Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey

Robert Kegan is the William and Miriam Meehan Professor in Adult Learning and Professional Development at Harvard University. Additionally he is the Educational Chair for the Institute for Management and Leadership in Education and the Co-director for the Change Leadership Group. Kegan is a psychologist who teaches, researches, writes, and consults about adult development, adult learning, and professional development. His work explores the possibility and necessity of ongoing psychological transformation in adulthood. He is also interested in the fit between adult capacities and the hidden demands of modern life, and when there is a gap, how adults can best traverse that gap. In addition to his faculty appointment, Kegan serves as educational chair of the Institute for Management and Leadership in Education; as co-director of a joint program with the Harvard Medical School to bring principles of adult learning to the reform of medical education; and as co-director of the Change Leadership Group, a program for the training of change leadership coaches.

Lisa Lahey is associate director of the Change Leadership Group at the Graduate School of Education at Harvard and co-founder and do-director of Minds At Work. An expert in adult development and an experienced practicing psychologist and educator, she works with leaders and leadership teams in both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. With a doctorate from Harvard in developmental psychology, she combines her expertise of individual development with a deep knowledge of organizational psychology and teamwork. Her work focuses on the interconnection between these two arenas of change, with the goal of helping teams and groups to support individuals’ development and for individuals to enable teams to perform optimally. She specializes in helping adults close the gap between their good intentions and intended results by focusing on expanding mindsets and behavior options.

Kegan and Lahey are the authors of:

Immunity to Change: How to Overcome it and Unlock Potential in Yourself and your Organization (2009)
Change Leadership: A Practical Guide to Transforming Our Schools” (2006)
How The Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work (2001)