Leading From the Future

A workshop for forward-thinking church leaders

Many church members intuitively sense that our world is changing and the cultural ground is shifting beneath them. They may experience apprehension about the future. In times like these, people look to their spiritual leaders for understanding, assurance, and direction. Church leaders who have cultivated their sensitivities to changing external conditions and emerging issues are better prepared to provide guidance that garners the respect and confidence of their people.

Goals of the workshop:

• Provide understanding and practical application of strategic foresight
• Equip participants with tools for visioning and strategic planning
• Help the faith community be better positioned for the future by aligning today's financial strategies and funding priorities with tomorrow's opportunities
• Inspire a bolder, more creative vision with a mindset to thrive, not just survive

What is strategic foresight?

Strategic foresight is the ability to anticipate whatcould happen before it happens and then identifying the arising opportunities for innovation.

Foresight as a leadership ability aligns with the scriptural concept of wisdom. For example, Solomon observed, “A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.” (Proverbs 22:3, NLT). Also, high commendation is given to leaders of the tribe of Issachar who "understood the temper of the times and knew the best course...to take” (1 Chronicles 12:32, NLT). From the pages of the New Testament we are urged to live “as those who are wise [making] the most of every opportunity" (Ephesians 5: 15-16). The ultimate benefit of developing foresight skills is to add perspective and gain insight for better decision-making in the present.

The objectives are to:

• Avoid potholes
• Develop alertness to emerging opportunities
• Shape the future

What does it mean to lead from the future?

Leading from the future is a multidimensional approach that views the past, present, and possible futures as interlocking systems. Anticipatory leadership looks back through hindsight, looks ahead through foresight and leverages both perspectives to gain insight for current decisions. The objective is to enable leaders to shift their mental model from seeing the future as more of the same to developing awareness of their external environment and alertness to trends and emerging issues. In today’s volatile world where change is constant, leaders have a moral obligation to keep an eye on developing patterns out on the horizon that could have an impact on the people and organization they serve.

Workshop Road Map

The Leading From the Future workshop is based on the simple concept of looking back, looking forward and from these perspectives, discovering insights for the present. The workshop provides understanding and tools to generate hindsight, foresight, and insight.

Hindsight – interpretation of the past

It is often easier to look forward by first looking back. Leaders are usually more effective in planning forward if they look backward an equivalent number of years.

By tracking the highs and lows of the church’s history, you will identify a pattern of organizational strengths and weaknesses that will be useful in evaluating the likelihood of success when selecting future opportunities.

Foresight – anticipation of the future

To be prepared for the future we must think about the future. In addition, we must develop new patterns of thinking.

The future will not look like the past. We are entering an era of transformation on multiple fronts. What makes this truly a mega-event is the intricate inter-connectedness of these changes. Changes in one area have a domino effect on other areas, which continue a rapidly escalating cycle of change. Church leaders need to remember that their domain is not isolated or immune to the effects of disruptive external change.

Insight – skilled synthesis of hindsight and foresight

Insight is often found at the crossroads of hindsight and foresight. When leaders review their organizational history and mentally position themselves ten or more years into the future, they gain new perspective on the present, enriching their strategic thinking capabilities and enabling them to lead from the future.

E3 Futurecasting Model

The Leading From the Future workshop has the added dimension of mapping hindsight / foresight / insight to a process framework known as the E3 Futurecasting Model. E3 Futurecasting provides a structure to help leaders move from conceptualization to implementation. Futurecasting is a three-step process that moves sequentially from Explore to Envision to Engage.

The Explore step considers the church’s past, then its present, and then its possible futures.

The Envision step utilizes outputs from the Explore step to design a preferable future and a strategy to support it.

The Engage step develops and implements action plans to translate the strategy into a realized dream.

Summary

Workshop participants receive both training and tools to lead their team in developing hindsight, foresight, and insight that will enhance their ability to imagine and create a compelling preferable future.