When change begins and suddenly everything starts to shift
Professional change often starts with a clear decision:
a new position, an upshift or downshift, a re-entry after a break.
At first, the step feels manageable.
Soon after, everyday life begins to realign - and suddenly everything starts to shift.
Conversations change. Expectations move. Roles lose clarity. Daily routines respond, even when no one addresses it openly.
If this dynamic is not addressed, friction, uncertainty and inner tension emerge.
Change reveals its true impact in daily interactions.
Sustainable change therefore requires clarity, conscious communication and structures that anchor new paths in everyday life.
The following chapters show how change becomes stable and effective: through clarified expectations, clear roles, understanding reactions in your environment, a resilient professional identity and routines that secure progress over time.
1. Clarifying expectations - how conscious communication reduces friction
Change first becomes visible through behavior.
You use your working time differently. You set new priorities. You make decisions that previously played no role. For you, this makes sense. For those around you, it often does not - yet.
This is where friction arises.
People react sensitively to changes within their social systems. Families, partnerships and teams function through implicit expectations. These expectations rarely get articulated, yet they guide everyday interaction. When one person changes their behavior, these silent agreements come under pressure.
“Expectations are resentments under construction.” - Brené Brown
A key distinction matters here:
expectations are not the same as agreements.
Expectations grow out of habit, experience and assumptions.
Agreements are consciously negotiated and clearly articulated.
In everyday life, both often get mixed up and misunderstandings follow.
Typical situations:
- You invest time in a new goal without explaining the context.
- Your environment continues to expect your usual availability and interprets your withdrawal as disinterest.
People seek orientation and stability. When the reason for change remains unclear, they fill the gaps with their own interpretations.
Conscious communication provides orientation when you:
- name changes early,
- make transition phases visible,
- actively address expectations.
Clear communication reduces room for interpretation. It relieves relationships and improves collaboration.
Reflect individually or in conversation:
1. What is currently changing in my daily life?
2. Which expectations might arise from this?
3. Which expectations am I consciously willing to accept?
This clarity works preventively and reduces tension before it emerges.
2. Clarifying roles - creating orientation during transition phases
Roles structure collaboration. In everyday life, they answer three core questions:
- What am I responsible for?
- What am I accountable for?
- Where do I make decisions?
When these points remain clear, people feel secure.
Brené Brown summarizes this precisely:
“Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.” - Brené Brown
During periods of change, roles come under pressure. Old responsibilities lose relevance while new ones are not yet established. Expectations persist even though conditions shift.
Example:
A professional transition changes focus and energy. At the same time, private or professional responsibilities remain unchanged. The result often shows up as overload, frustration or withdrawal.
In professional contexts, this dynamic becomes especially visible.
Formal roles remain intact while availability, priorities and decision-making authority change.
Roles reduce complexity.
People no longer need to renegotiate expectations constantly. When roles remain unclear, inner conflict arises:
Should I act or wait? Am I responsible or merely involved? May I decide or do I need alignment?
Research in organizational psychology shows a strong link between role clarity, job satisfaction, commitment and performance.
Transition phases benefit from provisional clarity. Temporary agreements create orientation.
Helpful questions include:
- Who currently takes on which tasks?
- Who decides in moments of uncertainty?
- Which rules apply during this phase?
Such agreements relieve everyone involved and prevent unnecessary conflict.
Choose one role that is currently changing and clarify:
1. Tasks: What belongs to this role?
2. Responsibility: What am I accountable for?
3. Decision scope: What can I decide independently?
Clearly naming these points creates immediate orientation.
3. Security, orientation and loss - why change triggers others
Change extends beyond the individual. Family, teams and organizations form a system and respond collectively.
Ronald A. Heifetz captures the core dynamic:
“What people resist is not change per se, but loss.” - Ronald A. Heifetz
Reactions vary. Some people respond openly, others with hesitation or emotional distance. Beneath these reactions often lies a need for security.
People orient themselves around stability: familiar roles, routines and relationships. Change disrupts this order and creates the sense of losing something reliable.
This perceived loss appears in different forms:
- loss of influence
- loss of orientation
- loss of security
These reactions arise automatically. They reflect an attempt to preserve stability.
Understanding this dynamic allows for calmer responses.
Recognizing this connection makes navigating change easier.
Before responding to critical reactions, ask yourself:
1. Which form of security might my counterpart be losing right now?
2. Which orientation is falling away?
3. What can I clarify to restore stability?
This mindset changes conversations and reduces emotional tension.
4. Developing a new professional identity - when your role changes
Professional change reaches beyond tasks and responsibilities. It affects professional self-image.
Many people tie their sense of identity closely to their role: a job title, a position in the organization, responsibility for people or budgets. Roles provide structure, orientation and recognition.
When this framework shifts, an uncomfortable question emerges:
Who am I in my impact when my previous role loses relevance?
Transition phases rarely follow a straight line. Familiar structures lose meaning while new ones are not yet established. Many experience this phase as unpleasant. It requires conscious orientation.
Example:
A leader moves into a role without disciplinary responsibility. Visibility, influence and decision authority change. Personal value remains intact, yet the reference frame shifts. Recognizing one’s impact beyond title becomes essential.
A clear focus on competencies provides stability:
- Roles describe tasks
- Competencies describe impact
Competencies operate across roles. Skills such as problem-solving, communication, decision-making or learning agility remain relevant regardless of formal position.
Professional identity work means actively repositioning your profile. Guiding questions include:
- What am I good at?
- What am I valued for?
- In what contexts does my experience create value?
This clarity strengthens your ability to act and your self-confidence during transition phases.
Herminia Ibarra, a leading expert on professional identity development, puts it succinctly:
“We learn by doing, and we become by doing.” - Herminia Ibarra
This removes pressure. You do not need to know immediately who you will become. What matters is taking the next concrete step - using the competencies you already have.
Competencies provide orientation when roles change.
Schedule a 30-minute reflection and answer in writing:
1. Which skills do I currently apply effectively?
2. What do colleagues, clients or leaders value me for?
3. In which contexts does my experience create value?
Use these insights as a foundation for conversations, decisions and next steps.
5. Turning change into daily practice - routines and systems as a foundation
“Between intention and action, habits decide.” - Wendy Wood*
*This quote is attributed to social psychologist Wendy Wood, whose research focuses on habits and behavior change. Phrase often cited in habit literature, no confirmed primary source.
Change proves itself in everyday life. That is where new insights either gain traction or fade away.
Daily life follows established patterns: routines, priorities and habits. Development becomes sustainable when it embeds into these structures. Routines and systems provide orientation and stability.
A goal defines direction. A routine shapes the path.
Example:
You aim to reorient professionally. You read articles, listen to podcasts or have conversations - irregularly and without structure. Progress remains random. A clearly defined weekly time block creates commitment and momentum.
Effective routines have three characteristics:
- a fixed time
- a clear framework (time window, location)
- a recurring action
Routines and systems reduce daily decision load. What is scheduled requires less energy and attention.
Practical everyday systems include, for example:
- a fixed weekly reflection or planning session
- a daily 10–15 minute learning or writing routine
- clear triggers, such as focused work after starting the day
- visible anchors like notes, calendar reminders or defined spaces
Change grows through repetition. Daily life becomes its testing ground. What does not find space there loses impact.
Routines and systems make change practical and effective over time.
Define for the next 14 days:
- What: one concrete action, such as 10 minutes of reflection, learning or writing
- When: a fixed time in your calendar
- Where: a consistent location
Schedule this appointment firmly and keep it short. Consistency outperforms intensity.
Conclusion: five levers for sustainable professional change
Successfully navigating professional change requires a structured approach across five levels:
1. Clarify expectations
Communicate proactively about what changes and which priorities shift. Conscious communication creates orientation, reduces friction and strengthens relationships.
2. Define roles
Explicitly clarify responsibilities, accountability and decision authority. Clear roles provide security and support collaboration.
3. Understand reactions
View resistance as an expression of uncertainty rather than personal rejection. Perspective-taking enables constructive dialogue.
4. Focus on competencies
Detach value from title and concentrate on skills and impact. Competency clarity stabilizes professional identity.
5. Anchor routines
Embed change through concrete routines and fixed time blocks. Everyday systems secure development over time.
Sustainable change grows through small, consistent steps supported by clear structure.
Summary of tools
| Chapter | Tool | Objective | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Expectation Clarification | Create orientation | Conscious articulation of changes, implicit expectations and explicit agreements |
| 2 | Role Clarity | Build everyday security | Clear definition of tasks, responsibilities and decision authority |
| 3 | Perspective Shift | Stabilize relationships | Understanding reactions through security and orientation needs |
| 4 | Competency Focus | Strengthen professional identity | Reflection on skills, impact and value beyond formal roles |
| 5 | Routines & Systems | Anchor sustainable change | Establishing fixed time frames, locations and recurring actions |
Sources
- Brown, B. (2018). Dare to Lead. Random House.
- Rosenberg, M. B. (2015). Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life. PuddleDancer Press.
- Schulz von Thun, F. (2010). Miteinander reden 1: Störungen und Klärungen. Rowohlt. German only.
- Sprenger, R. K. (2023). Radikal führen. Campus Verlag. German only.
- Bridges, W., & Bridges, S. (2017). Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change. John Murray Business.
- Heifetz, R., Grashow, A., & Linsky, M. (2009). The Practice of Adaptive Leadership. Harvard Business Review Press.
- Ibarra, H. (2023). Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader. Harvard Business Review Press.
- Wood, W. (2024). Good Habits, Bad Habits: How to Make Positive Changes That Stick. Macmillan Business.
About the Author
