I recently have been coaching a senior leader who wanted to boost an innovative spirit within his teams and was struggling to have his teams taking that shift. This challenge is by nature an “adaptive” challenge and requires from the leader a capacity to drive a change of behavior and mindsets.
As stated in the excellent book "Immunity to change" (written by psychologists Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey), lot's of barriers to change initiatives are internal ones. Their main message is that individuals, groups and organizations are not blocked by fears for change, but rather by existing, hidden mindsets. Kegan and Lahey see our resistance to change as an immune system of sorts, and they note that our “immunity to change” has a positive purpose, namely to protect us from the danger that sudden changes can bring. Our brain is indeed wired for our individual survival and will therefore avoid sources of potential thread.
Kegan and Lahey found that shifting our behaviors typically requires to first instill a more conscious and constructive set of beliefs. They designed a four-step approach, which guides people through a process of self-examination, thereby helping them identify and adjust assumptions that may be holding them back. Let’s have a closer look to this 4-steps approach.
Below I’ll be sharing these four steps, by 1) stating the questions you can ask yourself, and then 2) illustrate it based on the example used by the authors of the book.
The 4-steps model to change
Step 1: Identify a set of personal commitments or improvement goals
Question to ask yourself: What is the most important improvement I want to make? What do I really want to get better at? What is my goal and what are the concrete behaviors that are required to achieve that goal?
Illustration : to be a better listener (especially better at staying in the present, staying focused, being more patient)
Step 2: Identify obstructive behaviors (that work against the goals)
Question to ask yourself: What am I doing/ not doing instead ?
Illustration : I allow my attention to wander off, I look at my blackberry, when listening to a client I start thinking of an impressive response and stop listening to what he is saying
Step 3: Identify competing commitments
When you’re not doing something that would benefit you, it’s because you have “competing commitments” that are holding you back. These are rooted in the fears that pop up when you read the items in step 2.
Question to ask yourself about every item identified under step 2: “ If I imagine myself trying to do the opposite of this, what is the most unpleasant or scary feeling that comes up for me? “. What makes not doing these items feel so scary? Add “And what would be the worst about that?”
Illustration: I worry I will look stupid, be humiliated, out of control. I am afraid I might make a big mistake. So the reasons why I do/don’t do the behaviors under step 2 are to avoid this.
Step 4: Big assumptions
The competing commitments listed in step 3 are typically the result of some “big assumptions.” These are ideas we hold to be true even though, until we challenge them, we have no way of knowing for sure.
Question to ask yourself: What am I assuming? About myself, the world and the relationship between me and the world?
Illustration: I assume that if I feel helpless there is no way I can be a good listener, I assume that if I can not be in control of the situation things are likely going to get worse, I aassume that if I make a big mistake I will not be able to recover from it.
TEST YOUR BIG ASSUMPTIONS
Once you went through the 4 steps, it’s time to test your big assumptions and play it out SMART (as suggested by Kegan and Lahey).
Safe and Modest : ask yourself “What can I risk doing, or resist doing”, on a small scale that might seem inadvisable if I held my big assumption as true, in order to learn what the results would actually be.
Actionable in the near term. So a test that is relatively easy to carry out and that can be done within the next week.
Research-based and an effective Test of your assumption. A good test will enable you to collect data related to your big assumption (including data that would qualify your assumption or call it into doubt).
The book includes detailed guide sheets to help you define your tests.
Your experiment will allow you to better understand how accurate your assumption really is, and whether the behaviors you’ve been engaging in to protect yourself from your imagined worst-case scenarios are actually helpful, or ultimately counterproductive.
Retraining your psychological immune system requires both time and willingness. The authors suggest dedicating 30 to 60 minutes a week for several months to practicing your new habits.
A brilliant book I highly recommend to further expand your toolbox to effectively manage change!
Picture taken by Marie De Decker for Lead3 (www.mariededecker.com)