I’ve been working on today’s infographic for a long time, and I’m thrilled to unveil (drumroll please...) The ‘ChangeAbility’ Progression Spectrum – CAPS!
Change and adaptation are indispensable cognitive and strategic capabilities if we are to grow in self-leadership. My goal for you and I is to gain skills to increase our ‘ChangeAbility’ or Adaptive Intelligence. Adaptive Intelligence combines the concept of intelligence – the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills – with the specific focus on adaptation:
INTELLIGENCE (i.e. the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills) x ADAPTATION = ChangeAbility
As you can see in the image above, the ‘ChangeAbility’ Progression Spectrum, CAPS, is a scale offering a way to measure people’s levels of resistance to change whether it’s at an organizational, interpersonal, or individual level. This simple and clear tool outlines 10 status levels of resistance to change. Its coaching and therapeutic use positions you to be forward-looking and proactive in your ChangeAbility or Adaptive Intelligence, whereby you prepare for future uncertainties rather than merely reacting to past triggers or present challenges.
Having spent the last few sessions reviewing common reasons why people resist change let’s now explore the 10 levels of resistance. We will look at two each day. The first two are closely related.
1. Antagonism: This is the most extreme form of resistance. It is active and potentially confrontational. Individuals or groups not only dislike change but may actively work against it, viewing it as a threat to their interests, values, or established norms. This can involve violence, open criticism, sabotage, or the formation of factions to oppose proposed changes. Jesus experienced this level of resistance from the religious establishment of His day who, shortly into His ministry sought ways to kill him because He opposed their hypocritical and oppressive ways.
You don’t want to get caught on this end of the mule. Yet for extreme spiritual and moral convictions, one must prepare to take or administer this degree of resistance.
2. Aversion: This stage is characterized by a strong dislike or unwillingness to even consider change. Individuals or organizations at this stage actively recoil from any suggestion of altering the status quo. This may result from strong differing opinions but may is also often due to fear of the unknown, perceived loss, or a deep-seated preference for familiarity. This stage can manifest as outright rejection or a complete shutdown to new ideas.
___________________________
Like every good tool, the ChangeAbility Progression Spectrum CAPS has to be standardized. For believers in Jesus, the Word of God is the standard that determines and defines the various levels, the manifold issues that are calling for change, and our responses to them. Scripture offers major issues that are non-negotiable and a plethora of minor ones on which we can disagree.
Please view and comment on this video on the resistance to change in Portland, Oregon. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/175kGnYEQZ/?mibextid=wwXIfr
CTA: Considering organizational, interpersonal, or individual aspects requiring change, either as a deliverer of it or as a recipient:,
- Share how you have experienced Antagonism in your life.
- Share how you have experienced Aversion in your life.