I was asked today to contribute to the Washington Post “On Leadership” column. My remarks were about how new beginnings start with the death of the old ways – and what this means for leaders of organizational change. Here is what I wrote:

“The beginning of anything new always signals the death of the old. Changing the way work gets done means employees having to give up the competence and confidence they gained under the old system. Employees under new leadership must relinquish the relationships they created with their previous boss. A work force relocating to new facilities has to move from the existing building. And with every “death” comes a period of mourning where people grieve for what they are being asked to leave behind. This is why you can expect that employees in the midst of a cultural transformation are almost certain to take a nostalgic look back at 'the good old days' and to mourn the passing of that familiar culture.

Effective leaders of change focus on the future without describing the past as wrong. It is almost always unproductive to tell people that they must change to 'correct' past performance. (It is also unrealistic to speak of “correcting” in cases where the past has been highly successful, but still needs to change.) In any case, it is wise to assume that workers have done their best. Telling them it was not good enough -- that, in effect, they were not good enough -- is demoralizing, de-motivating, and guaranteed to build resentment.

Instead of blaming the old ways, leaders can help employees detach from the past by allowing them to mourn it. To facilitate people through the mourning period, I've seen the past honored in a variety of rituals. From pictorial displays on company walls to parties celebrating the history of the organization, rituals help people say good-bye and move on to embrace the future.”

Not a bad way to think about the new year. If you take time to honor (and perhaps mourn) whatever beliefs, behaviors and attitudes you want to leave behind, it will be much easier to release them in order to move on.

Happy 2011 - I hope it's a good one for you!