We live in a world where the pace, scale, and interdependence of change is accelerating, yet many of our approaches, assumptions and systems haven’t evolved at the same speed.
Welcome to the summary of our Futures of Change research initiative. This report provides a snapshot of what was explored and a summary of our high-level findings. This initiative was the first of its kind for the Change Management Institute. It invites us all to expand the lens through which we currently view change, and to open our minds to the alternatives and possibilities presented by the research.
The research was commissioned in response to the increasing pace and uncertainty of change. This significant piece of research for the Institute was led by futurist Dr Elissa Farrow and involved nearly 700 participants around the globe, with more than 18,000 data points.
Over the past two decades, the core pillars of change have remained steady: planning, leadership and governance, embedding change and realising outcomes. These foundations continue to matter – but how they show up is evolving.
The report invites you into a different kind of conversation. It’s not a forecast, a best-practice guide, or a roadmap for certainty. It’s a space for curiosity. A provocation. A shared inquiry into what change could become, and what change professionals, adjacent roles and next generation leaders might need to navigate what’s next.
Drawing from academic research, public commentary, industry white papers and thought leadership, a structured literature review of over 100 sources published between 2023 and 2025 explored how change is evolving across disciplines and geographies.
The insights identified in the literature embrace complexity, prioritise lived experience and inclusion, and embed change more deeply within organisational identity, technological systems and social purpose.
The findings offered a breakdown of the key challenges in managing change today and the legacy beliefs that no longer serve the industry.
The full report explores the factors that participants believed to be driving change and change responses, considering organisational impacts and individual impacts. The findings highlighted how deeply connected ‘personal’ and ‘systemic’ change are, making it clear that they should be addressed in tandem for meaningful, future-focused transformation.
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By 2035, sustainable and successful change – from strategy to delivery – becomes a core capability that is embedded into the fabric of an organisation.
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Change success may be measured not just by outcomes, but by how people feel along the way. Human well-being, cultural safety, emotional resonance and lived experience will matter as much as delivery timelines.
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Leadership is shifting from authority to influence, control to contribution and from hierarchy to networks. By 2035, change will be co-led by diverse contributors – from informal influencers and middle managers to digital agents and partner ecosystems.
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By 2035, professionals will blend systems and portfolio thinking, design, behavioural science and cultural insight – adapting to organisational context and environmental factors.
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AI, digital twins, immersive tools and intelligent agents will likely reshape how change is conceived and delivered. By 2035, change professionals may co-create with machines, use predictive diagnostics and design adaptive human-tech ecosystems.
Across all four futures, a clear set of signals emerged about how the field of change may need to evolve.
Implications point to major shifts in practice – from distributed leadership and human–AI collaboration, to deeper emotional literacy, contextual design, and continuous change ecosystems.
These patterns suggest that change professionals will need to navigate increasing complexity with adaptability, ethical clarity, and relational skill.
Together, they form a strategic lens through which we can assess our current readiness and prepare for what lies ahead.
While we’ve presented four distinct futures, it’s unlikely that any one scenario will unfold in isolation. Instead, we may experience a blend of these futures, or swing rapidly between them depending on global events, much like we saw during the pandemic.
The purpose of these futures is not to predict what’s next, but to help us test the preparedness of our current capabilities, explore what might emerge, and identify priority pathways to strengthen how we lead and support change in an increasingly complex world.
Distributed Operating Model Futures – Traditional hierarchies dissolve. Organisations operate as adaptive ecosystems… think about networks, cooperatives and platform-based teams..
Crises such as climate disruption, social inequality, pandemics and displacement have eroded trust in centralised systems. In response, change is led locally, tailoring solutions to context, culture and needs.
Organisations prioritise deep human engagement, appreciation of diversity and indigenous people ways of knowing, mindfulness and systemic change.
Intelligence and automation are deeply integrated with all work, including change (imagine AI agents, digital twins, robots, super intelligence, etc).
This report expands the lens through which we view change, revealing new possibilities for how we lead, learn, and create impact in a world that refuses to stand still. These insights are not predictions, but invitations – to rethink our identity, stretch our practice, and step boldly into what comes next.
The Futures of Change report expands the lens through which we view change, revealing new possibilities for how we lead, learn, and create impact in a world that refuses to stand still.Â
The future of change belongs to those who lead with empathy, curiosity, and courage. The Change Management Institute stands beside you, championing the next horizon.
Together we shape the futures of change, today.
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And a big thank you to everyone involved in developing this important research, particularly former President Karla Micallef, Chief Editor Bronwyn Hall McLoughlin and Research, Insights & Advocacy Lead Lydia Harris.
