Session with Brian Fredrickson on September 28, 2017 during the 2017 MFLN Virtual Conference: Learning through Change

2. Immunity to Change
2

3. Chatting
3

4. Brian Fredrickson
Brian Fredrickson is responsible for
designing, adapting, and delivering
programs that address local and regional
needs.
• Facilitated public work organizing
workshops with faculty from the
Center for Democracy and
Citizenship
• Designs, adapts, and delivers
leadership and civic engagement
programs
Brian Fredrickson
Extension Educator
Leadership & Civic Engagement
University of Minnesota
4

5. 5
Introduc-on
to
“Immunity
to
Change”
WITH
A
BRIEF
OVERVIEW
OF
IMMUNITY
MAPPING
BRIAN
S.
FREDRICKSON
UNIVERSITY
OF
MINNESOTA
EXTENSION
EDUCATOR

6. 6
LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
Identify a strategy to help bridge the gap
between the intention to change and the
actions taken to make it happen
Understand how immunity mapping, which
exposes competing commitments and
assumptions, can unlock the ability to take on
new behaviors that better align with effective
leadership

7. 7
§ Robert “Bob” Kegan
§ Professor of Adult Learning and
Professional Development at
Harvard’s Grad School of
Education
§ Lisa Laskow Lahey
§ Associate Director for Harvard’s
Change Leadership Group
§ Founding Principal of Minds at
Work

8. 8
§ Over 20 years of research
and collaboration
§ Research in adult
development and mental
complexity
§ Tested and proven model
for individuals, teams,
organizations for getting
people to the next level –
EVEN via an online course

9. 9
Why
this
should
maFer
to
you
and
your
groups?
“… change challenges today’s leaders
and their subordinates face are not, for
the most part, a problem of will. The
problem is the inability to close the gap
between what we genuinely, even
passionately, want and what we are
actually able to do. Closing this gap is a
central learning problem of the twenty-
first century” (Kindle location 244-246)

10. 10
Why
this
should
maFer
to
you
and
your
groups?
• Better understand, design, and navigate
change initiatives
• Identify hidden competing commitments
within self, groups, or institutions
• Identify, test, and adapt “Big Assumptions”
• Accurately identify the hurdles most likely
to inhibit progress
• Help self and others endure and survive
the pains and challenges that come with
change

11. 11
Intentions
To
Change
Actual
Desired
Changes
The Gap

12. 12
With one foot on the break and one foot on the gas, a car can’t move.
One foot on the brake
(counter-commitments
that have equal or
greater energy the
desire for change)
One foot on the gas
(genuine intention
and authentic desire
to change)

13. 13
Have you ever experienced a time when
either you or someone you were close to
found themselves frustrated and stagnated
despite having considerable energy and
desire around making progress?
What are some of the ways in which we
self-sabotage?

14. 14
An immune system protects us from threats

15. 15
“Today, organizations need not only an
unprecedentedly higher level of knowledge
and skill among all those who participate but
also a higher level of independence, self-
reliance, self-trust, and the capacity to
exercise initiative. […] In effect, we are
calling upon workers to understand
themselves and their world at a
qualitatively higher level of mental
complexity”. (Kegan & Lahey, 2009, p.25)
(Kindle 572-273)

16. 16
IMMUNITY
MAPPING

17. 17
DOWNLOAD
AN
ITC
MAP
TEMPLATE
z.umn.edu/ImmunityMap
Download the free
Immunity to Change
(ITC) Map Template
from Kegan &
Lahey’s website:
MindsAtWork.com
MS Word .doc file

18. 18

19. 19

20. 20

21. 21
COLLECTIVE
IMMUNITY
TO
CHANGE

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(Far
leN
column)
Improvement
Focus
–
brainstorm
possibiliTes
Purple Professional Services Firm:
• Genuine cohesion as the leadership
team
• Build mutual trust
• To much time and energy spent
competing in factions

23. 23
DESIGN
AN
APPROPRIATE
IMPROVEMENT
GOAL
§ “I am / we are committed to _______”
– It should be true for you
– It implicates you
– There is room for improvement
– It is very important to you
– Has a sense of urgency
– Stated or framed in the affirmative, if possible

24. 24
1
IMPROVEMENT
GOAL
“Create a culture of
mutual trust and
unwavering support”

25. 25
2
DOING
/
NOT
DOING
INSTEAD
1. First, acknowledge all the things that you / others
are already doing that toward achieving the
improvement goal identified in column 1
2. Then, list all the specific behaviors that you are
“Doing or not Doing” that work against your first
column improvement goal.
3. Be fearlessly honest with self and others – intent
is growth & development, not shaming or blame
4. List actual objective behaviors – not the emotions
that co-inside or reasons “Why”

26. 26
2
DOING
/
NOT
DOING
INSTEAD
• We don’t l listen very well to each other; we'd rather tell each
other.
• We talk behind each other's
• backs.
• We feel that if we haven't been personally consulted, it wasn’t
a decision.
• We let our individual agenda trump the collective agenda.
• We don’t assume the best intent in ambiguous situations; on
the contrary, we often tend to assume bad intent.
• We avoid difficult conversations with each other.

27. 27
From the
Professional
Services
firm’s
Collective
Immunity to
Change Map

28. 28

29. 29
3
(HIDDEN)
COMPETING
COMMITMENTS
Worry Box:If you / your team were
to do the opposite of
each of the behaviors
listed in the last column
(#2), what would be the
“most uncomfortable or
worrisome or outright
scary feeling that comes
up for you?”

30. 30
WHAT
IF
YOU
DID
THE
OPPOSITE
OF
BEHAVIORS
IN
COLUMN
2?
• We don’t listen very well to each
other; we'd rather tell each other.
• We talk behind each other's
• backs.
• We feel that if we haven't been
personally consulted, it wasn’t a
decision.
• We let our individual agenda trump
the collective agenda.
• We don’t assume the best intent in
ambiguous situations; on the contrary,
we often tend to assume bad intent.
Worry Box:
Worry that it would
result in “not winning”
Worry that it would
give the competition
strategic advantage
or compromise my
ability to stay on top

31. 31
Convert the worries identified for the worry box into a
series of commitment statements and write them
below in to column 3.
Try to name the actual fears or risks at play for each
of statements within the context of your work toward
your improvement goal.
Each commitment statement can be structured as to
express to NOT having the things you’d fear most
occur column 1 occur.
3
(HIDDEN)
COMPETING
COMMITMENTS

32. 32
3
(HIDDEN)
COMPETING
COMMITMENTS
Worry Box:
Worry that it would
result in “not winning”
Worry that it would
give the competition
strategic advantage
or compromise my
ability to stay on top
We are committed to
winning, even if it means
others in the group will
lose.
We are committed to not
having to rely on others,
to never having to
depend on others.

33. 33
“Create a culture of
mutual trust and
unwavering support”
“We are also
committed to winning,
even if it means other
in the group will lose”

34. 34
“Create a culture of
mutual trust and
unwavering support”
“We are also
committed to never
having to depend on
others [to win]”

35.
35

36.
36

37.
37
Each commitment in column 3
is rooted in actively preventing
something undesirable from the
worry box from ever occurring…
… each commitment in column 3
also makes some or all of the
behaviors described in column 2
appear to be reasonable and an
important part of self-protection.
Yet, they still work against the
desired goal stated in column.
We can now begin to see this map as
“an expression of a single, dynamic
system; a system in equilibrium; a
system of countervailing forces that
preserves and sustains itself for a
very good reason.” (Kegan & Lahey,
2009).

38. 38

39.
39
Each commitment in column 3
is rooted in actively preventing
something undesirable from the
worry box from ever occurring…
… each commitment in column 3
also makes some or all of the
behaviors described in column 2
appear to be reasonable and an
important part of self-protection.
Yet, they still work against the
desired goal stated in column.
We can now begin to see this map as
“an expression of a single, dynamic
system; a system in equilibrium; a
system of countervailing forces that
preserves and sustains itself for a
very good reason.” (Kegan & Lahey,
2009).

40. 40
4
BIG
ASSUMPTIONS
§ “Look for assumptions that anchor and inform your specific
hidden commitments. Notice how your assumptions lead to
the very behaviors that undermine, rather than support,
your goal” (Kegan & Lahey, 2011).
§ “I assume that _____”
§ “I assume that if _____, then_____”
§ “I assume that if I don’t _____, then_____”
§ Makes column 3 goal absolutely necessary
§ Representative of our own blind-spots

41.
41

42. 42
(FAR
RIGHT
COLUMN)
S-­‐M-­‐A-­‐R-­‐T:
SAFE,
MODEST,
ACTIONABLE,
RESEARCH-­‐
BASED
TESTS

43. 43
RUN
EXPERIMENTS
ON
YOUR
BIG
ASSUMPTIONS
Intentionally behave counter to how your big
assumption would have you act
Design experiments that are S-M-A-R-T
S – Safe
M – Modest
A – Actionable
R – Research-based
T – Tests

44. 44
NEXT
STEPS
Seek feedback from others on your improvement
goal and refine map accordingly
Conduct a “before” survey with your people to get
a baseline assessment from which you can
measure your progress.
Look for moments when your big assumptions
came in to play and note both supporting and
counter examples

45. 45
TRACK
DATA
LIKE
A
SCIENTIST
Separate observations from interpretations
Be on the look out for:
§ Blind-spots
§ Confirmation bias
§ Testing for more than one variable at time
§ Impact mood can have on the way the
results are recorded
§ Supporting and counter examples of Big
Assumptions

46. 46
FOR
BEST
RESULTS
§ 30 min per week for at least 12 weeks
§ Identify the support you needed along the
way and who can provide it for you
§ Be sure you’ve named the RIGHT
improvement goal
§ Talk about your quest for change with your
people… FREQUENTLY

47. 47

48. 48
NEXT
STEPS
FOR
YOUR
LEARNING
Immunity-­‐to-­‐Change™
programs
For
individuals,
teams,
and
for
those
wanted
to
become
a
cer-fied
ITC
coach
hBp://mindsatwork.com
Lisa
and
Bob’s
Latest
Book
(2016)
An
everyone
culture:
Becoming
a
deliberately
developmental
organiza-on
See a 2 minute video summary of the book at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RavUuN8jlG0

49. 49
LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
Identify a strategy to help bridge the gap
between the intention to change and the
actions taken to make it happen
Understand how immunity mapping, which
exposes competing commitments and
assumptions, can unlock the ability to take on
new behaviors that better align with effective
leadership

50. 50
REFERENCES
Bartone, P. T., Snook, S. A., & Tremble, T. R. (2002). Cognitive and personality predictors of leader
performance in West Point cadets. Military Psychology, 14(4), 321–338.
http://doi.org/10.1207/S15327876MP1404_6
Damewood, A. (2011). Immunity to change: How to overcome it and unlock potential in yourself and your
organization. Adult Learning, 22(1), 33.
Illeris, K. (2015). Transformative learning in higher education. Journal of Transformative Learning, 3(1), 46–51.
Retrieved from http://jotl.uco.edu/index.php/jotl/article/viewFile/50/48
Halberg, P. (2013, May 14). 4 column exercise. Liberty Union H. S. District. Retrieved from http://
libertyunion.schoolwires.net/cms/lib7/CA01001129/Centricity/Domain/302/4%20Column%20Exercise.docx
Kegan, R., & Lahey, L. L. (2009). Immunity to change: How to overcome it and unlock potential in yourself and
your organization. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business Press.
Kegan, R., & Lahey, L. L. (2014). ITC Map Template. Minds At Work. Retrieved from http://
mindsatwork.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/ITC-map-template.doc
McGonagill, G., & Pruyn, P. W. (2010). Leadership development in the US: Principles and patterns of best
practice. Gütersloh: Bertelsmann Stiftung. Retrieved from
ftp://79.96.133.41/Integral/Leadership_Development_in_the_US-_Best_Practice-TD 20jan10_FINAL.pdf

51. 51
51
Facebook Live Wrap-up
Day 3

52. 52
52
Implicit Bias: From Awareness
to Positive Change
TOMORROW

53. U.S. Department
of Defense
This
material
is
based
upon
work
supported
by
the
Na-onal
Ins-tute
of
Food
and
Agriculture,
U.S.
Department
of
Agriculture,
and
the
Office
of
Military
Family
Readiness
Policy,
U.S.
Department
of
Defense
under
Award
Number
2015-­‐48770-­‐24368.