The Change Maker’s Competency Wheel:

Grow Your Change Confidence, and Be the Change

With Gisela Wendling, Ph.D.
CEO, The Grove Consultants International
Originator, Wendling Liminal Pathways Change Framework TM 

Change is Fundamental to the Human Experience

CPL is thrilled to welcome longtime friend, and colleague Gisela Wendling. Gisela is a thought leader in the fields of change, change behaviors, and liminality.

In times of relentless upheaval, reacting to change is not enough. We have to grow our change confidence and be the change. To do this, we must evolve from the inside out. Today’s leaders are called not only to be the change but to be transformed by the very shifts they are navigating, and to steward transformations that generate positive outcomes for their teams, organizations and the larger systems they influence.

Change confidence is the capacity to stay present, grounded and aligned even when outcomes are unknown. This is not confidence based on having all the answers, but on being in a generative relationship with uncertainty.

In her latest blog post, Gisela discusses the meaning of change confidence and outline the four competency areas that work together to strengthen your capacity to engage uncertainty to support positive transformation.

Whether you’re leading a team, facilitating transformation or navigating a personal transition, true change confidence allows you to trust your capacity to meet the moment and respond to what is emerging.

The Four Domains of the Change Maker’s Competency Wheel 

Change Literacy: Understanding the patterns, phases and paradoxes of change is fundamental. Leaders who are literate in change processes can anticipate thresholds, normalize uncertainty and bring more confidence to lead others with more steadiness and coherence.

Inner & Outer Guidance: Transformational leadership requires both spiritual and practical forms of guidance. Leaders need ways to access their deeper knowing, cultivate reflective or meditative practices, and engage mentors, peers and helpers. Leadership is never a solitary act; it is relational and interdependent.

Emotional Fluidity: Disconnection and breakdowns in human connection are widespread. Leaders need to work skillfully with their own emotional range and support others in accessing theirs. Emotional fluidity creates the conditions for trust, respect and genuine participation—prerequisites for sustainable change.

Somatic Awareness: The body offers essential signals about ourselves, others and the wider field. Leaders who cultivate somatic awareness deepen grounded presence, recognize stress-levels, regulate somatic activation, and access intuitive clarity. This embodied steadiness strengthens resilience and supports healthier, more coherent responses in times of change.

What will we do?

We will open a reflective, high-level conversation about what it means to grow your change confidence and be the change. This is an invitation to consider how we meet uncertainty, stay connected to what matters and glimpse the capacities that support meaningful transformation.

Who is this event for?

Change practitioners and leaders who are interested in exploring the inner and outer practices and learnings necessary to navigate the rapid transformation and change of these times.

• About Gisela Wendling

  Gisela Wendling, Ph.D.

  CEO and Senior Consultant

  Dr. Gisela Wendling is CEO at The Grove Consultants International. She supports leaders, their teams and their organizations to realize visionary futures by befriending the unknown, embracing change as transformational opportunity and supporting others in doing the same.

  She is the author of The Liminal Pathways Study and is the originator of the Liminal Pathways Change System. She is also co-author (with David Sibbet) of Visual Consulting: Designing and Leading Change (published September 2018), the fourth book in the Wiley Visual Facilitation Series.

  Working with generative and challenging dynamics of change is at the center of Gisela’s practice. In her consulting work, she collaboratively engages people from across the organization or stakeholder groups to tap into their intelligence, vision and capabilities to initiate and realize their desired future.

  Gisela pairs a process orientation with systemic perspectives, as well as dialogic and visual approaches. Drawing on this synthesis, she creates unique, highly interactive, content-rich and outcome-focused transformative group experiences. When guiding professional development programs, she engages participants in learning experiences that combine conceptual understanding, practical application and personal growth.

  As a leadership and team coach, Gisela works with senior executives wishing to develop their competence as transformational leaders. She supports them in learning to lead change processes more effectively, connect to their own vision, grow their self-awareness and relational skills and increase their capacity to stay centered through turbulent times.

  She holds a doctorate from Fielding Graduate University’s School of human and organization development, and an M.A. in organization development and a B.A. in humanistic psychology from Sonoma State University in California. Her approach integrates disciplines from across the social sciences and builds on three decades of practical experience across four continents.

  Earlier career experiences include working as an internal consultant for one of the top five consulting firms, time in the high-tech industry as director for learning and development, and as tenure track professor at Sonoma State University, where she also directed its MA Program in organization development. For several years Gisela had the opportunity to facilitate the California Roundtable on Water and Food Supply at Ag Innovations to support a statewide dialogue with key stakeholders to envision new solutions.

  Born and raised in Germany, Dr. Wendling has lived in Australia and Canada and has spent most of her adult life on the West Coast of the United States. Having traveled widely, she has a particular affinity for the wisdom traditions of indigenous peoples. Gisela lives in Petaluma, California, with her husband David Sibbet. For more information about Gisela’s services and approach, see her website and her blog.

• What are the Essential Conversations?

  At CPL, our mission is grounded in principles and practices of convening. We cultivate and inspire leaders from all walks of life to be engaged, inspired, and part of essential conversations that imagine and build a world that works for all. We believe that anyone can be a change agent and set intentions that have a positive impact on those we serve.

  We have the honor and pleasure of partnering with organizations and individuals from across the globe to engage and focus on what matters and empower you to innovate, to lead.

  Each month we host an intentional, convened thought leadership conversation. Please join us! Read below to learn more about this month’s Essential Conversations.

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