Analysing your immunity to change
Instructions for filling out this template
Read more about managing immunity to change
1. Commitment
(your improvement
goals)
2. Actions to achieve
your goal
3. Doing / not doing
4. Competing commitments
5. Big assumptions
What is the goal?
What are some of the
actions you could take
right now to progress this
project?
What are you doing, or not doing,
that is preventing you from reaching
your goal?
Worries: The worries section should
contain a statement of what you or
the team fears most if people did the
opposite of what is listed under
doing/not doing.
Brainstorm all the
possible assumptions
that might be
contributing to your
competing
commitments.
What will the
benefits be to your
team, department,
stakeholders and
citizens of South
Australia?
What are some of the
actions your team and
colleagues could take
right now to progress this
project?
Keep the behaviours concrete. Be
honest, and “tell on yourself”.
Try and list as many items as
possible here, even small things.
Everything you enter in this column
should provide a picture of how your
team is currently working against
your goal.
Resist the temptation to explain why
– just record the behaviours.
This provides the raw material for the
team’s competing commitments.
Competing commitments: What
commitments protect the team from
the fears listed in the worry box?
Your commitments should make
some or all of the obstructive
behaviours in the previous column
seem sensible.
You may notice
straight away that
some of these
assumptions are not
true or are out-dated.
Some you may be
less clear about.
Your big assumptions
should make the
commitments and
worries of the team
seem inevitable.
1. Commitment
(your improvement
goals)
2. Actions to achieve
your goal
3. Doing / not doing
4. Competing commitments
5. Big assumptions
e.g. We want to
transition to an
online, self-service
model for citizens to
access key
government services
online.
e.g. We could look at
similar services across
government and learn
from their project and
change management
experience
e.g. We do not actively support the
project.
e.g.
e.g. We are going to
lose control
People will feel more
informed.
The community will
have greater access
to government
services.
We will have a more
agile and responsive
service delivery
model.
assign responsibilities in
the group for progressing
the research and
development of the
project
We do not provide the information
the team needs to deliver the
change in a timely and effective
manner.
We retain many of the old manual
processes and review points
(annulling the time efficiencies of
online services).
Worries: We don’t want to be
associated with a large change that
may not be successful.
We are highly risk adverse and feel
we can ‘wait this change out’.
We are apprehensive to becoming
the source of public scrutiny.
We don’t want to be replaced by
technology.
Competing commitments: We are
committed to:
protecting ourselves
maintaining the status quo, where we
know our role and future is certain
leaving things as they are, even if
they are not working
avoiding conflict.
We are going to lose
our jobs.
The public will make
mistakes and
generate greater
problems.