The Future Pull: Creating Tomorrow Instead of Extending Today
Sneaky Coaching Transformations
Hi, I’m Phil, Thanks for joining another edition of Sneaky Coaching Questions For New Managers
“I just want to be better at my job,” Mandy said. She was the radio station receptionist who had found her way into my coaching session.
This was an open session for the radio station team at lunch which the station boss had set up.
Mandy was the only one who turned up. She had that look that said “Impress me”.
She also had the heaviest jewellery I’d seen anyone wear. Ever. “She could kill me with that bracelet,” said my Imposter Syndrome inner voice.
So truth be told, I was bricking it. Mandy was a tough cookie receptionist and this was now a 1–1 coaching session.
We were sitting in the station’s most awful meeting room. That room with the dodgy coffee machine that made a noise like an asthmatic vacuum cleaner.
Mandy had been answering the phones at this regional station for seven years. Everyone loved her. She knew every regular caller by name.
Never missed a message. Pure gold. But mess with her and you were toast.
But there was something about her energy today that didn’t add up.
Meanwhile, Walter the cat was probably at home…
Redesigning my living room by pushing things off shelves. Creating his own future rather than accepting the current location of my ornaments.
(Cats don’t do incremental change. They’re all about the revolution.)
But we started the coaching session…
“When you say ‘better at your job’,” I asked, “what specifically do you mean?”
Mandy sighed. “You know, faster at answering calls. More organised with messages. Better at dealing with visitors.”
I nodded, but something felt off. These were all about doing the same things slightly better.
Small tweaks to the present rather than steps toward something new.
“And is that what you really want? To be 10% better at what you already do well?”
Her eyes dropped to her cup. “I guess that’s all I can really hope for, isn’t it?”
BOOM! There it was.
Wow. This wasn’t what I was expecting. (As a coach never judge)
Here we had not a statement about capability, but about possibility. Mandy wasn’t thinking too small because she lacked ambition.
She was thinking too small because she couldn’t see a bigger future.
The DJ Who Reimagined His Future
This reminded me of Chris, a late-night DJ I’d worked with years ago in Manchester.
Chris was obsessed with improving his show. Better links. Tighter timing. Smoother transitions.
But when I asked him about his five-year vision, he just shrugged. “I dunno. Better ratings? Maybe an earlier slot?”
Classic incremental thinking.
Then covid hit. The station’s regular breakfast host was stuck abroad. They needed a replacement fast.
Chris stepped in and absolutely smashed it. Not by being incrementally better than the regular host…
But by completely reimagining what a breakfast show could be during lockdown.
When the regular host came back, management set up a new drive-time show just for Chris.
He’d jumped five years ahead in his career in just six weeks. Not by extending his present, but by creating a completely different future.
The Incremental vs. Transformational Distinction
Here’s where most professionals go wrong:
They focus on getting better at what they already do instead of reimagining what they could do. They polish the present instead of creating the future.
✖ Setting goals that just extend current performance
✖ Focusing on process improvements over reinvention
✖ Staying safe within current job descriptions
✖ Defining success as “the same but better”
✖ Limiting dreams to the next logical step
My Swedish mentor coach, Annalie, calls this…
“Climbing a ladder that’s against the wrong wall.”
(Sometimes I wonder if the farm where she grew up had a lot of dodgy ladders…)
I looked at Mandy’s name badge. Seven years in the same role. What was really going on here?
The Sneaky Questions That Create Future Pull
I leaned in and asked Mandy three sneaky questions. They would help her see a bigger future.
❓ “If your job didn’t exist in its current form, what would you want to create instead?”
This question breaks the gravity of the present to create space for reimagining.
Mandy blinked, then smiled slowly. “I’ve always thought we could do more with the reception area. Make it a proper showcase for the station. Maybe even broadcast from there sometimes.”
Hold on. This wasn’t just about answering phones better.
❓ “Five years from now, when people talk about your incredible impact here, what would you want them to say?”
This question creates a future narrative that can pull you toward it.
“That I transformed how the public sees the radio station,” she said, eyes brightening. “That I created a community hub in the reception area, not just a place to sign in.”
NOW we were getting somewhere!
❓ “What one bold move could you make that would start moving you toward that vision?”
This question bridges the gap between future dreams and present action.
Mandy straightened up. “I could propose a reception redesign. I’ve got loads of ideas. And I could ask to join the community outreach team.”
There it was. The shift from tweaking today to creating tomorrow.
The Transformation Blueprint
Here’s what happened when Mandy embraced future pull:
✅ She created a vision board of what the reception area could become
✅ She drafted a proposal for “Reception 2.0” that included community engagement
✅ She asked to shadow the events team on her lunch breaks
✅ She started a “Visitor of the Week” feature that got mentioned on air
Six months later, Mandy wasn’t just a receptionist anymore. She’d been promoted to:
“Community Engagement Coordinator” with the reception desk as her base.
The station had its first-ever live broadcast from reception. Local businesses started digital workshops in the newly designed space.
“I can’t believe I was just thinking about answering the phone better,” she told me later. “It’s like I was trying to improve a rotary dial when I could have been inventing the smartphone.”
“That’s the future pull,” I said.
(Secretly thinking: This might have been my best coaching session ever…and I was terrified to do it!)
The Future Creation Secret
The secret is simple: Improvement extends your present. Transformation creates your future.
Here’s a final sneaky question I’ll leave you with:
❓ “What future are you not creating because you’re too busy improving your present?”
Try it. Just once. See what happens.
The most successful people don’t just get better at what they do…
They reimagine what’s possible.
As for Walter? He’s never bothered with incremental change. In his world, the ornament is either on the shelf or dramatically on the floor. No middle ground.
Maybe we could all use a bit more of that revolutionary spirit.
Walter, the sneakiest future coach I know.
Till Next Time…
I’m the author of the Imposter Syndrome on Audible, love local radio and coaching my cat called Walter.