Dying to Transform
Letting the Past Die and the Future Take Root
Effective transformation work can’t just focus on the emerging future.
It must also shepherd out the dying past.
Whether we’re changing a world, a nation, an organization, or ourselves, we must help old paradigms die well so new ones can start from strength. Simply casting off the past leaves the future unanchored, with nothing to grow from. But clinging to the old overshadows the future, starving it of the light and air it needs to thrive.
Likewise, rushing headlong into a new paradigm leads to shallow, sickly growth. But prolonging transformation breeds stagnation and rot.
Shepherding out the past means sorting, sense-making, composting, and grieving—transforming it into fertile soil for what’s to come. Bringing in the future requires iteration, learning, innovation, and deep, root-strengthening care.
A Lesson from Trees
We see this truth in nature.
One striking example is the remarkable discoveries about how trees behave in a changing ecosystem. Scientists studying forest ecosystems have made a remarkable discovery: when older tree species face extinction, they change their communication patterns. Rather than sustaining their own doomed kind, they begin communicating specifically with the new species better suited to the changing conditions.
These trees don’t just die and leave their nutrients to time. They actively compost themselves—intentionally investing in the future.
Leading Transformation with Nature’s Wisdom
Leaders must think about any change we’re seeking to drive in the same way that trees approach their transitions. How might we help the old ways of being and working end in a way that invests in the future? How might we approach transformation by stewarding both dying of the past and the birth of the future?
Leaders often exist both inside and outside the systems they seek to change. Some are impatient to move forward, tossing aside the old rather than setting it down. Others hold on too long, unable to acknowledge that the old paradigm is expiring.
Either way, they set the new paradigm up for failure—starving it of good soil and life-giving sunlight.
Here’s how leaders can embrace a more intentional approach to transformation:
Harvest the wisdom of the past.
Avoid the trance of “shiny, new” that blinds you to what the past has to offer. This isn’t about nostalgia—it’s about discerning what should be carried forward and what should be let go.Acknowledge that transformation requires both death and birth.
Too many change efforts focus solely on the future, ignoring the need to tend to the past. And too many of those efforts fail. Transformation is a full journey, not just a destination.Assess the true cost of change.
Transformation isn’t just a pivot—it’s a process. Going slow at first allows you to move fast later. Invest in the right time, resources, and mindsets from the start.Resource, protect, and monitor the journey.
Impatience can be a leader’s downfall. The urge to “speed things up” can be relentless. But hurried change is costly and prone to failure. That doesn’t mean plodding along—it means resourcing wisely and setting clear milestones so you neither cling to the past nor recklessly careen into the future.
Change can be painful, but when done with intention and care, it can also be invigorating. Transformation is not just about escaping the past or running to the future. It’s about cultivating new, sustainable paradigms and systems that make an impact.
