not spent on trying to destroy what used to work. Stepping up to leadership is deciding to try new ways of doing things, being bold and positive, being aware of what is and what may well be later.
• Start the adventure! By focusing the organization’s energies on the journey before you, on what you want to achieve and which way to go first, you will elicit participation and engagement. Allow yourself to live this adventure. After all, you can always correct course later. Involve as many people as possible in what is happening, be inviting to others, join in! Use memories of joys past to find ways to build back what is needed and start anew where you had not succeeded before…remind yourself and others that you are free from everything that was and headed for everything that can be!  This is no time to be tentative. The organization needs to be clearly moving forward and interested in each person taking part in that movement. This is also no time to be dictatorial. Make the rules clear and the expectations solid, while still leaving space for listening.

In short, energize the transition. Dwelling on the past is no good to anyone, but pretending it didn’t happen is a great way to miss your mark. Imagine what you would like your successors to consider about your time here when you move on in the future. How are you leaving your mark? It takes a big person to not be afraid of stepping into someone else’s successes. No matter how much was wrong, it is really what was right that you are afraid of. Can you do better? Will you? Only time will tell. And THAT, is the ultimate adventure!

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