How to Coach Yourself and Others Essential Knowledge For Coaching | Page 191

In a transition there are emotional responses to the losses that
people experience because of the changes. This is normal but
often these responses are taken by others as signs that the
change is being resisted. Those leading change need to recognise
these emotions in others and themselves, and develop ways to
manage their own emotions and assist others to manage theirs.
Unmanaged, these responses may undermine the changes and
have personal consequences.
This process has been likened, psychologically, to the grieving
process.
'I think you can follow it back if you want to bereavement and
all sorts of things like that. Saying that you cannot move
through bereavement and become creative at the other end
till you have got hold of what the loss means’
Head of Support Department, Pre '92 University.
Everyone deals with such major changes in their own way but
we can identify a number of stages that staff might go through.

Shock and Denial

Distrust

Anger and Guilt

Depression, Anxiety and Stress

Regret
For a discussion of each of the stages together with some typical
views from those who have experienced such a process follow
the link to Emotional Responses to Change and Transition.
Each of the stages in the process needs to be recognised and
responded to accordingly. For example, it's no good expecting
grudging acceptance when staff are still in shock. You are more
likely to get anger and no argument, no matter how reasonable
to you, is likely to win staff around.
For those, managing the change, the challenge is to get staff
through from shock to grudging acceptance in as fast a time as
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