Envisioning the future of our organizations, ourselves, our world is fundamentally an act of imagination. But we often lead as though the future were instead a knowable, predictable thing to be realized according to 5-year strategic plans and reliable growth forecasts. The future we plan for is rarely the one we wind up with, and our narrow view of "the future" relies on an illusion of certainty that actually leaves us more vulnerable to the unimagined.
A growing body of research suggests that embracing uncertainty to explore a wider range of possible futures is a highly beneficial, adaptive, and learnable practice for individuals and organizations. Building on that research and a set of practices from strategic foresight and game design, this session will help you break out of the typically unproductive set of responses most leaders have to rising uncertainty (avoidance, paralysis, desire to control, etc.) to adopt a new generative approach. The emphases of the highly interactive workshop will be on storytelling, questioning & play and how these natural human tools can help us tap into increased mental agility and resilience, new creative powers, and a more future-robust model of leadership in complex environments.