Immunity to change: how to overcome it and unlock the potential in yourself and your organization

With ‘Immunity to Change’ Kegan and Lahey address the mystery of personal and organizational change in an original way. Their main message is that individuals, groups and organizations are not blocked by fears for change—as many claim—but more by existing, hidden mindsets. And, that most have not, yet, found ways to understand these mindsets and, therefore, have not learned to overcome them. Their approach boils down to the development of new learning; to paraphrase the authors, “(...) what people genuinely intend to do and what they are actually able to bring about ” [p. ix] differs and makes most immune for change. Instead of focusing on simply technical learning, i.e. developing new skills, they claim that the development of adaptive learning should be mastered too, i.e. human capacity to learn and grow which requires rationality and emotion.