The Day “Interesting” Became “I’m in”: Committing Decades to Strategic Foresight and Adaptive Leadership

Recently, a new friend asked the following question. I decided to devote this post to a detailed response. The question was: Under what circumstances did you first realize that ‘this direction is worth my decades of investment’? It seemed a thoughtful and personal question to me, but it touched on something deeply reflective that many long-term practitioners in foresight and leadership eventually confront.

The moment I first truly realized that “strategic foresight combined with adaptive leadership” was worth devoting decades of my life to came during the mid-2010s. In that time, I was immersed in my doctoral studies at Regent University and simultaneously grappling with real-world volatility in organizational settings. Now, I’m an independent researcher. No more cooperating with Regent after graduation, but still thankful to my beloved professors, supervisors, and committed to that line of inquiry.

I had already spent years exploring leadership theories, futures studies, and cognitive development in decision-making. But the pivotal realization crystallized during a period of intense global and professional turbulence, around the time when accelerating technological change, geopolitical shifts, and the early waves of what we now call “polycrisis” were becoming undeniable. I was analyzing how organizations (and leaders) repeatedly failed not because they lacked plans or data, but because they couldn’t mobilize people to adapt to emerging realities that had no historical precedent.

One particular experience stood out. I observed a series of executive teams in different sectors attempting to apply conventional strategic tools to challenges that were inherently “adaptive” in nature, challenges that required people to change values, beliefs, priorities, and behaviors rather than just applying expertise or best practices. The repeated pattern was striking. Technical fixes offered temporary relief, but the deeper adaptive work was avoided, delayed, or mishandled, leading to prolonged stagnation or decline.

At the same time, I was diving deeply into Ronald Heifetz’s adaptive leadership framework and futures/foresight methodologies that emphasized anticipation, scenario thinking, and responsible imagination of alternatives. When I began integrating the two (using foresight not just to anticipate or plan, but to surface adaptive challenges early, create safe spaces for collective sensemaking, and build cognitive and emotional readiness for change), something clicked.

I saw how this synthesis could:

• Help leaders distinguish between what can be fixed with authority and what requires widespread learning and experimentation.

• Prevent organizations from being blindsided by disruptions they could have anticipated and adapted to.

• Facilitate resilience not just at the strategic level, but at the human and cultural level.

That integration felt like discovering a missing link. It wasn’t just intellectually satisfying; it had “practical, transformative power” in messy, uncertain environments. I remember thinking: “If I can spend my career refining this intersection, making foresight more adaptive and leadership more future-oriented, it could meaningfully equip individuals, teams, and institutions to navigate complexity without losing their soul or purpose.”

That conviction has only deepened since then through writing books like “*Cognitively Adaptive Leaders,” launching Nuts About Leadership Journal, developing assessment standards like [Foresight Evaluation Frameworks](https://wp.me/pc7Da5-1Bi), and [Foresight in Flux](https://wp.me/pc7Da5-1zy)*.

Every time I see a leader or organization move from paralysis to purposeful adaptation because they anticipated change and mobilized people accordingly, I get the same quiet confirmation: this direction was, and remains, worth every decade invested.

What about you? What sparked (or is sparking) that kind of clarity in your own journey? I’d be genuinely curious to hear about that, especially if you could kindly let me know your experience in this regard. I love to learn more from your comments.

© Alireza Hejazi 2026

Alireza Hejazi, Ph.D., is an independent futures researcher and leadership consultant with more than a decade of combined corporate and academic experience. He is the developer of several assessment instruments, like the Corporate Foresight Index and other evaluative tools for foresight and leadership. Alireza is the author of several books on leadership and foresight, including *Cognitively Adaptive Leaders, [Foresight Evaluation Frameworks](https://wp.me/pc7Da5-1Bi), [Foresight in Flux](https://wp.me/pc7Da5-1zy), The Strategic Foresight Workshop Handbook, The Art of Selling Foresight, Responsible Foresight, and Becoming A Professional Futurist*.