***Futuristic Leadership

FUTURISTIC LEADERSHIP A-Z: 26 keywords that distinguish truly futuristic leadersnfrom routine day-to-day non-leaders By Frank Feather There is a big difference between routine, run-of-the-mill leadership and futuristic, out-front leadership. Leadership is not a job title. Leaders routinely hold executive positions, but routine leaders rarely renew their organizations to attain fresh success in an ever-changing world. Routine leaders tend to manage the status quo, and thus fall behind what the ever-changing operating environment demands. By contrast, futuristic leaders stay well ahead of the trends and simply make the future happen. Futuristic leaders literally “see” the future. Then they enable others to see it, motivate them to venture there, lead them there, reward them when they get there, and celebrate their collective success. They are true leaders who understand the A-Z of winning the future, described fully in my book Futuristic Leadership A-Z, which may be summarized as follows: Futuristic leaders ACHIEVE results because they truly BELIEVE a different future is possible. They CHANGE their own and their organization’s behavior, habits, and culture, in order to obtain their collective DREAM. Futuristic leaders fully EXPECT to reach their goal — and also fully “expect the unexpected” along the way — because they unswervingly FOCUS on that goal. Aware that reaching the future requires that they and their organizations GROW — both mentally and spiritually — futuristic leaders HEAR things: they listen intently for clues and pieces of vital information that will guide them in that growth. Futuristic leaders vividly IMAGINE what the future will be like, what needs to change to get there, and how the charted course might need to vary along the route. They JUSTIFY their mission, not only based on profitable returns, but in the proper ethics and values that will bring it to fruition. Futuristic leaders KNOW both what they know and what they don’t know, and what more they and their teams will still need to know in the future. They constantly LEARN, day by day, decision by decision, as they move forward. Futuristic leaders MOTIVATE themselves, and inspire those around them to do the same, to adventurously NAVIGATE previously uncharted territory. They ORGANIZE and optimize every available capacity and resource to help them PERSEVERE until every part of the mission is accomplished. Futuristic leaders always QUESTION their advisors, their information, and themselves. Then they can best RESPOND to challenges and opportunities in ways that STRATEGIZE the most responsible and best possible future outcomes. Futuristic leaders TEACH everything they know to the highest-qualified teams of individuals. They UPLIFT them to VISUALIZE and drive towards their collective future. As well, in today’s “webolutionary” Internet Age, futuristic leaders encourage their teams to literally WEBIFY their organizations into value-creating networks, or “biznets.” Futuristic leaders also XEROGRAPH themselves: they “clone” or duplicate their own abilities and processes in others, to ensure ongoing growth and continuity through yet another generation of futuristic leaders. Finally, futuristic leaders repeatedly YIELD consistent and spectacular results, and ZOOM their organizations speedily to ever-succeeding peaks of success. There are obvious interconnections between these 26 verbs. Futuristic leadership is a dynamic A-Z synergy of seeing the whole future — and then making it happen in the most expeditious and responsible way. These verbs are fully explained in the book "Futuristic Leadership A-Z", with exemplars and motivational quotes for each keyword verb. The entire A-Z series of leadership keywords can be addressed in interactive Leadership Seminars and/or dynamic Keynote Speeches, tailored as needed to meet any organization's needs. For further info, please write to: FFeather@Gmail.com