Most leadership development still clings to certainty, quarterly goals, strategic plans, official futures etched in stone. But what if that mindset isn’t just outdated, it’s dangerous? In this episode, Dani Johnson and Stacia Garr sit down with futurists and experience designers Lisa Kay Solomon and Jeff Rogers, two minds helping rewire how leaders think about the future, not as a distant unknown, but as a daily design challenge. What unfolds is a conversation that’s as practical as it is provocative, revealing how our obsession with predictability might be blinding us to the signals we most need to see.

For learning leaders, especially those in HR and people analytics, this episode offers a wake-up call. Future thinking isn’t a luxury or a moonshot exercise. It’s a leadership muscle, and the longer it goes untrained, the more fragile our organizations become. Lisa and Jeff unpack what it really means to design for the future, not just in abstract vision decks, but in how we design meetings, questions, experiences, and even relationships. Their approach is grounded in curiosity, humility, and a radical shift from answers to inquiry.

By the end, listeners don’t just understand why futures thinking matters, they feel invited to do something about it. The conversation offers not just hope, but tools: from rethinking design as a vehicle for emergence, to spotting and disrupting “official futures” inside their own organizations. Whether you’re planning your next L&D initiative or shaping strategy for a shifting workforce, this episode shows you how to lead with intention, not from the past, but toward what’s possible.

 You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...

• (00:00) The overlooked leadership skill hiding in plain sight.
• (03:30) Meet the minds behind Elevate: Futurists with a purpose.
• (09:00) From theory to traction: Making futures thinking useful now.
• (15:00) Design that disrupts: How to spark new thinking in any room.
• (22:00) The silent trap: How a single “official future” keeps orgs stuck.
• (30:40) Elevate’s true mission: Courage, connection, and change for learning leaders.

Resources & People Mentioned

• https://lisakaysolomon.com
• https://rdcl.is/

Connect with Lisa & Jeff

• Connect with Jeffrey Rogers on LinkedIn
• Connect with Lisa Kay Solomon on LinkedIn

Connect With Red Thread Research

• Website: Red Thread Research
• On LinkedIn
• On Facebook
• On Twitter

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