Using Kurt Lewin's concept of "a dynamic balance of forces", the direction and strength of change tendencies related to staff development in California community colleges were identified through force-analysis. The forces of heritage/tradition, awareness, money, organizational climate, time, reward system, and formal system were examined for their positive or negative (restraining) effects on staff development efforts through a survey of the perceptions of community college Deans of Instruction. Positive interactions of varying strengths were perceived for all forces but money (about which there was considerable disagreement among respondents) and time, the single force identified as primarily restraining in character. Heritage/tradition was seen as the strongest driving force. It was concluded that more attention and effort are being focused on staff development at the community college than in other levels of higher education, that funds are not necessarily related to effective development, and that leaders need to examine forces that restrain staff development. (RT)