The Neutral Zone.

11 December 2025

It’s the space between the old way and the new one—the messy middle where the familiar has ended, but the future isn’t fully formed yet.

The Neutral Zone can feel uncertain, unstructured, and uncomfortable.

But it’s also the most creative phase of any transition.

Because in this in-between space, teams:

  • • Question What’s Possible
  • • Explore New Ways of Working
  • • Make Sense of Change Together
  • • Build Resilience and Adaptability
  • • Redefine Roles, Relationships, and Expectations

Leaders often want to rush through this stage.

It feels ambiguous and unpredictable.

But this is precisely where people need time, communication, and support.

Bridges reminds us:

Change is situational.

Transition is psychological.

And people don’t move in a straight line.

The Neutral Zone isn’t a gap to get through quickly—

It’s a space to navigate intentionally.

When leaders acknowledge it, normalize it, and guide their teams through it, they turn uncertainty into alignment…

and change into possibility.

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