Written by Book Review: Immunity to Change
Why this classic on personal and organizational transformation still matters—especially when we’re trying to sustain impact.
One of the most common misconceptions about change is that once people are motivated and committed, the change will naturally stick. But as anyone who’s led or lived through transformation knows, that’s rarely the case. This is exactly the tension that Immunity to Change by Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey explore with insight, depth, and compassion. And it’s why this book remains a foundational resource for anyone serious about not just starting change but sustaining it.
Immunity to Change begins with a simple but profound observation: people and organizations often fail to follow through on their best intentions, not because they’re lazy or uncommitted, but because they are unconsciously protecting something. Kegan and Lahey call this protection system an “immunity to change.” It’s a psychological defense, often invisible to the individual, that functions much like the immune system in your body: it resists what it perceives as a threat, even if that “threat” is the very change you’re trying to create.
This concept alone shifts the narrative from one of judgment (“Why can’t I just do it?”) to one of curiosity and compassion: “What am I protecting, and why?” The authors introduce a practical, step-by-step method for identifying your stated goal (what you want to change), the behaviors that contradict that goal, the hidden commitments driving those behaviors, and the big assumptions underlying those hidden commitments.
This framework is both elegant and confronting. It helps people name the internal conflicts that quietly undermine their progress, often rooted in fear, self-protection, or outdated narratives. For example, a leader might want to empower their team but continue micromanaging. A coach might want to grow their practice but avoid visibility. A team might want to innovate but cling to familiar ways of working. Once these underlying commitments and assumptions are surfaced, change can finally move from aspiration to integration.
Kegan and Lahey’s work offers a powerful complement to the Sustaining Impact process. It reinforces a core truth, insight is not enough. Sustained change requires awareness of the invisible forces working against your best intentions. This book lives squarely in the Clearing and Courage phases of the Sustaining Impact process—Clearing, because it helps identify and release unconscious blocks, and Courage, because surfacing your inner resistance takes honesty, self-awareness, and emotional resilience.
Importantly, it reminds us that resistance isn’t the enemy, it’s information. Once seen clearly, it becomes a doorway to deeper transformation. This book is a must-read for coaches looking to help clients unlock what’s really holding them back, for leaders who feel stuck in patterns despite clear vision and intention, for teams navigating cultural or strategic shifts that just won’t stick, and for anyone who’s tired of repeating the same patterns and ready to look deeper.
It’s not a quick read, but it’s a transformational one. It requires you to slow down, reflect deeply, and engage with your inner world. But the result is a change that’s not just possible, it’s durable.
Immunity to Change doesn’t promise fast fixes. What it offers instead is something far more valuable: a deeper understanding of what gets in our way—and a practical path to move through it. If you’re serious about sustaining impact, this book will help you do the inner work that makes outer change truly possible.
