Future Shock Revisited: What Alvin Toffler Would Tell Today’s Leaders
YOU CANNOT JUST DO MORE!
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.”
Why do you feel burned out?
Today, leaders are confronting a world in which the volume and velocity of change are outpacing people's capacity and capability to adapt. We’re seeing breakdowns in communication, cohesion, and mental wellbeing — in communities, workplaces, and leadership circles.
It can feel like…. ‘AI is coming for everything!’ Help me!
What is AQ?
AQ - Adaptive Quotient
“But it’s AQ - our Adaptive Quotient - that gives us staying power across our career. It’s adaptability that allows us to recognise the signals of change, adjust to new conditions and apply new thinking to new problems. And it’s AQ that organisations need to be actively promoting now… the compelling proof that adaptability defines great leadership”
Andrea Clarke - Australian Financial Review April 2025
Leaders must become chief un-learners.
In an age of permanent transformation, the job isn’t to hold the line — it’s to help your people draw new ones, over and over again.
Sometimes it's worth thinking about success in terms of excavation:
What burdens and processes have you removed before you rebuilt?
“Future Shock isn’t coming. It’s here. And the only way forward is together, using better human skills not just better technical skills.”
Six Leadership Skills you must have today
1. Slow Down to Speed Up
“You can’t outrun future shock by running faster.”
Leaders must create structured pauses. Teams are absorbing new systems, new risks, new expectations — often without time to process. Normalize reflection. Ritualize dialogue. Make space for sense-making, not just performance metrics.
2. Rebuild Language
“Language breaks down before systems do.”
In disrupted environments, people lose the ability to name what they’re experiencing. Leaders must re-anchor shared meaning — what does success now mean? What does belonging look like? Storytelling, metaphor, and narrative become powerful tools to navigate ambiguity.
3. Invest in Human Infrastructure
“Tech is scaling. People are fraying.”
We need to divert energy into the human systems that make transformation sustainable. Think: psychological safety, peer mentorship, wellbeing rituals, and resilience practices. In today’s workplace, culture is infrastructure.
4. Practice “Soft Futurism”
“You don’t have to predict the future — but you must be able to feel it.”
Empathic futurists tune into how people will respond to change, not just what change is coming. This is where strategic foresight meets emotional intelligence. Leaders must become literate in uncertainty — and calm in its presence.
5. Make Adaptation the Culture
“Stop treating change as a project. It’s a way of life.”
Hire for curiosity, not just credentials. Promote for adaptability, not just achievement. Design for learning loops. The new leadership mandate is not to control the change, but to become the change — fluid, responsive, resilient.
6. Become a Chief Unlearner
“The most dangerous phrase in business today isn’t ‘We failed.’ It’s: ‘We’ve always done it this way.”
Leaders must become chief un-learners. In an age of permanent transformation, the job isn’t to hold the line — it’s to help your people draw new ones, over and over again. Sometimes it's worth thinking about success in terms of excavation: what burdens and processes have you removed before you rebuilt?
“The only way forward is together, using better human skills not just better technical skills.”