Leaving, arriving, or letting go is never just procedural.
After fifteen years at Tamarack, Liz Weaver stepped into one of the biggest transitions of her career: retirement. What followed was a year of reflection, learning, and honest reckoning with the emotional and practical realities of leaving a role that had been such a big part of her life. This guide grew from that experience and from a deep desire to help others navigate their own workplace transitions with care, clarity, and intention.
Workplace transitions, whether planned or unexpected, are deeply human experiences. They can bring excitement and relief, but also uncertainty, grief, loss of identity, and questions about what comes next. Too often, we rush through transitions focused only on logistics, leaving little space to reflect, care for ourselves, or acknowledge the emotional weight of change.
The Human Side of Workplace Transitions is a practical and compassionate guide designed to support individuals navigating change at work, helping them move through transitions with intention, clarity, and care.
Why This Resource, Why Now
Workplaces today are experiencing unprecedented change, including leadership turnover, restructuring, burnout, role redefinition, and shifting expectations about work itself. While transitions are inevitable, positive transition experiences are not guaranteed.
This guide responds to a growing need:
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to support individuals to leave well,
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to reflect on their contributions,
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to navigate emotions honestly, and
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to plan next steps with purpose—while also supporting organizations to experience healthier, more thoughtful transitions.
What This Guide Offers
This resource supports you to:
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Understand the human and emotional dimensions of workplace transitions
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Balance organizational responsibilities with personal well-being
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Plan and lead your transition—rather than feeling driven by it
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Reflect on your contributions, growth, and what you want to carry forward
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Move through change with dignity, clarity, and intention
It combines practical planning tools with reflective questions that help you make sense of both what is happening around you and what is happening within you.
Who This Guide Is For
This guide is for you if:
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You are leaving a role—by choice or by circumstance
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You are planning a transition, such as retirement, sabbatical, or career shift
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You are navigating a promotion, restructure, or leadership change
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You want to leave your role in a way that is thoughtful and values-aligned
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You support others (staff, colleagues, leaders) through workplace transitions
Whether you are in a senior leadership role or earlier in your career, this resource meets you where you are.
Navigating this Resource
You do not need to read this guide from start to finish.
Many people find it helpful to move between sections depending on where they are in their transition journey. You are encouraged to pause, reflect, revisit questions, and adapt the tools to suit your unique experience.
Transitions are not linear, and neither is this guide.
What’s Inside the Guide
Section 1: All About Transitions
Understanding different types of transitions and the emotional patterns that often accompany them.
Section 2: Pre-Transition Reflection & Planning
Making space to reflect, care for yourself, and explore options before a transition begins.
Section 3: The Three-Month (90-Day) Transition Process
A structured approach for senior or leadership transitions focused on organizational continuity and personal reflection.
Section 4: The Three-Week (15-Day) Transition Process
A condensed transition framework for shorter timelines or non-management roles.
Section 5: Termination & Transition
Navigating unexpected or difficult endings with care, dignity, and intention.
Section 6: Post-Transition Reflection & Planning
Looking forward—integrating learning, acknowledging contributions, and planning next steps.
Note from the Author
This resource grew out of my own transition from the role of Co-CEO of Tamarack after fifteen years, as well as conversations with many others who were navigating employment transitions of their own. Those conversations affirmed that while every transition is unique, they often share common patterns and real emotional complexity that benefit from thoughtful reflection and planning. This guide brings together practical tools and reflective questions to support you through both the logistical and human sides of transition. Transitions can be challenging and uncomfortable, asking us to move between what is familiar and what is unknown, but they also offer space to reflect, renew, and re-engage. My hope is that this resource helps you navigate your transition with clarity, resilience, and care, and that your own experience, in turn, helps others along their journey.
Use It. Share It. Return to It.
This resource is designed to be revisited and shared—whether with colleagues, teams, boards, or peers navigating their own transitions.
Download the full guide
