Thriving in a World That Won’t Sit Still

“History is not the study of the past; it is the study of change.” — Yuval Noah Harari

It might be time to change how we, in HR, think about change.

For years, we’ve treated Change as something to manage — with stages, plans, timelines. But change keeps catching us by surprise, unfolding in unpredictable ways. It moves fast, shows up unevenly, and challenges not just what we do, but how we think.

We respond as best we can. We listen, adapt, build. But even that’s becoming harder — because often, by the time we see something clearly, the system has already shifted again.

This is the space I’ve come to call changeholding — the capacity to sense what’s emerging, hold it, and create space for others to move forward before the path is fully defined.

From Planning to Perceiving

Traditionally, HR worked like a GPS: input the destination (the strategy), map the route (the plan), and go. But the destination may now be unclear, not widely shared, or still evolving.

HR has come a long way — evolving from policy to partnership, from process to strategy, looking ahead, asking sharper questions, and building for what’s next. HR builds for growth, for performance, for skills, adapts — focusing on what we do know, and finding new ways to reverse-engineer direction from what we can observe.

But even then, we’re still reacting to what’s visible.

Change as a Capability

Beneath what we know and can plan for lies a less visible need: the organization’s capacity to change, see itself as it evolves, and adapting effectively. 

Change not as a project — but as a capability is the ability to move with uncertainty. To let go of what no longer serves. To notice new patterns early, and shift before the pressure builds.

In slower, more stable times, when we have time to plan, align, communicate, and also “manage” the situation, we could still call it change management. But in today’s fast, nonlinear environments, something else is required: a way to work with change while it’s happening.

This is where HR can play a unique role. Not just implementing strategy, but helping the organization see itself more clearly — and grow more capable of evolving in real time.

Impact Beyond Visibility

Some of the most meaningful HR work doesn’t start with a project brief. It begins in the hallway, at the end of a meeting, in a quiet conversation where something shifts — when Leaders views the organization as a living system, not in parts, but as a whole.

For example

Exponential growth + a new business direction + unexpected resistance to already agreed plans = Choosing not to push for stronger or harder agreed delivery, but to step back with a willingness to scrap plans and create something radically new, based on a deeper understanding of what’s really changing.

Or- when in a meeting with a leader: thinking through their organisation as a system — what do they see, what’s emerging, and where should we look for clues to shape what’s next?

It’s happening, and in some places better than in others yet, we need more of that and we need to be more deliberate. These choices to act differently often fall outside the formal role or scope. They don’t appear on dashboards or within frameworks. But they shape how change really happens.

This is different kind of influence — sometimes without visibility. And it matters.

Changeholding

We live in a world that values speed and output. But changeholding asks for something else.

It asks us to pause. To resist the reflex to act too soon. To stay present with uncertainty — just long enough for something meaningful to emerge.

Changeholding is the work of noticing. Of gently guiding. Of enabling movement before the plan is ready.

It’s rarely recognized. But it’s often the turning point.

And it may be how HR not only stays relevant — but quietly leads the way forward.

Limor