Case Formulation for Futures-Focused Coaching: An Adaptive Polarity Framework

Leaders facing adaptive challenges must navigate competing demands and persistent tensions that resist resolution. Coaches increasingly integrate futures thinking to develop adaptive capacity, an orientation we term “futures-focused coaching,” yet case formulation frameworks for adaptive challenges are lacking. Through a personal construct analysis of 24 coaches, we identified three adaptive polarities: temporal (present-moment grounding ↔ future visioning, 75% of participants), systemic (individual agency ↔ systemic engagement, 67%), and strategic (responsive adaptation ↔ intentional direction, 58%). Building on Lane's case formulation approach, polarity management theory, and adaptive leadership frameworks, we develop pattern recognition criteria for formulating complex cases. Implications span coaching practice and case formulation.