The Real Reason People won’t Change

Ron Josef Y. Magarzo

“The Real Reason People Won’t Change” is an article written by Robert

Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey. The authors start the article by stating that
every manager is familiar with the employee that just won’t change. According
to Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey, the reasons why employees just won’t
change are the fear of shift in power, the need to learn new skills,and the stress
of having to join a new team. According to organizational psychologists, this
dilemma has been common over the years and has led to one conclusion and
that is resistance to change does not reflect opposition. The authors then
introduce the concept of competing commitment which is a subconscious
hidden goal that conflicts with their stated commitments.There is a
three-staged process to help organizations figure out what’s getting in the way
of change. First, managers guide employees through a set of questions
designed to uncover competing commitments. Next, employees examine these
commitments to determine the underlying assumptions at their core. And
finally, employees start the process of changing their behavior. The article then
shows how to uncover competing commitments and propose questions to
address these competing commitments. Finally the article states that
competing commitments arise from assumptions that sustain people and these
assumptions must be questioned and examined to further eliminate the
problem.
After reading the article, I learned a lot of things. First of all, I was able to
learn what competing commitments were and I was quite fascinated and
shocked that these things exist. I also have to agree with the authors as
competing commitments can affect the productivity of the company. The
authors also showed steps on how to uncover these competing commitments
and how to further address them. I agree with the authors that we must
address and eliminate these competing commitments because they affect the
company and not only the company but also the people in it. Also after reading
the article, I learned that career change is essential as it will lead you to greater
heights. It is not good that we stay at our comfort zone and that we must go
out of it.