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Liminal Space, Group Transformation, and the Myth of Change-by-Destination
In change management, we often talk about goals, KPIs, and transformation plans. But we rarely pause to consider how change truly happens. Not just the mechanics—but the psychology, sociology, and group dynamics that make or break meaningful transformation.
A useful metaphor comes from the kitchen: if you mix ingredients and place them in the oven without heat, nothing changes. You’ll pull out the same raw materials you started with. But when the oven is turned on—when there’s heat, pressure, and containment—something transformative occurs. Cake becomes cake not just because of ingredients, but because of process.
The same is true for organizations and the people within them.
Understanding Liminality: Where Transformation Happens
Victor Turner, building on the work of Arnold van Gennep, introduced the concept of liminal space—a transitional phase where people are “betwixt and between” social roles or identities. These spaces are ambiguous, uncertain, and often uncomfortable—but they are also where the deepest change occurs.
> “Liminality is the realm of pure possibility whence novel configurations of ideas and relations may arise.” – Victor Turner, The Ritual Process (1969)
Classic rites of passage—puberty, marriage, retirement—are liminal thresholds. They require the separation from a previous identity, a transitional (often chaotic) middle phase, and a reincorporation into a new identity or role.
Without this journey, transformation is cosmetic at best.
From Boot Camp to Boardroom: Why Containment Matters
Think of army boot camp: civilians enter, soldiers leave. But it’s not the arrival at “soldier” status that changes them—it’s the shared struggle, the rituals, the sweat, the camaraderie. That’s the transformation.
Or consider the modern workplace: someone is promoted from team member to manager. But without any kind of shared journey—no leadership cohort, no real mentorship, no structured rite of passage—there’s no “oven.” The person may assume the role, but the transformation hasn’t occurred.
Psychologist William Bridges called this the neutral zone in change—where the old is gone, but the new is not yet fully formed. Without containment and support in this zone, people flounder.
The Power of Communitas
Turner also introduced the concept of communitas—the deep bond that forms when people go through liminal experiences together. Think pilgrimage, group therapy, or shared hardship. It’s not the destination that matters, but the shared meaning made on the journey.
In organizations, we often ignore this. Change initiatives are siloed, individual, and transactional. A new system is implemented. A restructure occurs. A strategy shifts. But if individuals aren’t connected in the experience—if they don’t share the heat, the pressure, the problem-solving—then it’s not transformational change. It’s logistical reallocation.
The Illusion of Arrival
We confuse arrival with transformation. A team lands on a new operating model. A manager completes a training course. A business adopts new software. But if everyone got there via different paths—some by taxi, others by walking—there is no shared language, no collective resilience, no “we.”
Just coincidence.
This is what many change programs miss: you can’t shortcut the messiness of transformation. Real change is developmental. It involves self-reflection, conflict resolution, teamwork, uncertainty, and time.
> “We do not think ourselves into new ways of living, we live ourselves into new ways of thinking.” – Richard Rohr
What This Means for Leaders and Change Managers
If you’re leading change:
Create a container: Design intentional spaces (workshops, boot camps, labs) where people can explore new identities safely.
Build shared journeys: Don’t just aim for individual compliance—build communal experience and meaning.
Embrace the messy middle: Don’t rush people through discomfort. The liminal zone is where growth occurs.
Recognize transformation isn’t transactional: If people aren’t changed by the process, then the process hasn’t worked.
Final Thought
In mythology, heroes are changed not by the arrival at the treasure, but by the quest—the companions, the obstacles, the inner and outer trials. In organizational change, we need more quests and fewer checklists.
Let’s stop managing change as a destination and start designing it as a transformative journey.
Further Reading:
Turner, V. (1969). The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure
Bridges, W. (1991). Managing Transitions
Kegan, R. & Lahey, L. (2009). Immunity to Change
Mezirow, J. (1991). Transformative Dimensions of Adult Learning
