Dear ,    

As the Interim Executive Director, I've been considering the leadership change here at the Maine Women's Fund and the meaning of the word "transition." I thought I'd use this enews to share a best practice concept - one that I have found personally and professionally useful.

Most people use the words "change" and "transition" interchangeably. But William Bridges, author of Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change, draws a powerful but important distinction between them. Change is the external shift in situation, the move from situation A to situation B. Transition is the internal, psychological shift we experience in relation to the external change. It is what people experience as they move through change.

We are all familiar with the internal transitions that come with change - the big psychological journey that comes with a first baby in the home, moving in with a partner or starting a new job. Like people, organizations move through transitions as well  - especially when there are important leadership changes.  

Organizations are learning that mindful attention to transition makes the difference between the success and failure of a change. Toward a successful change, the Maine Women's Fund is continuing to pay attention to the transition, making my update this month simple: the stakeholder input has been gathered, recommendations have been made and the Board of Directors is completing a series of planning meetings this (hot) summer to ensure a great search outcome.   

Transitions also provide the opportunity for experimentation (maybe more about that in the September edition!). For now, I hope you'll check out Kristin's blog about how she engages in her kid's school in our new series that explores how staff and volunteers leverage their Maine Women's Fund learnings in their professional and personal lives.

Best,

Cathy