A free tool for challenging times: the Grief Cycle
We use the grief cycle a lot in our work and have seen how it helps people and organisations navigate through periods of change.
First introduced by Swiss-American psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross fifty years ago, it feels more relevant now than ever. We are currently grieving for the hurt and loss caused by social division, systemic racism, sexism and ableism, we are living with the grief caused by climate change, global conflict and economic uncertainty. And of course, at any one time many of us will be dealing with the immediate grief of having lost loved ones.
Any change creates grief, and we continue to experience change of different intensities and at different speeds. We have used the grief cycle to help teams recognise their emotions about change and to move through the grieving process.
Try the following:
Bring your staff, volunteers, Board or beneficiaries together in a safe space to identify where they are on the cycle.
Ask how are you feeling right now? What’s showing up for you as you look at the cycle?
Just naming the emotion helps and quite often different people are at different stages of the cycle meaning they can share what’s worked for them and help each other out.
Think carefully about any areas where you can create certainty for your organisation and team - even small things can make a big difference. Creating a shared list of questions that are troubling your team but you can’t yet answer can also give comfort.
For those who are stuck, work with colleagues to identify the things that have helped in the past. We have all coped with major life events in the past and the skills you learnt then should provide you with a solid foundation now.
Recognise that progress does not always follow a straight line – often people and teams ricochet up and down the bottom of the curve between experiment, depression and frustration.
It’s good to note that the next stage is decision – what decisions could you take today that would provide some further certainty to you or your team?
Acknowledging and naming the grieving process that people are going through as they navigate change is a powerful act. We have worked with people grappling with major challenges and loss; those that can name the issue and air their concerns openly can navigate extraordinary challenges now as well as building their resilience for the longer term.
We hope you find this tool useful for you, your teams and organisation. Drop us a line to let us know how you have used this tool.