You Have the Map. Why Do You Keep Turning Back? A closer look at Dare to Lead and Immunity to Change

by Mary Printz, M.Ed.

I love Brené Brown. Dare to Lead is on my shelf, dog-eared and highlighted.

And I still think most leaders who've read it haven't actually changed.

It's not because the ideas aren't powerful, but knowing what courageous leadership looks like and being able to practice it are two very different things and Dare to Lead, for all its brilliance, mostly addresses the first. In this article I will compare Dare to Lead and Immunity to Change. Dare to Lead names the behaviors and cultural conditions courageous leadership requires. Immunity to Change explains why those behaviors remain so difficult to sustain, even when leaders genuinely want to practice them, by uncovering the hidden assumptions that make change feel unsafe and keep old patterns in place.

Here's what I mean.

DARE TO LEAD ASKS:

"What does brave leadership look like and are you willing to do it?"

IMMUNITY TO CHANGE ASKS:

"What is your brain protecting you from and is that protection still serving you?"

Dare to Lead gives you a map of the destination. Immunity to Change explains why you keep turning back before you get there.

Both are substantiated in research and both take the inner life of leaders seriously however, they operate at different levels:

Dare to Lead works at the level of values and culture, helping leaders name what they stand for and build teams where vulnerability is safe.

Immunity to Change works at the level of the unconscious psychological immune system, surfacing the hidden commitments competing with the goal and the assumptions that make change feel dangerous, and then through the ITC framework overturn those very assumptions.

A leader can finish Dare to Lead completely convinced they should be more vulnerable and still spend the next year armoring up in every high-stakes meeting. Not because they're resistant or hypocritical. Because their psychological immune system has a very good reason to keep the armor on, and no one has helped them find out what it is.

That's the gap ITC fills.

The two approaches actually work beautifully together. Dare to Lead can help a team build shared language and aspiration. Immunity to Change helps each leader figure out why they personally keep falling short of that aspiration and what to do about it.

If your leaders have done the workshops, read the books, and still aren't changing, the missing piece probably isn't more inspiration. It's an honest look at what they're unconsciously protecting.

Have you seen this gap in your own work with leaders? I'd love to hear what you've tried.

#ImmunityToChange #DareToLead  #LeadershipDevelopment #AdaptiveLeadership #ExecutiveCoaching

Mary Printz, M.Ed.

Advanced Immunity to Change Executive Coach

EQ-i 2.0 & Neuroscience Leadership Coach

Helping high-performing leaders outgrow hidden patterns and lead with greater clarity, capacity, and confidence.

                            For coaching, speaking, or leadership programs Mary@MaryPrintz.com    1-403-866-3806