"The real reason people won't change" is an article by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey. The article was first published in November 2001 in Harvard Business Review. The article describes and summarize about the personal immunity of people that resist them from being changed.
The real reason people wont change is not due to lack of skill and deep commitment within them but it is due to hidden competing commitment followed by big assumptions. For some, the need is confidence-building, for others it's behavior change or skill development. But sometimes, no matter how hard a person tries, their progress remains inexplicably stalled. The situation can be as frustrating to bosses, colleagues, and family members as it is to the individual.
Organizational psychologists Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey developed the theory of a "competing commitment" to explain what they term "personal immunity to change." Competing commitments are long held belief that has become an integral part of their make up so that it is difficult to change. When these beliefs are uncovered, change is possible. And it is still true that some people opt not to disrupt their immunity to change, choosing instead to continue their fruitless struggle against their competing commitments.
The competing commitments cause even the valued employee to behave in inexplicably and irremediable way. It is a subconscious hidden goal of the people that conflicts with their stated commitments. Many of these 'competing commitments' are based on long-held beliefs that are an integral part of their make-up so they can be difficult to change.
Some examples of competing commitments are: * Dragging one's feet on an assignment because one wants to avoid a next tougher assignment or future lack of work. * Avoiding teamwork or meetings because one wants to avoid the conflict that is associated with it. * Using sarcastic disruptive humor to keep oneself at a distance from a