Change Management Professional Development

As a professional discipline, change management has come a long way. Recognised in its own right as a collection of roles and responsibilities that help transform processes, people and culture, thousands of professionals have made change management their career – and with exceptionally rewarding results.

 Historically, hand in hand with the growth of any profession also comes the need for governance and accreditation to help equip both employers and the practitioners themselves with a professional development framework that helps outline qualifications and career progression. 

If we use Project Management as an example of a similar community of professionals, two key globally recognised and accredited qualifications are available – PMBOK and Prince 2. These provide individuals with a learning framework and progressive set of qualifications that are understood by employers and employees alike.

 So, would change management benefit as a discipline from a set of similar industry standardised qualifications? Do we think that some kind of globally recognised accreditation would help cement the role of change management as a core competency for today’s successful organization?

 I am certainly not proposing to know the answers to these questions. However, I have had many conversations over the past few years with a wide range of change management practitioners and employers on this subject and in recent times it has become more and more topical.



Research and feedback suggests perhaps some of the barriers to creating an international qualification or professional standard would come from a potential lack of consistency in methodologies. Not only do they differ worldwide, but also from organisation to organisation locally here in Australia. Maybe this is a positive? Does the very nature of change management actually lend itself to a formalised set of standards and qualifications? 

We see a major part of our role at Allegra Consulting as supporting our large network of candidates in their career objectives and helping open doors to opportunities through networking and professional learning. Beyond our immediate community, we are also committed to the wider change management network here in Melbourne and even overseas through communities of practice. 

Without the honest feedback from members of this community, we won’t be able to truly understand and address the appetite for formal and informal learning and what gaps exist today.