To thrive and survive as a change or improvement leader in a big system, we need to be competent. We need to be able to redesign processes, apply improvement methods, analyse data, mobilise teams & achieve outcomes. A February 2026 HBR article by Annie Peshkam (“To lead through uncertainty, unlearn your assumptions”) says that this isn’t enough. She distinguishes between “competence” (doing things well) and “capacity” (staying present when action will not resolve the tension). As change and improvement leaders, we have invested heavily in competence: QI methods, governance, pathways, PMO disciplines. We have invested far less in capacity: the inner steadiness, emotional regulation and shared sensemaking that allow us to hold complexity with our teams. Capacity is the ability to pause instead of jumping to solutions; say out loud what is difficult about a change; keep conflict in the room and work with it rather than pushing it into the “meeting after the meeting”. The systems we work in are in sustained uncertainty: financial pressure, workforce depletion, reform agendas, unrelenting demand. Deloitte's Global Human Capital Trends survey of 14,000 leaders found that, in this context, we must look beyond efficiency and predictable results and instead elevate resilience, adaptability, and human connection. Yet our improvement/performance approaches still reward leaders who give quick answers, project confidence and absorb team anxiety. These assumptions shrink rather than expand our capacity to lead. How can change and improvement leaders build capacity? 1) Embed personal practices of pause and reflection into our leadership routines, especially in "high‑stakes" meetings. 2) Start key conversations by naming the tension in the room and giving people time to speak to it before moving to plans. 3) Design our improvement structures (huddles, steering groups, programme boards etc) as “holding environments”, where disagreement and emotion are legitimate data, not distractions. 4) Stop carrying the burden alone: share sensemaking work with our teams, service users and communities, and make that sharing visible. 5) Invest in development focused on emotional steadiness, presence and curiosity, alongside the technical disciplines of QI and "change management". We talk a lot about learning cultures. This article challenges us to cultivate unlearning cultures in addition. The shift from competence to capacity is not a “nice to do”; it is central to our ability to lead change and improvement in the face of relentless uncertainty. hbr.org/2026/02/to-lead-thro…