What will make a transition most seamless is to determine what set of steps you will use to move forward to the future state. The movement from state to state is the change. 

What happens during that change is the transition that serves as the vehicle to differentiate and accomplish the change from one event to another. The more well-defined the transition is, the easier the acceptance of the new state or event we enter. 

It isn’t reaching the destination that is the goal. It is the journey towards that goal where our focus must stay. 

Keep in mind that change can happen suddenly or gradually.  The steps to the pinnacle of leadership can take longer than you like.  Those steps are there for a reason – to prepare you.  While some leaders have an innate ability to respond to challenges effectively, the rest of us follow a bumpier road with many twists and turns.  Every setback makes you stronger and/or wiser.