We notice a rise in shapeshifting roles and practices, which seem to correlate with major shifts in how work is organised and valued:

• the growth of fractional and portfolio careers
• the increasing complexity of organisational challenges
• the accelerating impact of digital technologies and AI
• the pressures of the polycrisis, from environmental to societal challenges.

In short, as systems become more interconnected and less stable, more work happens between formal structures, and more people are asked to hold those in-between spaces.