This book by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey explores the concept of 'immunity to change,' which refers to the subconscious resistance people have to making significant changes, even when those changes are clearly beneficial. The authors introduce a practical framework, the 'Immunity to Change Map,' to help individuals and organizations identify and overcome hidden commitments and big assumptions that prevent change. The book emphasizes the importance of mindset transformation and adaptive improvement over mere technical skill development, providing tools and case studies to facilitate lasting personal and organizational change.
In 'The Coaching Habit,' Michael Bungay Stanier provides a straightforward and effective approach to coaching. Drawing on his extensive experience training managers worldwide, he introduces seven essential coaching questions designed to help managers unlock their team's potential. These questions include the Kickstart Question, the AWE Question, the Lazy Question, the Strategic Question, the Focus Question, the Foundation Question, and the Learning Question. The book emphasizes the importance of saying less and asking more, fostering a collaborative and empowering work environment. It combines practical advice with research in neuroscience and behavioral economics, making coaching a daily, informal part of managerial work rather than a formal event.
Despite an explosion of frameworks, toolkits, and “best practices,” the success rate of organizational change hasn’t improved in over a decade. For all the decks, comms plans, and transformation initiatives being sold, most companies still find themselves stuck, repeating the same plays and hoping for different results.
This week, Rodney Evans welcomes back Michael Bungay Stanier—best-selling author, host of the new podcast Change Signal, and longtime friend of the show—who’s on a mission to cut through the noise and find what actually works. They explore why change still feels so weird, the real leverage points for shifting individual and organizational behavior, and whether it’s finally time to retire “change management” as we know it.
Get a copy of Michael's change quadrants he talks about in this episode here: Michael's quadrants.
Learn more about Michael:
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Mentioned references:
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro + Check-In: Do you have a non-work related goal that you’re working towards right now?
9:59 Michael’s journey to un-weird change
14:49 Michael’s individual and organizational unlocks for change
21:24 Importance of strong foundational habits to succeed in change work
25:37 Understanding of power dynamics in change work
33:27 Outdated change mindsets to let go of
38:38 Rodney and Michael’s takeaways
40:28 Wrap up: Leave us a review and share the show with your coworkers!
Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of Coupe Studios.
At Work with The Ready 
