Can people really change?

July 28, 2010
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“Our mental development, unlike our physical development, does not have to end at age twenty; wepersonal transition can keep growing and developing in adulthood”**.

The question that has been central to me is: ‘can people and organisational cultures really change?’ I am now convinced that the answer is ‘yes’.
 
I became intrigued with the work of Robert Kegan while studying for my Masters in Organisational Coaching. It’s the most powerful way I have found to understand patterns of thought in myself and others and how those patterns impact the way we see the world.
 
The basic proposition is this:

Our mental development and growth helps us overcome our immunity to making other changes in our lives – it is when we begin to see and understand the commitments we hold around not changing, that we can begin to change.
 
I realise that our libraries and bookstores are littered books about personal change and growth. There is a reason for this – it’s something people seek. Unfortunately, it’s not something people often find. The problem with that literature is its inability to close the gap.
 
That gap between wanting and doing is a learning problem and closing it is about learning and changing the way we think about change.  Kegan and Lahey’s book is a great way to understand this learning. 
 
**Kegan, R. & Lahey, L.L. (2001). How the way we talk can change the way we work.. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

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