The Space in Between: Leveraging the Liminal Nature of Change

Abstract

Despite increasing pressure to move quickly, organizations consistently overlook the opportunities that shape how people think, respond, and learn during change. We refer to these opportunities as liminal spaces, pauses that occur throughout change. While these pauses present a positive opportunity, they are often minimized or bypassed in fast-paced organizational cultures, undermining the learning and adaptation needed for successful change. In this article, we contend that conscious engagement with these in-between moments is a critical lever for enhancing effectiveness, innovation, and resilience. We introduce a framework that identifies seven pauses across three phases of change: preliminal (preparation), liminal (transition), and postliminal (reintegration). Each pause represents a distinct opportunity to interrupt reactivity and enable conscious, generative interventions. By making these moments visible and actionable, we provide practitioners with practical techniques to improve decision-making, strengthen engagement, and encourage sustainable change.