Kegan and Lahey have just published Immunity to Change - How to Overcome It and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and Your Organization. I think it is brilliant.
Kegan is the author of an adult developmental theory which I have found extremely useful. It dates back to 1982, with revisions to the theory in the 1990s (e.g., In Over Our Heads). In 2000, he wrote "How the We We Talk can Change the Way We Work" with Lisa Lahey. This was an extremely helpful book for promoting change but without a clear, direct link to the earlier developmental stages.
In Immunity to Change, Kegan and Lahey refine their methodology for creating change, in both individuals and teams, based on thousands of clients they have worked with. However, it gets even more exciting when they look at how their methodology helps people to move from "subject" to "object" and to move up through developmental levels.
Kegan and Lahey refer to Heifetz's distinction between problems that can be solved with "technical" solutions versus those that require "adaptive" solutions. As Kegan and Lahey write, for some people, losing weight can be solved by the technical solution of eating less. For the majority of those wanting to lose weight, the technical solution is insufficient and a deeper, adaptive solution is required.
The Immunity to Change methodology, when used properly, leads to adaptive, potentially long-lasting change and transformation.
More on the techniques for dealing with one's immunity to change soon....
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