What being in “genuine transition” really means.

A football club CEO describes the club as being in “genuine transition” following the resignation of its coach just nine games into the season.

I’m always intrigued by how leaders respond publicly to major organisational events like this.

In moments of disruption, people want answers.

Why did this happen?

Who is responsible?

What happens next?

Can the club recover?

How leaders frame those moments matters enormously.

In my change consulting experience, major change events are often the right time to hit the reset button - to step back from the immediate issue and focus attention on the next chapter.

What stands out to me is that when things are down and your coach has resigned, too often the club blames the crisis on “coach failure”. That would have been untrue and disrespectful.

Yes, performance clearly may not be where it needed to be.

But in this case the club also allowed a respected leader the dignity to step away on his own terms, while acknowledging that the responsibility for performance sits far beyond one individual.

That matters. When organisations personalise failure too heavily, they often miss the deeper systemic issues underneath.

It is telling when the club CEO says the club is in “genuine transition.”

To me, that signals four things.

Firstly, the problem is bigger than one person.

Secondly, incremental tweaks are no longer enough.

Thirdly, genuine transition means letting go of what’s no longer working and committing to a different future.

That’s not transactional language. That’s transformation language.

“We will not be taking shortcuts, and we will be moving with real intent and purpose…”

Finally, the message to members and supporters is also important:

“The club is in very good shape off-field, it’s on-field that we need to build for success…”

In other words:

• We hear the frustration,

• We understand what matters most to you, and

• We plan to do this thoroughly and properly to give us the best chance of future success.

Too often, organisations treat a major event or crisis like something requiring a quick fix.  But genuine transition is something deeper.

It’s the uncomfortable space between recognising the old way no longer works and building confidence in what comes next.