Glossary of Terms
Use this glossary as a practical resource to deepen your understanding of key terms, tools, methods, and practical definitions to help you navigate the language of foresight.
Coaching:
The International Coaching Federation defines coaching as: partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.
Drivers of change:
Broad, long-term forces and trends that shape future possibilities and outcomes, influencing the direction of societal, technological, economic, ecological, regulatory, and ethical shifts.
Forces of change:
The underlying values, mindsets, and norms that drive and shape observable trends, reflecting deeper societal currents.
Forecast:
A futures tool that describes what is likely to happen based on certain assumptions, data, and the interpretation of trends.
Foresight:
The use of futuristic tools and literacy to help people think longer term (five, 10, and more years down the road) to make better decisions today.
Future client:
A conceptual individual representing a potential client in a future scenario, used to explore how coaching needs may evolve.
Future coach:
An archetype representing the evolution of the coaching profession in future scenarios, highlighting new roles, skills, and approaches.
Future ICF:
A fictional representation of ICF in a future scenario, used to explore how the organization might evolve in response to emerging trends and challenges.
Future persona:
A research-based, fictional character designed to represent someone who could exist in a future scenario. Typically combined with scenarios to explore diverse responses to emerging trends, technologies, and societal changes.
Futures Thinking Loop:
The ICF Thought Leadership Institute’s Futures Thinking Loop provides a structured approach for developing plausible future scenarios. This loop includes four phases: 1. Observe → 2. Envision → 3. Anticipate → 4. Act
Futures thinking:
A transformative framework designed to help individuals navigate the uncertainties of the future with confidence. A blend of science and art, futures thinking integrates many disciplines, data, experience, and creativity to envision and activate preferred future scenarios.
Horizon scanning:
The systematic examination of potential threats, opportunities, and future developments that may affect an organization or field. It involves monitoring and analyzing emerging trends and signals.
Scenario:
Narrative-based explorations of various possible futures incorporating the impact of multiple trends and uncertainties to envision different outcomes.
Scenario planning:
A strategic method used to develop and analyze multiple, plausible future scenarios. It helps organizations prepare for uncertainties by considering a range of possible outcomes and their implications.
Signals of change:
Early indicators of specific, often unexpected, and observable events, developments, or phenomena that suggest or demonstrate an emerging driving force of change.
STEERE Framework:
A futures-thinking tool adapted for coaches from the STEEPLE or PESTLE framework, used to identify and analyze multi-dimensional drivers, trends, and signals across social, technological, economic, ecological, regulatory, and ethical domains.
Trend:
Global shifts across various social, political, and economic indicators. Trends often reflect the influence of underlying forces of change.
Trend analysis:
A futures thinking method that examines macro-level data across multiple disciplines to describe plausible futures. Trend analyses are often combined with signal identification for deeper insights into potential futures.
Trend mapping:
Visualizing patterns of change to anticipate disruptions.