Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and Your Organization by Lisa Laskow Lahey, Robert Kegan

We all want to change, whether it is focusing on our personal development and growth or trying to improve the performance within our organizations. But why do so many of us find it so difficult to break out of our old habits and routines? In her book, Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and Your Organization, Lisa Laskow Lahey provides a powerful answer to this question: Our behaviors are often deeply ingrained and immune to change because they are driven by powerful underlying beliefs and assumptions.

But understanding the nature of these beliefs and assumptions is not enough. Lahey developed a powerful three-step process called the Immunity to Change (ITC) Map that helps individuals and teams discover how they are unwittingly helping to maintain the very habits and behaviors that stand in the way of their goals. She outlines this process in her book, which is based on her extensive experience working with individuals, teams, and organizations.

Lahey begins by discussing why change is so difficult, even when we understand what needs to be done. We often feel ambivalent about our goals because we are simultaneously motivated to achieve them and also afraid to break out of our familiar routines and ways of thinking. Our situation is further complicated by our powerful physiological and cognitive processes, which strive to keep us safe and secure.

Lahey describes the ITC Map as an “inner scaffolding” that helps us to identify and understand our deep-seated beliefs and commitments that are preventing us from achieving our desired outcomes. The ITC Map consists of three steps:

1. Form hypotheses: Develop hypotheses about “what has to be true” for you or your organization to continue acting in the same way.

2. Test hypotheses: Through conversations, dialogue, and other activities, the team can begin to test their hypotheses and identify the “immune system behaviors” that are standing in the way of their desired outcomes.

3. Collect evidence and strategize: Start to connect the dots and create an action plan.

According to Lahey, the ITC Map is a tool that can help us understand not only our own behaviors, but also the behaviors within our organizations. As individuals, teams, and organizations begin to understand the beliefs that are driving their behaviors, they can begin to identify strategies that will support them in moving towards the change they desire. Lahey outlines these strategies in the final chapters of her book, discussing how to become more resilient in the face of change, how to create a culture of mutual learning and support, and how to use experimentation to discover new opportunities.

Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and Your Organization by Lisa Laskow Lahey is an inspiring book for anyone interested in understanding the roots of change and developing strategies for successful self-improvement and organizational transformation. Lahey’s ITC Map provides a powerful tool for individual, team, and organizational change, and her strategies for creating an environment that supports a culture of mutual learning and experimentation will help readers develop a strong immunity to change.