In the lexicon of transformation, certain words emerge as lodestars, guiding our collective journey through periods of profound change. Through what has been a long and hard year, one word has emerged (for me) to capture the essence of this 2024 moment of time: “reimagining.” It is a word that carries within it both the recognition of endings and the seeds of new beginnings.
The word “reimagining” tells its own story of transformation: “re” – to do again, and “imagine” – from the Latin “imaginari,” – meaning to picture in one’s mind. To reimagine is to fundamentally reconstruct our understanding, to see with new eyes what we thought we knew. It’s an act of creative destruction that makes space for new possibilities.
To understand reimagining, we must confront its radical nature. Reimagining demands more than surface-level change; it requires us to question the very foundations of how we think about transformation itself. This reflects Nietzsche’s call for a “devaluation of all values” – a challenge to the life-denying aspects of our current systems: that stability is inherently good, that preservation equals resilience, and that incremental adaptation is always the wisest path.
In our exploration of collective resilience in organisations, we see this tension play out in the struggle between the polarities of resistance and transformation. Those who are willing to move beyond resistance, who dare to embrace fundamental transformation when it is required, seem to evidence a qualitatively different kind of resilience – one that comes not from always holding on, but also from letting go.
Reimagining contains its own paradox. To reimagine effectively, we must simultaneously hold two seemingly contradictory truths: a deep understanding of the systems we seek to transform alongside a willingness to completely release our attachment to them. This is not unlike the quantum principle of superposition – the ability to exist in multiple states simultaneously until observation collapses the possibilities into reality.
Words alone cannot fully capture the depth of change that transformation requires. We can look to nature for a profound demonstration of reimagining made manifest: the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly. This process is not just about change; it is about becoming an entirely different being, down to the DNA level. The caterpillar contains specialised epigenetic cells – imaginal cells – that carry the blueprint for this new form. Initially treated as threats by the caterpillar’s immune system, these cells persist, find each other, combine, and eventually orchestrate a complete metamorphosis.
The process of metamorphic transformation of the caterpillar to a butterfly highlights a crucial truth: reimagining alone is not enough. Imaginal cells must find each other and coalesce to succeed. Today’s reimaginers are like these cells – carrying visions of new possibilities within the existing system. They are the changemakers, indigenous wisdom keepers, systems thinkers, and community organizers who sense and seed different ways of being. Like imaginal cells, they often face resistance from existing structures*. Their power lies in finding each other, combining their visions, and catalysing transformation.
Sadly, efforts at reimagining often remain scattered, their potential diffused by an inability to create conditions for coalescence. The notion of coalescence is the antithesis of the “Great Man” theory that underpins the American (capitalist) dream. It plays out in all walks of life but is particularly relevant in my context in humanitarian and philanthropic spaces, where overcoming fragmentation is crucial for systemic change.
At the end of last year, I wrote about the need to find ways to coalesce scattered energies of transformation into radical collaborations. Despite all the difficult moments of 2024, it has been inspiring to see the notion of ‘radical collaboration’ gain prominence alongside the call for reimagining. It seems to me there are increasing opportunities and new ways to overcome fragmentation and find the power of the collective. Our collaborative work The Impact Trust to curate a coalition of partners working with the IFRC Europe Region to establish what Indy Johar calls new ‘civic and planetary humanitarian infrastructure’ has shown a different path is possible, one that allows us to have collective impact while maintaining our distinctive contributions. It is braiding not weaving. It mirrors what theorists like Daniel Schmachtenberger and Nate Hagens describe as essential for navigating the metacrisis – the imperative to “find the others.” Like imaginal cells seeking their counterparts, we must find those who carry the seeds of new possibilities, who can help us imagine and create systems that transcend the competitive, extractive paradigms of the past.
This moment calls not for traditional notions of ‘leadership’ but for a deeper form of stewardship – one that honours both what is passing and what is emerging. At a societal level, we need to create safely held spaces within which metamorphosis is possible, spaces that allow both the hospicing of what no longer serves life and the nurturing of what’s emerging. From our Open Dialogues through the year it is evident that these spaces for nurturing social change ideally include:
This is about collective care not individual control. Our potential (and resilience) is collective and interdependent. Working together helps ensure that our efforts are not isolated but part of a larger, interconnected web of transformation.
Such reimagined futures take shape across three distinct but interconnected horizons:
One of my favourite books is the allegorical masterpiece “Hope for the Flowers” by Trina Paulus. Two caterpillars, Stripe and Yellow, confront a world where success means climbing a pillar made of other caterpillars – a powerful metaphor for our current systems where progress often comes at the expense of others. Their journey mirrors our colletive struggle with the polycrisis – a convergence of climate emergency, social inequality, economic instability, and technological disruption that demands we question everything we thought we knew about “progress.”
Like Stripe and Yellow, we find ourselves at a crucial junction. We have to decide: do we continue climbing the pillars of extractive growth, stepping on others to reach an illusory top? Or do we have the courage to reimagine and embrace a completely different way of being? We have to consider that the polycrisis isn’t just a collection of problems to be resolved – it’s a call for metamorphosis, for reimagining what could be.
To declare “reimagining” as the word of the year is to acknowledge that we stand at a threshold. Behind us lies the familiar territory of established systems and known problems. Before us stretches the unmapped terrain of possibility. The choice is not whether to cross this threshold – the polycrisis ensures that standing still is not an option. The choice is whether we cross it with intention and creativity or are dragged across by the momentum of collapse.
As we move through 2024 and beyond, “reimagining” serves not just as a word but as a portal. It invites us to step through our assumptions about what’s possible and necessary. It challenges us to see with new eyes, to think with new minds, to act with new purpose. In choosing “reimagining” as our word of the year, we choose to recognise and become active participants in the great transformation of our time.
In my revisitation of what makes for resilience, what emerges from this reflection is a view of resilience not as a fixed characteristic but as an ongoing process of collective becoming. When we understand resilience this way, we see that the greatest threat to our transformation may not be resistance from existing systems, but our failure to reimagine and manifest a new vision through coalescence and radical collaboration of our energies for change. Like imaginal cells seeking each other in the chrysalis, we must find ways to connect our scattered efforts, to build the coherent force field necessary for fundamental transformation.
The question before us is not whether to reimagine – that imperative is clear. The question is how we will overcome the fragmentation of our efforts; how will we build the collective force needed to manifest true metamorphosis. For in the end, the word of the year must become more than an aspiration – it must become the rallying cry that brings together the scattered points of light into a force field powerful enough to illuminate new paths forward. As we stand at this threshold between what was and what could be, we must remember: the butterfly emerges not through the efforts of a single imaginal cell, but through the mysterious and magnificent process of many finding each other and dreaming together of wings.
PS A year ago (almost to the day) I said
I’m up for getting behind a collaborative agenda in 2024. I would love to know whether / how this might be envisaged in your work.
I could not have imagined how much this may have been an intention setting statement. And I want to thank everyone who has contributed to this journey this year. I am looking forward to how we unfold in 2025.
And just in closing, if you would: we are working with The Cynefin Company to explore what #actions #communities are taking to restore a sense of #hope and #agency Please take a moment to share your #story at https://shorturl.at/wmuzL
Resilience Revisited is an occasional blog series reflecting on the need for a deeper understanding of the concept of resilience, one that inspires an exploration of its complexities and a conscious, intentional shift towards achieving strong resilience – and sustainability – individually and collectively. It is a way of articulating my thoughts on my PhD journey. Whilst it is my primary authorship, it comes from the synthesis of many thought contributions for which I am immensely grateful.
