Apparently, the work of Elizabeth Kübler-Ross has been somewhat misinterpreted. Although it is true she worked with dying people, her model describing the stages of grief was not about dying but about receiving catastrophic news.

The Corporate Coach website developed the following chart to describe normal human reactions to catastrophic news as it occurs in the corporate world:


(Bullets = Natural reaction)


Denial
•Suggest problem has corrected itself and it will soon be over
•Exhibit apathy and numbness
•Rationalize change away

Anger
•Try to avoid the inevitable
•Sabotage the change effort
•Play "Shoot the messenger"
•Withdraw from society

Bargaining
•Seek in vain for a way out
•Cut a deal to spare others harm
•Suggest other concerns to redirect problem solving

Depression
•Final realization of the inevitable
•Express a loss of control
•Withdraw from society

Acceptance
•Express ownership for solutions
•Focus on achieving benefits


•Any change of circumstance can cause us to go through this process
•We don’t have to go through the stages in sequence
•We can go through them over different time periods – a few minutes to several years
•The intensity and duration of the reaction depends on how significant the change-produced loss is perceived.

When the five stages have been completed, it is then appropriate to start to deal with the situation.

Part Three to follow...