From crisis to creation: 5 Tools to drive transformation and rediscover our humanity
🤹Empowering action through creativity, connection, and hope
We need to transcend survival-mode, transformation needs us to connect to our humanity and our creativity. If we are going to step-change ourselves into a hopeful future, we need to start interacting with everything around us and start co-creating a future based on life, connection, and meaning.
As we tap into our creative power we can rewrite the narratives that shape our world. This act of creativity will help us transcend the status quo, build new societal structures, and redesign relationships that honor all forms of life. We have designed our world as it stands, so we also have the ability to reimagine it, starting with ourselves.
To create real change, we must first turn inward. It is crucial to confront our unconscious patterns and cultivate self-awareness, empathy, and courage. As Carl Jung famously said, "Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate." The transformation we seek starts within and ripples out into the collective.
At the core of this transformation is the idea of relationship—our relationship with ourselves, with others, and with nature. The false separation we’ve created between humanity and nature requires a return to interconnection, where creativity, storytelling, and action work together to create a world rooted in reciprocity and compassion.
In my work as a transformation designer and speaker, I help people and teams confront our resistance to change and engage in deep conversations, creative workshops, and shared experiences. Through these collective efforts, we can generate the momentum needed to shift our societal structures toward a more inclusive, compassionate, and creative future.
A recent online poll among my readers showed that there is a keen interest in creative tools for transformation. Here are 5 of my proven favourites when engaging in transformational workshops.
🗺️ History Map
What it's for: The History Map is a tool used to reflect on past events to better understand the present. It helps individuals and groups trace the historical context of a situation and gain clarity about how past actions have shaped current challenges. It can also be used to reflect at the end of projects or at the end of a workshop: diving into the lived-experience and the key learnings.
How to use it: Begin by drawing a timeline that marks key events, decisions, or shifts as they took place sequentially. You can use a long paper roll and extend it on a surface for all to see. Allow all participants to draw the key insights and experiences, by providing some reference points (eg months of a project, sections of a workshop, etc) As you create this map, invite everyone to include personal reflections, insights, and significant events. This creates a visual representation of how you got to this point in time. Have one or two leading members of the team, walk everyone through the story, encouraging sharing and allowing multiple points of view to arise. To wrap up, you can use led-candles or stickers for everyone to mark their favourite moments and key learnings (as in the photo below).
Why it works: This tool helps individuals and groups recognize patterns, learn from past mistakes, and see opportunities for transformation. By visualizing their shared history, it opens up space for new perspectives and creative solutions.
History Map in action. Photo taken with permission from the workshop participants. ©Carola Verschoor
❤️🔥 Intergenerational Bonfire
What it's for: The Generational Bonfire is a tool designed to reflect on how our actions today impact future generations, and it encourages us to bring forth wisdom from both the past and the future to guide present-day decision-making.
How to use it: Participants gather in a circle and share stories, visions, and wisdom from their respective generations. To create the illusion of a bonfire you can use the flashlights on people’s smartphones and cover them with a few colourful post-its for effect. Though sitting in a circle will do. Imagine you are in a bonfire setting where voices from the past and the future can be heard. Share what’s been learned and what’s still needed to be done.
Why it works: This tool allows us to improvise intergenerational dialogue, which creates a deeper sense of responsibility and purpose. By viewing the present through the lens of the future, individuals are more likely to engage in actions that contribute to long-term well-being.
Intergenerational Bonfire in action. Photo taken with permission from workshop participants. ©Carola Verschoor. ⁉️ Here’s What / So What / Now What
What it's for: This method is used to reflect on a particular situation or experience in order to draw insights, derive meaning, and develop actionable next steps. It helps structure reflections so that participants can move from understanding to meaningful action.
How to use it: Break down the situation by asking three key questions:
Here’s What: What happened? What is the situation? Anyone observing the situation should be able to answer the question the same way, focus on ‘objectivity’ and ‘facts’ that are observable.
So What: Why is it important? What are the implications? Focus on relevance to you, the team and the situation at hand. Why should this matter to you specifically?
Now What: What are the next steps? What actions will you take moving forward? Here is where you get down to business and get organized.
Why it works: This tool encourages explicit and shared reflection, helping participants see beyond immediate events to uncover underlying lessons. The structured approach supports clarity and helps ensure that the insights gained lead to concrete, forward-thinking actions.
Here’s What/ So What/ Now What on a flip-over chart. ©Carola Verschoor 📰 Cover Story
What it's for: The Cover Story is a creative tool that helps individuals or groups imagine a future reality, and then backtrack to identify the steps that would lead to that reality. It is often used in workshops to develop vision and strategy.
How to use it: Participants are tasked with creating a cover story for a publication, such as a magazine or newspaper, about a future success. They imagine what that success looks like and describe it as if it has already happened. The group then works backward to uncover the milestones or actions that would make that future possible. Things to include on the cover story are: a catchy headline, an image, big headlines, sidebars, ideas of why it unfolded how it did, quotes and images.
Why it works: By engaging the imagination, this tool helps break out of conventional thinking and engages a forward-thinking mindset. It turns abstract ideas into tangible, actionable steps, and allows participants to envision a clear future together.
Cover Story template. ©Gamestorming
💯 1-2-4-All
What it's for: The 1-2-4-All method is designed to help groups generate ideas and find solutions in a collaborative, inclusive way. It’s used to engage everyone in the group and ensure that all voices are heard.
How to use it: The process follows a sequence: 1 (reflect alone), 2 (discuss in pairs), 4 (share and expand in small groups of four), and All (come together as a larger group to share the ideas). This flow allows individuals to first reflect on their own, then build on others’ ideas as they expand into larger groups.
Why it works: This tool promotes inclusion and ensures that diverse perspectives are considered. By starting with individual thought and gradually expanding the group size, it increases creativity, fosters collaboration, and produces a collective intelligence that can lead to innovative solutions.
The many paths to transforming our world begin with the power of collaboration, shared creativity, and compassionate acknowledgment of our uncertainties and all which we don’t understand yet. By coming together as a group, sparking each other's imagination, and embracing the not knowing, we unlock the potential to co-create a kinder, more prosperous future. I encourage you to try these creative tools in your meetings and workshops—they are not only fun and engaging but also lead to richer, more innovative outcomes. Together, through playful exploration and collective effort, we can shape the transformation we wish to see towards a better, kinder and more prosperous world for all.
