Wanted: The Competence of Leading From the Future by Heinz Kaegi

What if you could travel to the future to see how your organization is doing? How happy would you be with what your leadership has accomplished?

As a business leader, it is critical to be future-focused when implementing your leadership style and systems. You need to be a visionary leader to transform your organization from where it is to where you want it to be.

You will need to employ these aspects in your leadership to be competent to lead from the future:

  • Mission
  • Foresight
  • Clarity
  • Mindfulness 

Mission

One of the critical aspects of leading from the future is the ability to recognize your personal mission. Knowing the sets of values that define who you are and identifying your purpose in life will help you determine the kind of future you want. It will also act as a guiding force that leads the way for your actions. And this calls for self-awareness—understanding your strengths and weaknesses that will influence your purpose.

What aspects of the future do you want to create? Are your actions and daily routines aligned with what you want to achieve? This understanding will assist you to create a roadmap that guides you to accomplish your personal mission.

When you know yourself, you can make more sense of the organization’s mission and vision and create a coherent leadership model. In essence, your organization’s vision becomes part of your mission.  

Foresight

As a visionary leader, your goal for the organization should be to create sustainable value. You should be able to guide your team to utilize resources in a way that prepares a thriving environment for the future.

Foresight is vital for the organization’s success; hence, visionary leaders need to think ahead and be aware of possibilities for the company. Therefore, to lead from the future, you anticipate opportunities and risks ahead to take the necessary actions on time. You are guided by a framework that will help tackle challenges that might arise and take advantage of opportunities ahead.

Your management and team members also need to understand the mission and how the vision will create sustainable value for the company. Since they are the ones who will facilitate attaining the goals, you want to cultivate a coherent attitude in them so that everyone works toward the same purpose. 

Clarity

As a visionary leader, you need clarity on your leadership principles. You are able to articulate your vision and turn it into clear, actionable milestones. Through this roadmap, your team will be able to make sense of the strategy and the visionary direction you want to steer the organization. That way, they will find it easy to execute tasks because they can define them.

When everyone understands the end goal, you all become aligned with the mission and the vision, strengthening teamwork, which is critical to the present and future performance thus the success of the organization.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is also crucial for leaders competent to lead from the future. Being mindful sets the pace to develop a coherent mindset and positive thinking that believes that all is possible and can be achieved. Such understanding is more than useful in working towards a great future and making sense of changes and challenges.

Mindfulness gives you the energy to focus on three important aspects of life: thoughts, nutrition, and movement. How you think is crucial as it influences: the kind of nutrition you settle for and whether you choose to stay fit and keep your body healthy so that you can perform your best.

Being fully present gives you power over your thoughts, which will determine your actions and outcomes.    

When you are clear about your vision and make it your mission, it acts as the guide for the actions you take and the plans you implement. In essence, leading from the future is being guided by a vision to create a sustainable future.