Do you love setting long-term goals—or do you just want to survive the week? In this insightful and refreshingly real conversation, Gallup-certified coach and educator Kay Markovic joins Sarah and Bill to unpack the Futuristic strength and how it plays out in the classroom, at home, and in everyday decision-making.

If you’ve ever struggled with staying present while planning for the future—or you live so in-the-moment you forget to vision cast—this episode is for you. Through laughter, coaching insight, and lived experience, Kay offers a candid look at how her futuristic mindset has helped shape young leaders, inspired curriculum innovation, and sometimes run faster than others can follow. You’ll walk away understanding your own time orientation better—and how to work better with those who don’t share it.

Takeaways

1. Futuristic thinkers often bring vision and momentum—but without self-awareness, they can unintentionally overwhelm others.
2. Living in the present doesn’t mean lacking ambition; it often means grounding vision in what’s real and actionable today.
3. CliftonStrengths can transform classrooms by helping students and teachers understand how they naturally learn and lead.
4. Ideation paired with Futuristic can generate endless ideas—but without a container, it risks burnout or chaos.
5. Group energy, connection, and facilitating change often activate Kay’s most fulfilling moments.
6. Personal growth sometimes requires slowing down, stepping back, and learning how your strengths impact others.
7. Understanding your time orientation—whether future-focused or present-centered—improves collaboration, communication, and compassion.

Sound Bites

1. “My brain moves faster than my mouth—and that’s how I know I’m deep in my Futuristic.”
2. “I used to teach like a squirrel on espresso… now I use Scrum to slow my pace for the students.”
3. “Ideation is like popcorn in my brain—once it starts, I can’t stop the popping.”
4. “You don’t need to daydream about everything—sometimes, you just need to do the thing.”
5. “Connectedness is my personal guidance system—it’s the one strength I’d never give up.”
6. “Futuristic is a gift—but without regulation, it can bulldoze people in the present.”
7. “My students would say, ‘Wait, do you actually want us to finish this?’ And I’d say, ‘Yes, yesterday.’”
8. “The future pulls me, but the classroom grounds me.”
9. “Being a visionary leader is great—unless no one else knows where you’re going.”
10. “I was burning out because I lived in autopilot with my top strengths.”
11. “You can’t force people to take your advice just because you’re excited to help.”
12. “Present-moment people keep me anchored—they ask, ‘What do we need right now?’”
13. “I realized I was living a curriculum built for 1995, not 2025.”
14. “When the student is ready, the teacher appears… even if the teacher has a million ideas.”
15. “My futuristic wants to plan my daughter’s entire college career… she just wants a backpack.”

Bill's Top 10 CliftonStrengths 

1) Individualization

2) Developer

3) Activator

4) Woo

5) Restorative

6) Empathy

7) Harmony

8) Connectedness

9) Relator

10) Learner

Sarah's Top 10 CliftonStrengths 

1) Positivity

2) Woo

3) Communication

4) Harmony

5) Activator

6) Developer

7) Input

8) Individualization

9) Responsibility

10) Arranger 

Official Strengths On Fire Website:  https://strengthsonfire.transistor.fm

GET MORE FROM BILL AND SARAH:
Bill's info:
https://billdippel.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamdippel/
https://www.instagram.com/billdippelcoach/

Sarah's info:
https://www.wearecollinsco.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahcoachcollins/
https://www.instagram.com/sarahcoachcollins/