Change Leadership Certificate

Use human-centered design approaches to create impactful change

Learn a human-centered approach to change leadership. Unlike traditional change management, this program will help you put people, not process, at the center of your change journey. Explore how to think in systems to understand the big picture, gain context around the change you seek, spot opportunities, and choose where to start. Use frameworks that will show you how to start small, co-create, and experiment with others to design your change and build support. Discover strategies to navigate the friction and complexity that are often part of implementing and scaling change.

Certificate Program Outcomes
  • Apply systems thinking techniques to spot opportunities and determine where to start.
  • Co-create change by involving the people it affects from the beginning.
  • Start small by creating experiments that demonstrate the potential for your change.
  • Build support by sharing big stories about early, small changes.
  • Motivate your team to scale the change by developing shared understanding and alignment.
Skills You’ll Gain
Leading Change Systems Thinking Complex Projects Co-creation Influencing Storytelling
Format 3 Online Cohort Courses
Duration 4+ Months*
Time 4 Hours/Week
Download Syllabus Download Syllabus
Download Syllabus
*Enroll in any November cohort course or certificate to get FREE access to our new AI x Design Thinking Workshop Series ($250 value). Add to your cart to redeem.

Certificate Program Overview

While courses can be taken in any order, we recommend completing Human-Centered Systems Thinking first

  1. 1 Take Human-Centered Systems Thinking

    Starting Soon
    A holistic approach to problem solving starts with people
    Cohort Course 5 Weeks
    Regular price
    $799
    Sale price
    $799
    Unit price
    per 
  2. 2 Take Designing for Change

    Start small, start with people, start now
    Cohort Course 5 Weeks
    Regular price
    $799
    Sale price
    $799
    Unit price
    per 
  3. 3 Take Leading Complex Projects

    Starting Soon
    An adaptable approach to deliver stronger outcomes in changing conditions
    Cohort Course 5 Weeks
    Regular price
    $799
    Sale price
    $799
    Unit price
    per 


  1. 4 Receive and Share Your Certificate

    After completing the three courses, you’ll receive your Change Leadership Certificate of completion via email as a downloadable PDF within 1-2 weeks of completing the final required course. Certificates are configured for uploading and sharing on LinkedIn.

    Your IDEO U Certificate in Change Leadership

Commonly Asked Questions

  • Course Order
    You can complete the courses in any order and receive the Change Leadership certificate. If you’re completely new to the program, we recommend you take Human-Centered Systems Thinking first to help you spot opportunities for change and discover impactful places to start. Designing for Change will then take you one step further where you’ll learn to co-create and experiment with small changes to demonstrate potential and gain support. Finally, we recommend Leading Complex Projects as the final course of the program where you’ll learn how to successfully navigate the friction and uncertainty that often come when trying to scale change. Because of the depth contained in these three courses, we do not recommend taking all courses at once.
  • SHOULD I TAKE THE Change Leadership CERTIFICATE OR Collaborative Leadership CERTIFICATE?
    While collaboration is an important aspect of both certificate programs, the Change Leadership certificate will help you co-create and scale change for impact—whether within your team, your community, or the world. The Collaborative Leadership Certificate emphasizes interpersonal relationships and team dynamics to help you guide projects and initiatives and become a more influential leader.
  • I WORK AT A (NON-PROFIT, SCHOOL, GOVERNMENT, STARTUP, SMALL BUSINESS). IS THIS PROGRAM RIGHT FOR ME?
    Yes. In fact, since you work in such complex systems, this certificate will be even more beneficial in helping you make sense of how to create change within the system you’re working in. Though some of the frameworks and thinking in these courses are rooted in business, they’re still highly applicable to anyone who wants to create change. In all three courses, case studies, terms, and examples were created to help different individuals see themselves and their organizations in the work.
  • COMPLETION TIME
    The program typically takes between 3-4 months to complete if courses are taken consecutively. However, there is no deadline for certificate completion.
  • CERTIFICATE REQUIREMENTS
    If you’ve completed Designing for Change, Human-Centered Systems Thinking, or Leading Complex Projects as a part of another certificate program or on its own, it will count toward your certificate of completion.
Learn more about program details in our FAQs

Certificate Program Requirements

Frequently Asked Questions

We offer three types of courses: self-paced courses, cohort courses, and certificate programs. Certificate programs consist of multiple courses and typically take 3-6 months to complete. They are in-depth learning experiences designed to grow your skills and broaden your professional impact. Once you complete all required courses, you will be awarded a certificate of completion.

All of our certificate programs are fully online and flexible, so you can take them from any time zone, anywhere in the world. For cohort courses, the course teaching team will host scheduled virtual community conversations, which are optional. Times will be announced during the first week of the course and are set to accommodate as many time zones as possible.

If you take all required courses in a certificate, you will receive the certificate. There is no deadline for the completion of the courses, and you do not have to purchase all required courses at the same time to be eligible for a certificate.

While you can enroll in multiple courses at the same time, we strongly advise that you do so only if you are able to commit to a minimum of 5 hours per week for each course (for example, 10 hours per week for 2 courses) to ensure the most valuable learning experience. If that does not feel feasible, we recommend taking the courses separately and reviewing upcoming course dates on our course calendar.

While courses can be taken in any order, we recommend you take them in the order that they are listed above in the Certificate Program Overview.

We offer a discount when you enroll in multiple courses at the same time through some of our certificate programs, including Foundations in Design ThinkingBusiness InnovationHuman-Centered Strategy, and Communicating for Impact

You can also enter your email address at the bottom of this page in order to receive updates on future offers or possible discounts. 

Absolutely! We have had many teams go through our courses together. For those taking our courses as a team, we provide a number of additional benefits:

1. A Team Learning Guide, developed to provide your team with resources to facilitate offline discussions that complement the in-course experience.

2. A Manage Learners function, which provides visibility into your team's progress within the course.

3. The ability to create a private Learning Circle, which is a closed space for discussion on the learning platform specifically for your team.

For more information, visit our Team Learning page.

You can purchase a certificate by enrolling in all the courses associated with that certificate. Required courses are listed in the Certificate Program Overview section above. When you click enroll in each cohort course, you will proceed to our checkout page, where you can select your desired cohort date for each course.

Payment options include credit card, PayPal, or Shop Pay. For US customers, we also offer installment plans at checkout if you use the Shop Pay method of payment.We typically are not able to accommodate bank transfer or invoicing. However, if your order includes 10 seats or more, please contact hello@ideou.com and our team will be happy to review your request

Yes. Since you work in such complex systems, this certificate will be beneficial in helping you create change or navigate change within the system you’re working in. Though some of the frameworks and thinking in these courses are rooted in business, they’re still highly applicable to anyone who wants to create change or lead others through change. The case studies, terms, and examples were designed to help different individuals see themselves and their organizations in the work.

Loved by Learners Across the Globe

Sarah Zaner
Sarah Senior Director KH Moon Center for a Functioning Society
Ben C.
Ben Managing Director The Project Lab
Michèle Robinson
Michèle Head of Product Braindate
Change Leadership Certificate
Certificate Program

“For me, the most exciting application of human-centered design is when it is aimed at reimagining the complex systems of our society—like education or healthcare—that are full of promise but also fraught with inequalities. This is also the space where systems design is needed the most.”

Sarah
Change Leadership Certificate
Certificate Program

“I love the human-centered approach to problem solving that permeates throughout IDEO. The problem-solving techniques I've taken from this course fit perfectly with any technical or social problem I can imagine and any of my team or fellow problem solvers will benefit. Top quality course. Loved it!”

Ben Tasmania, Australia
Change Leadership Certificate
Certificate Program

“I was blown away from the diversity of instructional methods used. I absolutely loved the workbook and accompanying content. The activities and assignments were so well designed for pushing me to learn new things in a way that felt approachable despite requiring deep thought and perspective shifts.”

Michèle Montreal, Canada

The IDEO U Learning Experience

See

Our courses engage you through stories, expertise, and humor. Each lesson has a series of 3-5 minute videos that explain the why, what, and how of a specific topic. Plus we bring everything to life through case studies from around the globe.

Reflect

Our learning experiences have a variety of reflective activities to help you make the connections to your specific work challenges. Reflection is one of the most effective ways to deepen your professional impact.

Try

In order to develop new skills, you need to try them out through repeated practice and exposure to new contexts. Our courses provide opportunities to try out new behaviors online and through real-world projects.

Share

Knowledge is constructed through interaction with others—which is the foundation of our cohort experience. It’s through sharing and discussing with qualified teaching leads and a global peer network that you build greater understanding.

See

Our courses engage you through stories, expertise, and humor. Each lesson has a series of 3-5 minute videos that explain the why, what, and how of a specific topic. Plus we bring everything to life through case studies from around the globe.

Try

In order to develop new skills, you need to try them out through repeated practice and exposure to new contexts. Our courses provide opportunities to try out new behaviors online and through real-world projects.

Reflect

Our learning experiences have a variety of reflective activities to help you make the connections to your specific work challenges. Reflection is one of the most effective ways to deepen your professional impact.

Share

Knowledge is constructed through interaction with others—which is the foundation of our cohort experience. It’s through sharing and discussing with qualified teaching leads and a global peer network that you build greater understanding.