I’ve been reflecting on all that’s been said this Mental Health Day and how much our lives have changed since the pandemic began. Comments from, for example, Beyond Blue CEO Georgie Harman who, in a LinkedIn post, wrote the past few years have ‘underscored the importance of human connection’.

Here are my five top reasons for reconnecting with your imagination:

Imagining and reconnecting with our ‘inner child’ can have huge benefits, even for business. McKinsey & Company recently pointed out that children have invented some of our most well known products like the trampoline, popsicles and earmuffs.

The latest research demonstrates that imagination has a positive impact on both business outcomes and wellbeing.

The Kantar Insight 2030 report found:

• 72 per cent of companies primarily focused on imagination over-perform compared to their rivals

What are your biggest challenges?

Perhaps, you’re pondering whether your business is still relevant? Are the disruptors at your doorstep? Can you maintain connections while we, once again, increase remote work? Or is something else challenging you?

If imagination and creativity are essential skills for the 21st century, what steps can you take to grow those skills.

Did you know ‘imagination skills’ are increasingly recommended as criteria for recruitment and promotion purposes? And yet, how often have you been told you were 'wasting time' when you gazed out a window to go on a mind adventure?

When our imaginings meet, when our ideas converge and sometimes, collide, I believe there are no limits. We see that often in a crisis, that change happens. In fact, the idea of imagining our way out of a crisis, like this pandemic, is not new.

I was so pleased with the latest testimonial I received for Imagination Session®. “Dawn led us through the most delightful few hours of imagining; she has a unique process and our group was able to work together to find hilarity and truth as well as some truly contemplative moments.”

My heart goes out to all those suffering in the NSW floods. Especially those whose homes have been inundated multiple times.

We’ve seen it all before, too often.

How do we solve problems that just won’t go away?

What comes first; imagination, creativity or innovation? And how critical is imagination to advance humankind?

How often do businesses include teams that rarely, if ever, meet? They work in silos that focus on particular tasks and require a defined skill set. That can be very effective for goal-driven activities but what if you want your teams to collaborate, share ideas, imagine other possibilities?

Why awaken your imagination?

Because 97 per cent of companies identified imagination as critically important for businesses in a recent BCG Henderson Institute report.

A colleague at work, in business or in your personal life, shares an idea born from their imagination. How will you respond? I suggest you choose ‘imaginative listening’ to allow space for their idea to grow.

Imagination changed my world; it gave me an idea that crossed over from a thought, a rough gem, into reality to become a business. Today, Imagination Session® runs team-building workshops with a focus on collective imagination to promote creativity and innovation.

How can you create a culture that encourages imagination?