Certain Uncertainty

4Leading from the Future (Not the Past)

Terence Mauri

If leaders consider “the one thing they could do differently today to help their organization be future prepared,” where would they start? As leaders respond to remote and hybrid work models, humans and machines, workforce ecosystems, and talent marketplaces, embedding future‐focused leadership is the best way to say goodbye to the status quo, make trust leaps into the future and turn uncertainty into a tailwind for laser‐like focus and strategic courage.

Change used to happen as a breeze. Now it feels like a category‐5 typhoon. With economic headwinds and market dislocation an everyday reality, the best solution is to activate future‐focused leadership that empowers workers to turn foresight into insight and emerging trends into new pathways for growth, meaning, and value creation. Which is worse? (1) We saw the trends coming, or (2) We saw the trends coming and didn't act. One of the clearest signs of future‐focused leadership is reframing and rethinking your assumptions about what stays, what changes, and what goes. This matters because the complexity of issues is outstripping our human capacity to respond —leading to a high leadership tax (less time to focus on value creation, productivity, and growth) and record levels of overload, distraction, and risk of burnout.

Future‐focused leadership is defined as a way of leading and managing that inspires workers to challenge the status quo and unlearn the always‐done ways ...