Dance with Change: Think Like a Futurist in a Time Between Eras with Cecily Sommers, Episode 399

Extraordinary Women Radio

Today, I’m thrilled to welcome Cecily Sommers, globally recognized futurist. She teaches leaders how to read the patterns of change—so they can lead with wisdom in a world reinventing itself. We talk about Change Literacy, the spiral nature of transformation (a theme close to my heart from Firedancer), and how to stop trying to figure out the future—and start learning how to follow it.

In This Episode:

• Cecily Sommers shares her unexpected journey from professional dancer to futurist—and how the fusion of art and science shaped her ability to make sense of change.
• Why we’re not just living through a time of change—we’re in a change of eras—and how leaders can cultivate “anticipatory intelligence” to navigate this transition with clarity and purpose.
• How the natural cycle of order, disorder, and reorder reveals what’s expiring and what’s emerging—and why tuning into this cycle is essential for growth and transformation.
• Why the future isn’t “figure-outable”—it’s followable—and how learning to sense and respond to change gives us agency in uncertain times.
• The four societal forces—resources, technology, demographics, and governance—that drive every major shift, and how leaders can scan for signals that matter most.
• How foresight cultivates wisdom, humility, and ethical leadership by helping us align inner purpose with outer transformation.
• Why staying curious, experimenting, and following what makes you feel most alive is the key to staying relevant and resilient in a rapidly changing world.

Cecily Sommers is a business futurist, keynote speaker, and best-selling author of Think Like a Futurist. She helps leaders decode disruption and lead with clarity through Change Literacy—the ability to understand and apply the universal patterns of change. A two-time TEDx speaker, Cecily has advised top global organizations including Google, Salesforce, and JPMorgan Chase. Her book Think Like a Futurist was named a “Top 25: What Corporate America Is Reading” and honored for “Most Significant Futures Work.” Named one of the “World’s Top 50 Female Futurists” by Forbes and Wired, she’s also a contributor to NPR’s All Things Considered.

“The future is not figure-outable. It is only followable.” ~Cecily Sommers

To learn more about Cecily, visit her website. You can also connect with her on LinkedIn.

Cecily Sommers’s Show Notes

Join us at Extraordinary Women Ignite this November as we gather for our 11th year—an event unlike any before. The call is louder, the change is deeper, and the women showing up are ready to ignite something truly extraordinary. If your heart is stirring, this is your invitation to step into your next chapter alongside a powerful community of purpose-driven women. Early bird tickets are available now! Get your ticket here.