Before You Introduce a Change You Need to Allow People to Say Goodbye

People need time to process change before it happens

If you’ve ever had the opportunity to work at a summer camp, you’ll know it’s one of the best “jobs” you’ll ever have. I use the word job in inverted commas intentionally because more often than not it doesn’t feel like work at all. There are deep and meaningful conversations with people who start to feel more like your family than your colleagues. There is the cold embrace of a dip in the lake after a late afternoon game of capture the flag that always get a little too intense. There’s the jaw-ache you get after laughing too hard for too long at some silly in-joke. There’s the silence of the woods that’s broken by another rendition of that campfire song that’s forever burned into your memory. And, of course, there’s the mandatory ice-cream visit every day to the camp tuck shop.

Photo by JR Korpa on Unsplash

If you’ve worked at camp you’re probably sitting grinning to yourself right now as you remember a special memory or friend. If you haven’t worked at camp, you’re probably wondering how you go about getting a job like that because it sounds awesome. It was. That’s why at the end of the summer it’s always tough to say goodbye.

I worked at camp in Canada for 4 summers in total as a young adult. As someone who lives in…