4 Steps to Building a Culture of Foresight With the Board of Directors — Message From I.C.E. Board Chair

In my first chair’s message this year, I talked about my interest in strategic foresight and why I think it presents an opportunity for credentialing bodies to chart their own paths to their preferred future. For this reason, I assert that strategic foresight is the most important leadership competency for leaders and boards of directors.

In this message, I’d like to build upon my last message and explore some practical activities you can employ to bring strategic foresight into your organization to build a culture of foresight for your organization.

1. Build Your Curiosity

Foresight is grounded in monitoring for signals of change, which foresight professionals refer to as external scanning. Signals of change are emerging ideas — sometimes radical ones — that emerge in blogs, videos, podcasts or other news sources not typically in the mainstream news. Foresight practitioners refer to these sources as “fringe.”

Early change often appears in the fringes of our world. Building your curiosity about what’s happening in the world and then letting your mind wander as you consider what the implications of how those emerging trends or issues might impact your industry. Being curious is one of the most important foresight skills you can develop, and it does not take any formal training. Allow time for your mind to wander, perhaps by scheduling some time for deep thought in your busy schedule.

Our current pace of work and life is a detractor from being able to be truly curious and to thinking deeply about emerging issues or pain points you may be experiencing in your organization.

2. Listen, Listen, Listen

In much the same way you can, and should, be scanning the literature, listen to the audiences you serve. Ask them deliberate questions and then listen to their responses. What is keeping them up at night? What is the most pressing issue they face? The most important lesson in this activity is to listen to understand, not to respond. What is new information that you’re learning? Are you hearing the same thing from multiple sources, or is this the first time you’ve heard this?

If you are in-tune to what your key audiences and collaborators are saying, you gain a wealth of information that you can then explore, reflect on and consider as you’re doing your external scanning. It is a tremendous source of information for credentialing boards.

Years ago, while working in my first professional association, we started hearing from several potential candidates that they didn’t meet the eligibility requirements of the credential. We heard it enough that it made us wonder if change wasn’t underway in the industry. Sure enough, when we conducted external scanning, we found that professional roles were changing, new roles were taking on tasks and responsibilities that had previously rested with one role, and it led to a completely new credential and several microcredentials to reflect the changing practice. This didn’t emerge in our job task analysis, but rather by listening to customers and potential certificants.

3. Conduct Structured External Scanning

When conducting your external scanning, think broadly. There are several drivers of change in the world. The most common drivers are social, technological, environmental, economic and political. These are most often referred to as STEEP drivers. There are a few other versions that include other factors as well, like PESTLE (political, environmental, social, technological, legal and economic) or STEEP-V, which adds values to the other STEEP drivers.

There may be reasons you might want to use one over the other, but there isn’t a best one for external scanning. Consider which drivers have particular impact on your association and use that acronym.

When you’re conducting your external scanning, look at what change is emerging in each of these areas to understand global changes. Then, think about how those macro-level changes will impact your organization, and be sure to consider several levels: Will it impact your credentials or programs, your revenue sources or expenses, your ability to hire the best talent, or the legal or political risk of your operations? Think deeply and be sure to consider the worst case scenario as well as the ideal scenario. This will help you identify the actions and strategies you need to take to mitigate the likelihood of the worst case scenario while identifying the actions or strategies you must take today to increase the chance of achieving the best case scenario.

4. Build Foresight Into BOD Meetings

While I believe a significant amount of this work will fall to the CEO and staff — as your board is also holding down a full-time job and managing other responsibilities — it’s imperative that you bring these discussions to the board and encourage them to participate and provide industry insights that you and your staff may not have. Build your board agendas to include time for foresight discussions and ensure there is enough time for the discussion to build as potential scenarios emerge.

Bring articles, blogs or podcasts to your board and ask them to consider the implications for the organization. Recognize that this is going to be difficult for many of your board members, especially if you have a working board or a rather tactical board. Help them develop their skills in being curious and imaginative. There is an element of imagination or speculation in foresight, but it must remain grounded in the signals that are being identified.

Building a Culture of Foresight Takes Patience

As you apply these tips, remember, change doesn’t happen overnight. Be patient, dogged and relentless in your drive to build competency in foresight at the board level. It is hard, which is why most organizations avoid it, sometimes unconsciously. But while it’s hard, it’s worth it. Your future depends on it.