As cycles of disruption to the economy, the environment as well as technological and political spheres are increasingly intense and rapid, developing those competences which will help us thrive in such a set of present and future circumstances has become particularly necessary.
The uncertainty of the future and the high chance that it will be increasingly volatile means that we need to prepare our students and ourselves for it. How? Rather than conceptualising this as the development of a mindset (“set” connotes something static) or a set of skills to develop (skills are technical aptitudes, tied to certain contexts, and they may or may not be transferable) and rather than talking about future readiness, which treats the future somewhat like an event (readiness carries the idea of being prepared for something discrete and contoured, like being ready for an announcement or a meeting), the construct should be one of future fitness.
When you are fit you’ve built up a state of stamina and resilience allowing you to thrive in an environment, not just an event, you are also in a physical and mental dimension of being that allows you to endure considerable stress while riding above it all in a type of flow, like a middle distance runner smiling as she or he crosses the finish line, a basketball player making the shot despite being in a state of exhaustion or a dancer who can concentrate on perfecting moves despite the huge stress bearing down on their body.
Future fit people have trained themselves to surf on the wave of uncertainty, to flourish in the gale of complexity, to find creative solutions in storms of volatility and to see through the clouds of ambiguity into the clarity of decision making and action. Future fitness is an ongoing way of being, allowing us to see the future not just tomorrow, but today – and to do so with confidence.
This is why we have to embed more creative and challenging scenarios in our assessments, create cultures where we orchestrate innovation and are not afraid to take risks. Disciplines such as the arts and sports do this, especially when taken seriously (but still joyously!) and this is why they must be recognised by the school’s formal assessment for the intrapersonal qualities they evoke. It is the broadening of assessment that will allow this.
A future fit person is constantly ideating, predicting and projecting what will come next, focussed on the unknown and constantly re-evaluating whatever might be known in the unknown, ready to jump into that void to find out what’s there. Courses in entrepreneurship and systems thinking can do this, which is why we are developing one in our new strategic plan.
One of my mentors and a person I was lucky enough to learn under is the coach Robert Dilts, whose background is in neurolinguistic programming. He was the first person I’ve heard use the term, but since then, I’ve adopted it and see it as a vital construct to reckon with as we consider the ultimate purpose of leadership and education, which is preparing for what comes next.
What future fitness are you developing in your life?