Planting the Seeds for Transition

1. Planting the Seeds for Transition Presented by Jill Yashinsky-Wortman, Student Life Case Manager, Gonzaga University & MichealSeraphin, Coordinator of Purchasing, Willamette University

2. Objectives • To reflect on change and how it affects people, including applying Bridge’s Transition Theory to personal experiences • To help new and advanced new professionals consider and prepare for the changes they may encounter as they move to new • To learn new skills that may help professionals as they make personal and professional transitions

3. How do you deal with change? • Think back over past changes in your life. • Do you seek or avoid change? Why? • What is your own style of bringing situations to a close? • Is it quick or abrupt? Active or passive? • Do you say good byes or disappear a day early?

4. Types of change • Changes in home life. • Personal changes • Work and financial changes • Inner changes • Losses of relationships

5. Change vs. Transition “Change is situational: the new site, the new boss, the new team... Transition is the psychological process people go through to come to terms with the new situation. Change is external, transition internal.“- Bridges

6. Bridge’s Theory of Transition Three phases: • Endings • Neutral Zone • Beginnings

7. Endings • Every transition begins with an ending. • There may be common feelings or experiences with endings, but there isn’t a prescribed order. • It is important to let ourselves feel and react to endings.

8. Housing Endings • Meal plans • Living where you work • Being so close to your office • Regular student contact • Being in the trenches • Co-worker/student staff relationships

9. Endings • Disengagement– Not involving ourselves in things anymore. • Disidentification- Feeling like you don’t have an identity anymore . • Disenchantment-Floating between two stages; discovering that one’s old sense of reality is no longer real. • Disorientation- Leaving behind our “reality” can result in feeling of being lost.

10. Handling Endings • Define what’s over and what isn’t. Be specific to avoid confusion. • Mark the endings. Create activities or actions to dramatize them. • Treat the past with respect. Show that the new ways are building on the foundations of the old ways.

12. “Who are you?” said the caterpillar. “I—I hardly know, Sir, just at present,” Alice replied rather shyly, “At least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.” – Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

13. The Neutral Zone • May appear aimless, wandering, without purpose, uncomfortable • Feels like nothing is solid anymore • Very emotional

14. Bridge’s Tips for the Neutral Zone • Find a regular time and place to be alone. • Begin a log of neutral zone experiences. • Write your autobiography. • Take the opportunity to decide what you really want. • Think of what would be unlived if you died today. • Take a few days to go on your own journey. • Create systems.

15. Housing Neutral Zones • Fixing things when you used to write work orders • On a funnier note, the first time my power went out my first thought was “Nobody told me there would be a power outage today.” • We also dearly miss the extension where you call and things get magically fixed.  Being a home-owner sucks.  I just paid $5,000.00 to take my 5 bedroom house in the suburbs off of septic and hook up to the sewer.  

16. Housing Neutral Zones • More privacy/solitude (for better or for worse…) • Less scrutiny of your personal life, partner, kids, etc • May be lonely because you aren’t by people all of the time • Neighbors may or may not want to “know” you • Ability to draw more boundaries between personal and professional

17. Housing Neutral Zones • Less of a staff team • With RD’s, you often have a significant number of people to share experiences with. When you move up, you may not get as many opportunities to do this, as you may have less time to do so in addition to having less people in the same role as you at your institution. • Less “good” student contact

18. Making a Beginning “When we are ready to make a beginning, we will find the opportunity to do so.” • Identify what you want the final result to be. • Stop getting ready and start to act. • Take it step by step. Be patient.

19. Bridge’s Transition Tips • Take your time. • Don’t act for the sake of action. • Arrange temporary structures. • Recognize why you are uncomfortable. • Take care of yourself in little ways.

20. Bridge’s Transition Tips • Explore the other side of change. • Use this transition as the impetus to a new kind of change. • Get someone to talk to. • Recognize that transition has a characteristic shape.

21. Things to remember… • Give yourself grace to be in a first year again. These are always the toughest. • Be open to a year of learning (a new job, institution, culture, role). • Have a mentor and schedule regular times to connect over the phone or in person.

22. Transitions…Budgeting • Major impact: Budgeting – things one must carefully factor: • Rent or mortgage payments (to buy or rent?) • Utility bills (cable, electric, water, sewer, gas, garbage, internet, phone, cell, etc.) • Maintenance issues (whether it be on your own dime if buying a house, or dealing with a landlord) • Yard work and equipment • Gas for commuting to work • Insurance costs (property, personal liability & vehicle) – will vary depending on neighborhood, housing condition/style, vehicle type, etc.

23. Transitions…Community • “I didn’t entirely anticipate the downside of solitude…  My neighbors don’t exactly care whether or not they get to know me!  There are days that I am so thankful for it, and other days that miss stepping 3 feet “outside” my home and being able to connect and care with others… Also, I know I have to work harder to build social connections with students. Suddenly, I was more a part of “the man” because they didn’t see me in my pajamas or coming and going from the grocery store.  I try to be intentional about “hanging out” an extra 15 minutes after things to make sure they know I am a human.”

24. Transitions…Student Contact • Feeling much more removed from campus life and having significantly less contact with students on a daily basis.  You have to be intentional about attending events and activities because they aren’t automatically happening around you. • Less contact with those great and involved residents.  Indeed, most contact with students who are not staff is negative (discipline/roommate conflicts).  So less of an opportunity to balance that by being in community with residents who are great and behave otherwise real well.  Over time, this change can truly oppress one’s belief in students

25. Transitions…Schedule Changes • Harder to fit in “overtime” work, due to proximity to your office.  It truly “feels” like overtime work since you are no longer “living your job” but still have the same demands on time • Finally, the work was a bit more scheduled in that I could actually leave the office and go home at night instead of having students around all the time. • Still live on but no duty- well they say no duty but now I have to be reachable at all times for higher level incidents.

26. Transitions Up in Housing/Res Life. • I serve as the liaison between Residence Life and many offices and departments across campus.  I love that I’ve had the opportunity to create and strengthen many collegial relationships. • The ability to make innovative and needed changes in regard to department processes and to be a part of so many initiatives and projects on campus. • I do enjoy the freedom of not living on campus.  It’s quieter, lower profile, and allows me to more easily and clearly distinguish a line between work and personal time.   • I love my Assistant Director position. Seeing the bigger picture and being a part of the conversations about where the department is going is very exciting.  Of course, with that goes the role you have when you disagree with a decision, but still must “sell it” to those you supervise.

27. Transitions…Out of Housing/Res Life • I don’t immediately perk up when I hear sirens, but I do have to admit I go check out the fire alarm panel when its beeping. I enjoy not having people knock on my door to ask for a plunger or a vacuum. I miss being able to pick my staff. I have to deal with the hand I’m given from elections and student appointments and that can be really frustrating. • The advantage of a traditional work day as I don’t have near as many evening work commitments, but on the flip side my old role was often more flexible with hours if I wanted to take a long lunch or come in late. • Having less people in the same type of job. • Expect job descriptions to change.

28. Realize that you will probably always be asking the “what’s next” for me question about your job / life.  That doesn’t go away, but you have to learn to love (or at least like) what you are doing and enjoy the moment.

29. What tips have you found?

30. Resources • Bridges, W. Changes: Making Sense of Life’s Transitions.Massechusetts, Addison-Wesly. 1980. • Robinson, A. In a time of transition, brace for neutral zone. Seattle PI, March 6, 2009. http://www.seattlepi.com/robinson/402630_faith07.html • USDA. People, Partnerships, and Communities. Issue 16, May 2005. http://www.ssi.nrcs.usda.gov/publications/_borders/1_PPCs/PPC016_RDDManagingChangeAndTransition.pdf