Leadership is exercised collectively by many people acting in concert across the organization.

Leadership is clear ownership and active leadership to implement and institutionalize foresight capability. Within an organization there are five possible levels of maturity for leadership:

• Ad hoc: Foresight activities are rarely held, change tends to come as a surprise, and very limited information is distributed or has impact on operational activities.
• Aware: Foresight is an annual event with plans trickling through the organization unevenly and only communicated to key people and senior management. Organization is effective at “fire-fighting” for unexpected changes.
• Capable: Foresight activities are documented and are an integral part of strategic planning and key decision making. Individuals in the organization are aware of change and align their work to respond in a timely and appropriate manner.
• Mature: Foresight activities are effectively and consistently executed to deliver the plan for the future, allowing the organization to respond successfully and often innovatively to changes.
• World-class: The organization is able to influence its future by recognizing potential changes and acting to drive them in a beneficial direction. The organization itself changes to creatively adjust to external events.

How is your organization developing a breadth of foresight leadership?

Next discipline: Framing.