Immunity to Change: How To Overcome It and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and Your Organization
"...brilliant insights into the mysteries of the change process at the heart of personal and organizational success... Any leader seriously interested in developing new strengths in others - and in oneself - needs to read this book." —Daniel Goleman, author, Emotional Intelligence
By Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey
A recent study showed that when doctors tell heart patients they will die if they don't change their habits, only one in seven will be able to follow through successfully. Clearly, desire and motivation aren't enough: even when it's literally a matter of life and death, the ability to change remains maddeningly elusive. Given that the status quo is so powerful, how can we create the changes we need in our selves and in our organizations?
In Immunity to Change, authors Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey show how our individual habits and mindsets— along with the collective norms and beliefs in our organizations—combine to create an overwhelming immunity to change. The authors go on to show us what we can do to overcome these forces. Working with senior leaders and their teams, for extended periods of time, in business, government, and education, they present their lessons learned. These "lessons" amount to nothing less than a radical recasting, conceptually and practically, of the work of improving performance.
Readers frustrated or disappointed with their current change efforts (or their clients'), who want guidance in knowing what to do to turn things around, will find very practical "how to" advice here, illustrated through a variety of successful real-life, individual and team improvement efforts. This powerful and practical book, filled with hands-on diagnostics and compelling case studies, delivers the tools you need to overcome the forces of inertia and transform your life and your work.
