Changemakers
Changemakers
PMI 4.0 and the Changemaker Initiative
Individuals and organizations can impact this rapidly changing world. We know that millions aspire to be changemakers—people who turn ideas into reality (PMI 4.0 Strategic Plan).
PMI 4.0 Vision: Empower people to make ideas a reality.
Project professionals are among the most highly trained, skilled, and capable changemakers, but they are not alone in seeking to make ideas reality. The next generation of project managers are changemakers.
What is a changemaker? A changemaker is a person who proactively drives change and transformations in organizations, other people, and society in general. Changemakers imagine a new reality, take action, and collaborate with others to co-create the future. Changemakers can be students, volunteers, entrepreneurs, specialists, business leaders - of any age and any background. What they have in common is a drive to bring about positive change in their environment, no matter their position. Project managers have always been changemakers, leading change and turning ideas into reality.
Changemakers don't just manage and lead change, they make change happen. It is important to distinguish between managing change and making change. See table below (Duggal 2013).
| Change Manager | Change Maker |
| Manages and leads change | Owns the change and makes change happen |
| Focuses on goal and end-date | Focuses on goal with a long-term gaze |
| Control and alignment | Accommodation and adjustment |
| Focuses on execution and delivery | Focuses on end-user adoption and experience |
| Ownership and accountability of deliverables and outputs | Ownership and accountability of results and outcomes |
| Change resistance and control | Embrace and acceptance of change |
| Change-weary | Change-ready |
| Constraint as limitations | Constraints as opportunities |
| Procedural focus | Behavioral focus |
| Manages and leads from the top-down | Manages and leads from the bottom-up |
| Hands (tactical) and head (strategic) | Balance of hands, head, and heart (behavioral and emotional) |
PMI Alaska Chapter's Changemaker Objective: To expand the impact of the project management profession in Alaska, to meet the needs of all people who drive change, aka changemakers. Support Alaska's changemakers to create postive impact regardless of the issue they are championing by helping them to advocate, innovate, and ensure that their voices are heard.
PMI 4.0
PMI 4.0 is a growth strategy to address the project management needs of changemakers. PMI 4.0 is defined by four core Strategic Focus Areas that get us to collectively increase our impact on the world by 10x. These include:
- Expanded communities, targeted engagement,
- Integrated Social Benefit,
- Coalition of Associations, and
- B2B Advocacy, B2C Enablement.
PMI previously focused on serving the Project Professional. Now, we are delivering project management skills to the world by addressing the needs of a global community of changemakers, inclusive of Project Professionals, ages ranging from 5 to 105.
Take Action
Changemakers often need specific resources or help from peers that are difficult to come by. They need knowledge, skills, and expertise in making their vision come to life. The entire PMI community stands ready to welcome, engage and guide these newcomers as they join us.
Taking action is the quickest way to build momentum towards your vision. Below are some next steps to get you started.
- Take PMI's Changemaker Quiz to discover what kind of changemaker you are.
- Take Ashoka's Changemaker Quiz to understand where you are at on your changemaker journey. Then complete their recommended free training.
- Examine the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals and find one that is aligned with your purpose. Is there a project you can develop to forward change towards one of the UN’s 17 SGDs?
- Consider your project and take PMI’s free 45-minute KICKOFF™ digital course and tool kit. KICKOFF introduces changemakers to the basics of project management and the actionable tools needed to effectively launch, execute, and manage projects.
- Certain skills are critical to the success of changemakers including teaming, leadership, project management, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence. Create your own learning plan revolving around these topics to develop yourself as a changemaker. Stay tuned as PMI Alaska offers its changemaker pathway driving social impact.
- Subscribe to the PMI Alaska Chapter Changemaker Initiative contact list to stay engaged with upcoming opportunities to create social impact together as part of a local change team.
Together, let’s help everyone be a changemaker!
