Mobilising people during a transition

How can you give a team guidance when roles are changing and some decisions remain open?

1960 € per session, excl. VAT

In short

This seven-hour training day, excluding breaks, trains team leaders to lead a practical transition: clarifying impacts, announcing decisions, listening to concerns and negotiating working arrangements. Role plays, structured feedback and repeated practice help participants prepare behaviours they can apply directly at work.

Why this training?

A reorganisation changes responsibilities, but also habits, relationships and the balance of recognition. An overly general announcement leaves everyone to interpret what they are losing, what they need to do and what remains negotiable. The leader must maintain a clear framework without promising anything beyond their control. The training helps participants respond to objections, distinguish a concern from an operational disagreement and build verifiable commitments with the team. Continuing case study: At Avelune Reliure, a fictitious organisation, two production teams are merging. Twelve people will share one manager and a new allocation of orders. The timetable is fixed, but operational liaison roles remain to be defined; two experienced employees fear losing their autonomy. Transfer to the workplace: Within fifteen days, hold a discussion about a real change, using the prepared outline. Ask a colleague for feedback on the clarity of the guidance provided, then adjust the next team check-in. Use only materials and tools authorised by the organisation.

Objectives of this training

  • Map the impacts of the change on roles and interfaces.
  • Formulate an announcement that distinguishes decisions already made from areas open to discussion.
  • Conduct a listening conversation without minimising concerns.
  • Address an objection by exploring its operational implications.
  • Negotiate commitments and organise their follow-up.

Who is it for and what are the prerequisites?

Roles and tasks concerned

  • Managers facing a merger, a team restructuring or a change in how a team operates.
  • Front-line managers and project managers responsible for coordinating a collective transition.

Prior skills

  • Have previous experience of facilitating group discussions at work.
  • Know the responsibilities and constraints of a team you will be supporting.

What you will work on

  1. Understanding the human impacts

    Objective: Identify the specific disruptions affecting each role. Loss of familiar reference points, transition workload, autonomy and interfaces; distinguishing facts from interpretations.

  2. Establishing a credible framework

    Objective: Make an announcement without concealing uncertainties. Purpose of the change, confirmed decisions, negotiable areas and limits of the remit.

  3. Listening to concerns

    Objective: Explore a concern without presenting arguments prematurely. Open questions, paraphrasing, acknowledging emotions and returning to workplace situations.

  4. Navigating a tense meeting

    Objective: Address objections while maintaining the collective framework. Legitimate disagreement, personal attack, rumour; refocusing on facts and redirecting questions outside the remit.

  5. Agreeing transitional working arrangements

    Objective: Turn discussions into realistic commitments. Provisional allocation of work, workload decisions, responsibilities and rules for cooperation.

  6. Checking and transferring learning

    Objective: Adapt your approach and prepare the follow-up. Signs of deadlock, commitments met, adjustments and escalation to the decision-making level.

What you take away

  • Map of impacts and scope for decision-making.
  • Announcement outline and answers to sensitive questions.
  • Conversation template with behavioural observations.
  • Working agreement and follow-up sheet.

Method and assessment

  • Short instructional inputs followed by simulations and role plays based on the continuing case study.
  • Structured observation and peer feedback using a shared template.
  • Guided debrief: what worked, what will be adjusted, individual commitment.
  • Preparation: Describe a transition you have experienced, anonymising people, places and sensitive information. Identify a difficult conversation related to this transition; a fictitious case may be used instead.

Observable criteria: The announcement distinguishes known facts, unknowns and a deadline for clarification. ; A concern is paraphrased and validated before any proposal is made. ; An objection receives a response without judgement or promises beyond the speaker's control. ; Each commitment specifies a responsible person, a deadline and an observable sign of completion. ; The second simulation demonstrates an adjustment based on feedback..

Frequently asked questions

Do you need to have a change currently under way?

No, the fictitious scenario can be used for all the exercises.

Can you work on a sensitive situation?

Yes, but only in anonymised form; confidential details are replaced.

Is the aim to secure acceptance of every decision?

No, the aim is to clarify the framework, listen to disagreements and organise the work.

How is progress observed?

Through a behavioural observation template and a comparison between the first simulation and the repeat.

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