The Messy Middle

As we gear up for this month’s Comm Convo, I’ve been thinking about change management. Not the textbook kind—but the kind many of us are doing every day without calling it that.

When you’re navigating multiple stakeholders, aligning people with different agendas, or introducing something new that shifts how your organization shows up—that’s change management. Whether you’re repositioning a company, reworking a narrative, or prepping for a new phase of growth, you’re helping people let go of one thing and move toward another.

And here’s the thing: that doesn’t always fall under “internal comms.” It might be in how you frame a new clinical direction for investors, how you prepare advocacy partners for tough trial results, or how you set the tone for a brand refresh that’s been years in the making.

There’s a classic model by William Bridges that breaks change down into three stages: ending what was, navigating the messy middle, and embracing a new beginning. The work we do often lives in that middle space—helping people feel seen, clarifying the path forward, and keeping momentum when things are murky.

So this week, consider: Where are you managing change, even if your title doesn’t say so? And how might naming that make you more effective?

More on this during the Comm Convo—see you there.