Musings on the Emerging Future
Are we ready? Are we fearful? Are we in it together?
The ability to shift from reacting against the past to leaning into and presencing an emerging future is probably the single most important leadership capacity today.
I found this quote from Otto Scharmer, senior lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management and co-founder of the Presencing Institute on Korn Ferry. I’ve had the page open on my computer since mid-summer and every time I go to close it, I’m like “hold on a sec, what did he say?”.
At about the same time that I read this on Korn Ferry, I heard the futurist Amy Webb talking with Brené Brown on What’s Coming (and What’s Here) where she said,
The work is not to be prepared for everything, it is to be prepared for anything.
Is that catchy or what? I know I want the t-shirt. You can read my thoughts on this discussion between her and Brené Brown here.
Are we ready?
Before reading any further, I invite you to ask yourself “am I ready for an uncertain future?”. If yes, ask “how am I ready?” and if no, ask “why not?”
Anything surprise you? Concern you? Satisfy you? Excite you?
I recently asked a handful of leaders these same questions. Below is a re-cap of their responses.
The not really ready:
It is out of my control as it all depends on government funding (executive director of a mid-size provincial non-profit)
Yes, we have a great strategic plan that outlines what we will be delivering over the upcoming years (senior executive of a large Canadian urban public library)
I haven’t really thought about this, nothing much as changed in the 15 plus years that I’ve been doing this work (executive director of a provincial public sector housing agency)
No, and I know we need to do more in this area but our sector is still playing catch-up from the pandemic (CEO of a large Canadian urban public library)
No, I just need to keep my eye on the ball and get the work done that our funders and customers expect (CEO of a mid-size Canadian public library)
The working on being ready:
Yes, along with climate resilience and urban planning being a big part of our work, we have regular future-ready meetings and scenario planning exercises (CEO of a real estate development firm)
Yes, we have had to think this way since the pandemic, its challenging but if we don’t do it we will be sunk (CEO of a mid-size national health sector not-for-profit)
Yes, we need to have supply chain and logistic options and we are looking at how training programs, both post-secondary and on the job, are responsive to our sector’s needs for changing and up-skilling our trades people. We are very aware of the skills and acumen that are needed in our business leaders, not just for today but for 5, 10, and 20 years out. Our awareness now about the uncertainty of the future is key to our value proposition to our members. (executive director of a large national not-for-profit in the construction and engineering industry)
If, along with your own response, this non-scientific and slightly skewed survey of leaders is to tell us anything, my guess would be that it is:
Some of us are not ready
Some of us think we are ready
Some of us are too anchored in past thinking to be ready
Some of us are taking action on being ready
It’s complicated
Are we fearful?
Maybe we are a little fearful. For some of us it may be because our personal resilience is low when it comes to change and uncertainty. No matter how good the change management consultant or the futurist key-note, we will lean towards what we know beyond it being past its sell-by date.
For others of us it is being fearful of the present, never mind the future. Our present work day is already a panic of too many meetings, deadlines, HR issues, expectations, budget shortfalls, and other demands on being productive and of value. If we feel like we are on the hamster wheel of leadership to just keeping things going, we aren’t very likely to take time out to ponder an uncertain future.
And it’s complicated. Organizational culture, funders, leadership succession and capacity, staff and facility costs, customer expectations and spending or user habits, geo-political context, and a myriad of other influences on our leadership decisions and organizational direction of today can throw a spanner into any intentions we may have about tomorrow.
Are we in it together?
I’m counting on it.
The future isn’t coming for any one sector, level of government, town, region, or nation. It is coming for all of us.
The work of courageous leaders is to lean into it and to be prepared for anything.
The better we know and manage ourselves, our strengths, our fears, our joys, and our sorrows; the better we cultivate compassion, curiosity, ease, and confidence; the better we sharpen our tools of collaboration, strategic and generative thinking, creativity, and seeking to understand; and the better we work together, the better we will greet the emerging and uncertain future.
If you want to reach out and muse with me on this, I’m here for it.
Babs
p.s. You can find out more about me and my work as a leadership coach at the Courageous Leaders Project.
Image from Unsplash, Getty Images
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