People strong in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. They inspire others with their visions of the future.

You can tell a person strong in Futuristic by these attributes (source: Dr. Hulme, APU):

• Needs on a team: To have a vision
• As a Leader: Inspire others
• In Conflict: Focus on what could be
• Partner with:
• In academics: – loves to have a vision – probably will enjoy the advising relationship as they ask questions of “what if” and map out various strategies with the advisor – enjoy challenging classes and profs with a reputation for risk-taking – probably can tell the advisor where they want to be in 5 years, but may need help figuring out how to get there

Where does Futuristic Theme rank in the population?

• Overall, Futuristic ranks 16th, occurring in around 13% of the population’s Top Five (13% of Females and 16% of Males)

19	16	13	14

Out of your Top 5 CliftonStrengths, it’s statistically:

• most likely to appear with Strategic and Achiever
• least likely to be found with Consistency or Context

The genius of your Futuristic talent begins with your incredible ability to see the future. Your ability to envision the future provides an unusual and creative way of planning and problem solving. When confronted by a problem, you will envision where you are heading and then structure your problem solving so that each solution provides a stepping stone into the future. Likewise, all planning is done in light of the visions you have about the future. Of course your futuristic talent genius gives you a powerful basis for leadership. As Robert Greenleaf noted long ago, the great leader has a ready answer to the profound question: “What are you trying to do?” You know what you are trying to do because your futuristic talent gives you clear pictures of the future you want to build. Never forget that your visions of the future will excite the imagination of others and they will be inspired because of what your genius of Futuristic can help them see. Make your visions known to everyone because they give others hope and optimism.

At your best (Balcony):

• imaginative, creative, visionary, even prophetic, inspiring

At your worst (Basement):

• Basement: dreamer, “Fantasy Island,” out in left field, lacks pragmatism

Futuristic may be one of your signature themes if…

• You love to look ahead and think wistfully, “Wouldn’t it be great if …?”
• You are fascinated by the future and create detailed pictures to pull you forward.
• You find the notion of a better product, team, company, and life to be very inspirational.
• You are sometimes called “a dreamer,” other times a “visionary.”
• You become frustrated by people who seem overly pragmatic.
• You serve as a source of hope for others when you speak vividly.
  • Source: Let’s Talk Personality

A more detailed explanation from Gallup:

“Wouldn’t it be great if . . .” You are the kind of person who loves to peer over the horizon. The future fascinates you. As if it were projected on the wall, you see in detail what the future might hold, and this detailed picture keeps pulling you forward, into tomorrow. While the exact content of the picture will depend on your other strengths and interests — a better product, a better team, a better life, or a better world — it will always be inspirational to you. You are a dreamer who sees visions of what could be and who cherishes those visions. When the present proves too frustrating and the people around you too pragmatic, you conjure up your visions of the future and they energize you. They can energize others, too. In fact, very often people look to you to describe your visions of the future. They want a picture that can raise their sights and thereby their spirits. You can paint it for them. Practice. Choose your words carefully. Make the picture as vivid as possible. People will want to latch on to the hope you bring.

Action Items for This Theme

• Choose roles in which you can contribute your ideas about the future. For example, you might excel in entrepreneurial or start-up situations.
• Take time to think about the future. The more time you spend considering your ideas about the future, the more vivid your ideas will become. The more vivid your ideas, the more persuasive you will be.
• Seek audiences who appreciate your ideas for the future. They will expect you to make these ideas a reality, and these expectations will motivate you.
• Motivate your colleagues with things that can be done in the future. For example, include some Futuristic ideas in each of your group meetings, or write your vision for the future and share it with your colleagues.
• Find a friend or colleague who possesses this theme. Set aside an hour a month for “future” discussions. Together you can push each other to greater heights of creativity and vividness.

Be ready to:

• When you have an opportunity to describe the future in a speech, an article, or a presentation, use as much detail as possible, because not everyone can intuitively fill the gaps like you can.
• Partner with someone with a strong Activator theme. This person can remind you that you do not discover the future; you create it with the actions that you take today.
  • The Clifton StrengthsFinder and the 34 Clifton StrengthsFinder theme names are protected by copyright of Gallup Inc., 2000. All rights reserved.

For the more visually inclined:

A fantastic website with insightful discussion of Futuristic, including

• Building your brand through this strengths
• Strengthening your performance at work
• Tips for managing someone with this strengths
• Partnering with someone with this strength

 

Futuristic Power and Edge takes an interesting approach highlight not just what the strength is and how it shows up if you have it in your top five, but also how to navigate the world when this strengths is one of your lesser ones.

More ideas on going deeper:

• Gallup on How You Can Productively Aim Your Futuristic Talents
• Many universities use the StrengthsQuest Workbook to help you build relationships, more effectively study and find meaning in what you do.
• South Mountain Community College offers up ideas on Applying your Talents in Career Discovery and Applying your Talents in Academics
• Western Texas tells us about Using your Strengths In the Job Search, Interview and New Position
• Weber State University has posted action plan worksheets for each of Gallup’s 34 strengthsfinder talents.
  • Relator

From Lead Through Strengths listen/read:

Career Branding When Futuristic Is Your Strength includes an audio file exploring:

1. Career Branding
2. Red Flag Situations At Work
3. Fresh Application Ideas

 

 

THEME INSIGHTS:

• I am (Being) ———-> fascinated with tomorrow
• I will (Doing) ———-> anticipate and imagine what could or should be
• I Bring (Contribution) ———-> previews, predictions, forecasts
• I need (Requirement) ———-> opportunities to talk about the foreseen future
• I love (Value) —————> the inspiration that comes from dreaming
• I Hate (Value) —————> contentment with the status quo
• Metaphor/Image ———-> visionary
• Barrier Label ———-> head in the clouds

THEME CONTRAST:

• Futuristic: I’m so preoccupied with tomorrow that I’m not ready for today.
• Adaptability: I’m so occupied with today that I’m not ready for tomorrow.————————————————————————————————–
• Futuristic: I can see a better world.
• Strategic: I can see the route that will take us to a better world.

• Episode 1: Envisioning the Future of Technology – “Future Tense”
• Episode 2: Innovations Shaping Tomorrow – “Exponential Wisdom”
• Episode 3: Futurist Interviews: Visionaries of Tomorrow – “Singularity.FM”
• Episode 4: Forecasting Trends and Emerging Markets – “The McKinsey Podcast”
• Episode 5: Exploring Sci-Fi’s Influence on the Future – “Imaginary Worlds”
• Episode 6: Women Leaders Pioneering Future Trends – “The Confident Woman Podcast” (Host: Sherry Parks)
• Episode 7: The Visionary Woman: Shaping the Future of Leadership – “Women Who Lead” (Host: Andrena Sawyer)
• Episode 8: Embracing a Futuristic Outlook: Perspectives from Women in Leadership – “The Female CEO” (Host: Stacey Sargison)

Listen to great Strengths Podcasts

Worth Reading

Homo Deus

In 100 Years

the Extreme Future

Go Put Your Strengths to Work: 6 Powerful Steps to Achieve Outstanding Performance

Go deeper

Gallup: Season 1
Listen to “Futuristic: Creating a Vivid Picture of the Future – Theme Thursday Season 3” on Spreaker.

Gallup Season 2:
Listen to “Gallup Theme Thursday Season 2 – Futuristic” on Spreaker.

• Using your strengths in school and college wth great ideas on building relationships, study techniques, class selection, and extra curricular activities.

Listen to these podcasts

• Theme addicts is a series created by UnleashStrengths to highlight the massive impact the StrengthsFinder assessment through interviews and disucssions.
• Lead through your strengths features many interesting guests and Career Q and A about leverage your strengths at work.
• Maximize Your Strengths features interviews and disucssion on developing your strengths. She really drills into each of the themes by interviewing real people on how a specific theme shows up in their lives.
• Called to Coach is a webcast resource for those who want to help others discover and use their strengths. We have Gallup experts and independent strengths coaches share tactics, insights and strategies to help coaches maximize the talent of individuals, teams and organizations around the world.
• ISOGO TV promises a lot: So dramatically increase your energy and decrease your frustration at work, that you cannot help but take the Strengths paradigm home to your family. Fueling life-changing stories.
• The True Strength Podcast by Ian Pettigrew (Kingfisher Coaching) features inspiring true stories of how people succeed through applying their strengths and being resilient. It often includes a Gallup StrengthsFinder profile.
• If you are looking to identify and develop your strengths and talents, take calculated risks and make decisions, The Strengths Revolution with Steve Morgan will help your personal development, as well as helping you support your clients, employees, teams and wider organisations. Knowing your strengths will also support positive risk-taking and decision making as part of good risk management.

Sources:

• Balconies and Basements
• Leadership, team and conflict
• The Genius and Beauty of Strengths
• Strengths-based academic Advising
• Strengths partnerships