Can changemaking be taught?

Approximately 70% of transformational efforts fail. We often blame strategy, leadership, culture, funding, politics, or bad luck. Increasingly, my research suggests another explanation: we have never treated changemaking as a profession.Architects, teachers, engineers, surgeons, firefighters, pilots, and musicians all develop explicit competencies. We expect them to practise, improve, receive feedback, and continue learning throughout their careers. Changemakers, by contrast, are largely expected to figure it out as they go.That has left generations of extraordinary people underprepared, unsupported, and far more dependent on talent and perseverance than any serious profession should tolerate.One of the central questions driving my PhD is deceptively simple: if changemaking is a profession, what are its competencies? This post offers an early answer.If you listened to my Q2 Field Notes (LINK: https://changemakershandbook.substack.com/p/field-notes-on-changemaking-q2-2026?r=1i4aw7), you'll recognize this as one of the biggest shifts in my thinking. Increasingly, I suspect that successful transformation depends not only on good methods but on the abilities of changemakers. If that's true, understanding the competencies they can develop becomes just as important as understanding the tools they use.While my recent writing has focused on the predispositions that may draw someone toward changemaking, today's post turns to a different question: once someone is drawn to this work, what can they deliberately learn to become most effective?Changemakers have largely learned through improvisation. We apprentice ourselves to problems, borrow techniques from adjacent professions, accumulate scars, and hope that experience eventually resembles expertise. No mature profession would deem that sufficient.If we can articulate the competencies of changemaking, we can begin to do what every mature profession eventually learns to do:* recruit people whose natural predispositions fit the work,* develop them intentionally rather than accidentally,* coach them through increasingly complex challenges,* recognize excellence,* and sustain meaningful impact over an entire career.My research suggests 9 core and 6 situational competencies.While most of the competencies below emerge from my own research and practice, they are also informed by the work of others who have shaped my thinking. In particular, futurist Bob Johansen's work on future leadership skills has influenced several of the situational competencies, including dilemma flipping, bio-engaging, human calming, and what he calls "smart-mob swarming." His work has been an important companion as I develop a competency framework specifically for changemakers.LINK TO BIO: www.iftf.org/people/bob-johansen/LINK TO BOOK: https://www.iftf.org/insights/navigating-the-age-of-chaos-a-sense-making-guide-to-a-bani-world-that-doesnt-make-sense/The 9 Core Competencies of ChangemakersThese are the competencies all effective changemakers demonstrate. Some emerge naturally. Others require years of deliberate practice. Together, they form the professional foundation of changemaking.* Curiosity — Embracing uncertainty; actively seeking and enjoying new perspectives and experiences.* Systems Thinking — Building on the predisposition of systems sensitivity, this competency involves analysing interdependence, feedback loops, leverage points, and unintended consequences in order to design more effective interventions. Detailed in my earlier post: https://changemakershandbook.substack.com/p/want-to-change-the-world-master-systems?r=1i4aw7* Empathy — Understanding and responding to the lived experience of others when designing and leading change.* Strategy — Stripped of rigidity, effectively coordinating action across all spheres of influence. Related to Bob Johansen's concept of "clarity."* Facilitation & Collaboration — With humility and vulnerability, guiding groups toward possibility that is unlocked through cooperation.* Intentionality — Tr