How it all began + our founding principles
Regenerators is a collaborative-based collective with a bold mission of growing a superorganism of Regenerators – people, projects and partner initiatives that catalyse the shift towards life-affirming regenerative futures. Working like life for life – practicing what we teach in terms of building thriving eco-systems that work with life-affirming principles, dynamics and values, such as:
1) Celebrating diversity
2) Unlocking creativity and brilliance
3) Enabling self-organisation
4) Sensing synchronicities
5) Cultivating self-awareness and systemic-awareness
6) Being courageous and compassionate
7) Daring to continuously journey towards wholeness
8) Contributing to the evolutionary potential of life with Purpose and Intent
9) Catalysing the necessary shift in consciousness now required of us as leaders, change agents, organisations and systems
10) Constantly sense into what is required of us and where the most impactful opportunities arise
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
Regenerators began as a vision in Laura’s head that had been under way for a long time while spending years in silence and nature recovering from a minor traumatic brain injury (for reference see Laura’s TEDx on the recovery here . Having spent her life building organizations and global initiatives on sustainability (Copenhagen Climate Council and Sustainia included) it became clear to her that her life mission of helping societies and companies transition towards sustainability would never succeed without a stronger connection to and understanding of our nature within and all around us. Our life, leadership, product and service design, and societal systems ought to be based on living systems principles of life if, over the decades ahead, we are to succeed redesigning systems, leadership and culture to a anew regenerative paradigm.
The essence, mission and collaborative values of Regenerators kept coming to her in her mediations, dreams and reflections in nature. She was eager to know all about nature’s intelligence applied to design, leadership, innovation and culture which is so much more than the field of sustainability. In that process, she couldn’t help but come across the pioneering thought leader on nature-inspired leadership Giles Hutchins. Giles had spent decades in business, formerly as a management consultant and Practice Head with KPMG, more recently as Global Head of Sustainability with the multi-national Atos Origin, while also co-founding the collaborative Biomimicry for Creative Innovation back in 2010. He left the corporate world to pursue his deep love for nature-inspired leadership. Writing 3 books on the topic, hosting a multitude of nature-immersions for leaders, an executive coach and senior adviser to a diverse array of CXOs, Chairman, Founders, entrepreneurs and pioneering organisations, business schools and global think-tanks, he has been deepening the domain of Regenerative Future-Fit Leadership and Organisational Development for many years now and is Chair of the Future Fit Leadership Academy.
So after meeting serendipitously in July 2017 at a workshop where they both were advisors on a new project transforming pilgrim cities to sustainability Laura reached out to Giles to do the first interview for her podcast “Cracks of light – leadership for a new thriving paradigm”. An episode on bringing heart, soul and nature into business. The podcast episode was a great success and Laura and Giles both felt they had found a soul-companion on a shared journey - kindred spirits. They decided to do a nature-immersion together in Sweden for leaders and then Laura knew it was the perfect time to launch the organization as the host-entity for the retreat. Things unfolded quickly, and the energy was electric. It was a perfect example of flow, emergence and synchronicity in action – both feeling they could do so much more together than alone. So they decided to work closely together on birthing Regenerators into the world and holding-space for all that shall emerge under its nurturing umbrella, values and vibrancy.
HOW THE ENTITY IS STRUCTURED
Regenerators is an organization without hierarchy, which is inclusive, agile and ever-evolving. It is a super-organism and umbrella eco-system with a clear vision and value-set that is nurturing a growing community of members, and fertilising sub-entities and spin-offs – just like nature. All members in the Collective can grow new Regenerator projects and sub-entities based on simple rules and values where part of the value-creation feeds into seeding new projects and disseminating the mission.
It’s not about a certain position in a hierarchy but about bringing the right people together to create magic and impact.
Laura is the main entity-space-holder and facilitator of the Collective and Giles an Advisor and cross-pollinator. Both Laura and Giles desire a collaborative and emergent organization that embodies the new regenerative way. A Collective that works with a diverse yet aligned group of well-respected domain specialists, niche partner organisations and a vibrant community of members.
HOLDING SPACE AS THE PARADIGM UNFOLDS
Laura and Giles hold-space for each other - and for all contributing experts, practitioners, partners and members of the Collective - to up-stretch into the frequency of life.
Afterall, these transformational times demand that we not just seek life-affirming futures but begin to embody these practices and principles in our everyday undertakings and collaborations today. This is a journey, not a destination. It’s a journey with twists and turns, eddies and undercurrents, rapids and reflections – and the Regenerators Collective endeavours to hold-space for this regenerative way of being-and-doing while designing and applying practical activities and projects to make this life-affirming future reality.
Welcome to the Collective.
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If you are interested in exploring specific activities, projects and/or partnerships with us contact us get in touch here hello@regenerators.co
