No (wo)man is an island

Organisations today are operating in an era increasingly defined by what geopolitical advisor Xenia Wickett describes as ‘polycrises’ – overlapping geopolitical, economic, technological and environmental pressures that no longer occur in isolation.

During our latest Programmes of National Importance (PNI) event, Xenia introduced an important distinction between episodic and transformative change. Episodic disruption is temporary; organisations adapt, manage through it, and eventually return to familiar ways of operating. Transformative disruption is fundamentally different. It reshapes the environment permanently, rendering traditional assumptions and longstanding strategies no longer fit for purpose. Debs Petterson (Director of Whole Energy System Resilience at the National Energy System Operator) described exactly how this comes to life in the day-to-day of an organisation tackling any one of these crises.

There is a strong sense that we are now living through several iterations of transformative disruption. From shifting geopolitical relationships between the US, China, and Europe, to supply chain fragility, cyber threats, climate pressures, and the rapid acceleration of AI, the conditions which keep us as ‘business as usual’ are no more. Risk no longer arrives one issue at a time, and resilience can no longer sit within a single department, organisation, or sector.

This is where we believe forums such as PNI become increasingly important. By bringing together leaders from different sectors, disciplines and perspectives, we can create opportunities to break down silos, share learnings and build trusted networks – before crises occur.

This discussion highlighted that the goal is not to predict every future crisis; we don’t have a crystal ball, so we should not aspire for the impossible. Instead, we feel the role of every woman in the network – Newton included – is to build relationships and partnerships, to practice the skills of collaborative leadership, and to remain open to learning from others. In doing so, we can prepare for the only real certainty: that at some point, we’ll be in a situation where we need help from a partner.

Right now, the world is operating in an era of heightened uncertainty. Geopolitical instability, climate disruption, cyberthreats, and supply chain fragility are no longer isolated challenges happening independently of one another. Instead, they are increasingly interconnected, creating a complex landscape of overlapping risks that are reshaping how organisations operate, invest, and lead.

Debs Petterson couldn’t have put it more clearly: resilience now hugely relies on collaboration. Whether through formal partnerships or informal trusted networks organisations must become more connected, more adaptive, and willing to work beyond traditional boundaries. Increasingly, the organisations best equipped to navigate uncertainty in the modern world will not be those operating in isolation, but those embedded within strong ecosystems of trust.

Resilience now depends on structured, intentional partnerships between government, industry, regulators and defence and infrastructure operators. As systems become more interconnected and threats more complex, collaboration between public and private sectors is becoming essential to national resilience, rather than simply desirable.

Critical infrastructure across defence, energy, water, transport, telecoms, and data is now largely privately owned and operated. This means governments can no longer respond to crises in isolation, nor can businesses treat geopolitical instability as an external issue happening around them. Infrastructure and defence projects have increasingly become matters of national resilience and security, placing organisations directly within the geopolitical landscape, rather than outside it.

A key theme from Xenia Wickett is that organisations are no longer passive recipients of geopolitics; instead they actively shape it. Major infrastructure assets such as supply chains and digital systems are now closely tied to defence systems, often going hand-in-hand and helping one another. All these systems lead to a further sense of economic stability, public confidence and positive national security outcomes.

Formal partnerships help create the structures needed to respond effectively during moments of pressure. Whether through mutual aid agreements or cross-sector coordination groups, these partnerships strengthen collective preparedness and decision making.

The discussion also highlighted the importance of something far less visible: informal networks. A collaborative culture which is built long before a crisis hits is of paramount importance.

In fast-moving and unpredictable situations, organisations rarely have the luxury of waiting for perfect information or relying solely on a pre-approved process. Instead, resilience often depends on trusted individuals and networks that can work across organisational boundaries quickly and effectively. In practice, it is often personal relationships – not process documents – that determine how effectively organisations respond under pressure.
Traditional hierarchies can struggle in moments of uncertainty, particularly when decisions need to be made at pace and information is not always complete. More collaborative cultures, however, are often able to adapt faster. Organisations that reward openness to cross-functional thinking are typically better positioned to identify emerging risks and respond flexibly to disruption.

It is also important to create cultures that encourage questioning and constructive challenge. Organisations that allow individuals to speak openly about vulnerabilities or uncertainties are often far better equipped to identify risks before they escalate. In many cases, the person not speaking in the room may be the one most capable of identifying where systems are weakest.

These collaborative networks cannot be built overnight. They develop through ongoing conversations, industry forums, shared experiences and sustained relationship-building over time.

Modern resilience increasingly depends on learning from other countries, sectors and disciplines, particularly those already living through disruption firsthand.

The UK’s infrastructure systems were largely designed and developed during periods of stability and peacetime. Today, however, organisations are operating in a far more volatile environment shaped by social and geopolitical instability. As these pressures intensify, there is a growing recognition that the UK cannot rely solely on historic assumptions or domestic expertise when preparing for future disruption.

While the crises experienced by other countries have been deeply challenging and, in many cases, devastating for those affected, they have also created real case studies in resilience and preparedness. In several instances, these experiences have accelerated new thinking and established best practice that others can learn from. Ukraine’s experience of cyber-attacks and infrastructure defence, Nordic approaches to ‘total defence’, and regions such as Australia and Texas managing extreme climate conditions all provide important lessons that can be adapted elsewhere.

Some of the most valuable innovation and resilience thinking often comes from outside traditional industry silos. Increasingly, organisations are recognising the value of cross-sector learning. This mindset sits at the heart of events and groups such as PNI. Bringing together leaders from different industries and disciplines creates opportunities for ideas, behaviours and strategies to move between sectors in ways that would not happen organically within industry bubbles alone.

Going forward, the organisations best prepared for future disruption are unlikely to be those with all the answers internally. They will be the organisations most willing to learn externally, challenge assumptions and adapt lessons beyond their own sector and build the partnerships needed to respond collectively to an increasingly interconnected yet fragmented world.

For those working across defence, aerospace, energy and infrastructure the need for formal partnerships has become increasingly stark.

Our clients are no longer looking solely for technical expertise or project delivery; they need true strategic partners who understand risk, can work across boundaries, deliver what they promised, and can navigate complex stakeholder environments under pressure. More broadly, organic and formal collaboration can no longer be viewed as a secondary stakeholder exercise, as decisions made within individual sectors can now carry wider economic, social and geopolitical consequences. Organisations that invest in strong partnerships and trusted networks, those that are genuinely ‘in it together’, will therefore be significantly better positioned to respond to uncertainty and adapt to longer term structural change.

Companies that encourage openness and constructive challenges are often better positioned to identify emerging risks early and adapt quickly. Increasingly, resilience depends not just on formal plans, but on organisations and partners who have the culture and trust to respond effectively. Equally, for organisations across different sectors, breaking out of the ‘bubble’ is becoming central to how value is created and delivered. As risks become more systemic, our clients are no longer looking for sector-specific advice in isolation, but external perspectives that help them understand how disruption is unfolding elsewhere, what successful previous responses look like, and how those lessons can be adapted across sectors. This fundamentally changes the role of a strategic partner; no longer simply interpreters of best practice within one industry, but connectors of insight across multiple systems.

The most valuable impact increasingly comes from taking previous experience, connecting the dots on the issue, deploying forensic analysis and then tailoring the findings to the meet the organisation’s need. Partners that can actively bring these perspectives together are better positioned to help organisations anticipate risk rather than simply react to it. This means competitive advantage lies in openness and the willingness to look outside an organisation’s own sector and adopt approaches that many have not traditionally considered.