Bridges' Transition Model

framework · management · organizing-schema

Distinguishes external change from internal psychological transition through endings, neutral zone, beginnings.

William Bridges' Transition Model, presented in Managing Transitions (1991), distinguishes external change (the situational shift — a new system, new role, new structure) from internal transition (the psychological process by which people adapt to that change). Bridges argues that transitions move through three phases: Ending, Losing, and Letting Go (acknowledging what is being left behind, often involving genuine grief); the Neutral Zone (a confusing in-between period where the old is gone but the new isn't yet fully operational, simultaneously a time of disorientation and opportunity for creativity); and the New Beginning (a deeper internal alignment with the new state, distinct from merely external compliance). The framework's distinctive contribution is foregrounding the emotional and psychological dimensions of organizational change that more process-focused models tend to underplay.

Originators

William Bridges high

Year / Decade

1991 (Managing Transitions); 1980 (Transitions, broader life-transition precursor) high

Primary sources

Bridges, W. (1991). Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change, Bridges, W. (1980). Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes high

Core components

External change vs internal transition distinction
Phase 1: Ending, Losing, Letting Go
Phase 2: Neutral Zone (disorientation and opportunity)
Phase 3: New Beginning
Emotional and psychological focus
Manager actions appropriate to each phase

Primary use case

Managing the human-side dimensions of organizational change; complementing process-focused change models; coaching individuals through career transitions; structuring leadership communication during change.

Common criticisms

Less prescriptive than Kotter or ADKAR — provides language for dynamics without specifying clear actions
phases are not always sequential in practice (people can re-enter earlier phases)
based on Bridges' observational and consulting work rather than rigorous empirical study
can be misread as suggesting all change is grief-laden when many transitions are net-positive from the start
difficulty distinguishing genuine transition difficulty from change-resistance pathology in practice.

Lineage

Child of: Lewin's Change Model
Siblings: Kotter's 8-Step Change Model, Lewin's Change Model, ADKAR
Derived from: Lewin's Change Model