I’ve started to use a new term with my clients when they need help zooming out and getting perspective in their changemaking: The Imaginal Cell Effect.
If you haven’t come across them before, imaginal cells are the extraordinary biological agents behind a caterpillar’s transformation into a butterfly. When a caterpillar enters its chrysalis, its body dissolves into a kind of organic soup. Out of this dissolution, imaginal cells awaken. Dormant during the caterpillar’s life, these cells carry the genetic blueprint for the butterfly’s form, its wings, legs, antennae, and eyes.
At first they appear in isolation, and they’re even attacked by the caterpillar’s immune system as if they were foreign bodies. But the imaginal cells persist. They multiply, cluster together, and begin working together, exchanging information and forming a new order. Eventually, they overcome resistance and build the structures of a completely new creature.
The courageous and creative people I work with are the imaginal cells within the systems they’re trying to change. They carry a bold vision for a better future, but they meet all sorts of resistance whilst trying to build it. If they can hold their vision for change, and partner with others doing the same, they can catalyse systems-level transformation. It’s a great metaphor for their work.
I use The Imaginal Cell Effect to help my clients re-frame their perception of resistance, loneliness or setbacks as signs of failure, supporting them to see their experience as part of the natural process of transformation instead.
So how do you know if you’re experiencing The Imaginal Cell Effect yourself? Let’s see how far I can push this metaphor!
Here are 10 signs to look for:
You feel out of place. Just as imaginal cells first appear as strange and foreign inside the caterpillar, your presence and perspective can feel like they don’t belong where you are. Your ideas or values don’t quite “fit in”. You’re feeling a bit tired being the only one, or one of a few, banging the drum for change.
Example: you’re in a workplace that celebrates short-term gains while you keep asking about long-term impact.You’re facing resistance. In the chrysalis, the caterpillar’s immune system literally attacks imaginal cells, trying to wipe them out before they can cluster; resistance is part of the process. People dismiss, criticise, or push back against you’re contributions. Sometimes this work just feels too heavy, one step forward, two steps back.
Example: they talk a good game, but your colleagues keep delaying the meeting you’re trying to convene to push the change agenda forward.You hold a vision others can’t yet see: Imaginal cells carry the blueprint of the butterfly, long before it exists. In the same way, you may sense forms of justice, community, or creativity that others can’t imagine yet. You sense something better is possible and this gets you excited, but it seems like no-one else gets it, or even cares.
Example: you share a brilliant idea to push the ambition of the change you’re leading, but no one else chimes in to support you. It’s as if you’re speaking a foreign language.You keep showing up anyway: Despite being resisted or attacked, imaginal cells keep reappearing, multiplying, and holding their blueprint. Persistence is what allows transformation to take root. Even when it’s lonely or hard, you feel compelled to keep going. You feel a little mad for doing so, but something within you keeps the faith.
Example: you’ve had a major setback in your changemaking, but you know the change arc you’re contributing to is long, and so you find a way to re-engage and persist.You’re connecting with others like you: As imaginal cells begin to cluster and communicate, they become stronger together. When you find people with shared vision, you move from isolation to collective strength. Your work and ideas are resonating with other people and connections are building organically.
Example: you go out on a limb and attend an event on your own in a space you’ve not explored before. You find new peers asking similar questions, and you realise you’re not alone.Your energy fluctuates: Imaginal cells don’t grow in a straight line. They face attack, destruction, and regrouping before stabilising. Fluctuations are part of the emergence of something resilient. When you’re doing transformative work, your energy doesn’t flow smoothly. You can feel depleted or discouraged one moment, and then lit up with vision and clarity the next. You have moments of doubt and depletion alongside flashes of clarity and power. It’s a ride.
Example: you spend one week wondering if you should quit altogether, and the next feeling more inspired than ever.
You feel misunderstood and underestimated: At first, the caterpillar’s body treats imaginal cells as intruders. Being misunderstood is a natural stage before the system recognises what you’re really bringing. You might be labelled as naïve, unrealistic, idealistic or disruptive.
Example: Civil rights leaders, suffragettes, and climate campaigners have all carried this label at some point.You sense a deeper/bigger pattern: As imaginal cells begin to resonate with one another, they start working as a coordinated network, guided by a hidden pattern. Your work can feel part of a larger unfolding too. What you’re doing feels part of something much larger than you and your context.
Example: You notice your work echoes movements in other fields or parts of the world, giving you a sense of belonging to a wider shift.You’re re-shaping yourself: Imaginal cells don’t just create wings and legs, they completely reconfigure the body. Transformation is as much about rewiring your inner world as shifting the outer system you’re operating within. Inner growth and outer change feel inseparable.
Example: Your activism teaches you patience, compassion, or courage. You’re evolving alongside/within the system you’re trying to change.You’re seeing transformation in real time: Eventually, the imaginal cell clusters override the old order and the butterfly begins to form. Those first glimpses of systemic change are signs of the new creature being born. You’re making progress and seeing shifts that prove the old system isn’t fixed, something new is emerging.
Example: A new law passes, a community pilot takes off, or a cultural conversation begins to shift.
Of course, there are limits to this metaphor, and to my anthropomorphising! In real life, resistance isn’t just something to push through; it can be a valuable teacher. When people question or challenge you, get curious. It might also be a signal to pause, get feedback, and iterate. Still, I hope The Imaginal Cell Effect speaks to some of your experience and offers a useful reframe.
If you recognise yourself in these signs, take heart. Transformation rarely feels easy from inside the chrysalis. But it’s often those who feel most out of place in the old system who are carrying the seeds of the new.
Take good care, and keep going!
Gen
👉 Which of these signs resonates most with you these days? I’d love to hear. Leave a comment to share your experience.
Hello! If we don’t yet know each other, I’d love to connect. You can find me here on LinkedIn, and learn more about my coaching for people leading systemic change or book a free introduction call here.