0.1 Part 2: why mental models are difficult to change

Why mental models are difficult to change

Anti-Change Immune Systems

According to Kegan and Leahy (2001), people have a built-in, anti-change “immune system.” I believe that this metaphor also applies to entire school systems. This immune system is dynamic and creates a powerful inclination to resist change. If this immune system can be unlocked and modified, people can then release new energy on behalf of new ways of thinking (a new paradigm and mental models), believing (new mindsets), and doing (new behavioral strategies and observable behaviors). Kegan and Leahy believe that our internal anti-change immune systems are powered by three significant forces: entropy, negentropy, and dynamic equilibrium. Each of these is briefly described below.

Entropy . Entropy is the process by which dynamic systems (such as people, organizations, mechanical systems, or solar systems) gradually fall apart. Entropy is motion toward increasing disorder, randomness, and dissipation of energy (Kegan&Lahey, 2001, p. 3).

Negentropy . Mechanical and natural systems cannot improve themselves. Human systems like school districts, however, do have limited potential to improve by importing and using more energy in the form of resources (human, technical, and financial). This increase in energy is the opposite of entropy and physicists call it negative entropy, or more commonly negentropy. However, when systems engage in negentropy, it is usually for the purpose of preserving the status quo, also known as dynamic equilibrium). Despite the restorative power of negentropy, all systems eventually reach a performance ceiling that prevents them from improving beyond that ceiling. This phenomenon is called the “The Upper Limit Hypothesis” (Branson, date unknown). As long as improvement efforts focus on making small adjustments to the current system (i.e., by applying principles of continuous improvement) a school system will never break through its performance ceiling. The only way to create significant improvement, then, is to break through the performance ceiling by transforming a school district to create a “brand new” system.

Dynamic equilibrium . One of the most powerful forces blocking a school district’s path toward high performance is dynamic equilibrium. Dynamic equilibrium is an invisible force that tends to keep things pretty much the way they are. It is more commonly called the status quo . The forces of dynamic equilibrium play a large role in blocking change in individuals and organizations.