In the book, the Hidden Life of Trees, Author Peter Wohlleben, talks about his professional career as a forester. It was his job to look at hundreds of trees per day to assess their suitability for the lumber mill and their market value.
Because his work focused on the commercial value of forests, he failed to notice the unique beauty of trees or the remarkable complexity of their hidden lives. This narrow viewpoint overlooked how trees interact and thrive collectively, as well as how forests could be cultivated in more beneficial ways - both for the well-being of the trees and to enhance their economic potential.
Researchers have revealed that a forest operates as a symbiotic community, comprising not just trees but also shrubs, grasses, and fungi, all of which exchange information to help every species thrive. Trees communicate and share resources through their roots (and a fascinating fungi network) because their survival depends on one another. An entire forest is needed to create the microclimate necessary for trees to flourish. Trees that grow in isolation tend to have much shorter lifespans compared to those that are interconnected within forests.
When you step into farm fields or a plantation, it's so quiet. The trees or plants have lost the ability to communicate and are thus rendered deaf and dumb. These enslaved plants are easy prey for insect pests which is one of the reasons why modern agriculture uses so many pesticides.
The industrial era treated organisations like plantations—linear, isolated, and focused on output above all else. But in today's complex world, that model is failing.
Today, as we face climate instability, economic volatility, geopolitical tensions and rising levels of burnout, the old mechanical approach can no longer keep up. This mindset values hours logged over meaningful results and speed over lasting impact, leading to rigid systems that stifle adaptability.
We're now beginning to understand that our professional lives, like forests, are part of a hidden, interconnected ecosystem. To thrive, we must shift our thinking from the rigid, segmented logic of the past to the integrated, symbiotic wisdom of the forest.
When we operate in silos, we lose sight of our collective interdependence - the reality that the strength of the whole far exceeds what any part can accomplish alone. That’s why the traditional, linear perspective misses the extraordinary benefits of collaboration, spontaneous innovation, and the shared intelligence that emerges when people and ideas come together.
With so many variables to consider, it’s clear that the leadership models of the past - built on hierarchy, control, and confidence about how the future will unfold - are no longer fit for purpose. With change happening so quickly, we can no longer neatly predict future outcomes.
Business leaders now face a choice: continue optimising in silos, or grow the collective capacity to thrive, adapt, and innovate together.
Here are four steps, grounded in the latest research and forward-looking leadership practices, to lead a truly future-ready organisation.
According to a Gartner's 2025 CEO survey, CEOs recognise that to keep adding value they need to build more operational capacity and explore new possibilities. They simply can’t do that with 20th-century techniques that involve rigid structures that obstruct our ability to be dynamic. This is where AI comes in, acting as a critical enabler. It's an open-source tool that democratises innovation and lowers the barriers to access. offering a cost-effective way to manage complex problems, improve decision-making quality and speed, as well as decrease manual oversight.
CEOs are viewing AI-enabled dynamic capacity as a key strategy to scale their organisations, gain deeper customer insights and optimise resources, all with the goal of driving business growth.
The challenge for leaders is to treat AI not as a project, but as a multiplier for possibilities.
Most organisations are still wired to think in linear cause-and-effect chains. Budgets, KPIs, and workflows are often siloed, driving optimisation of parts rather than stewardship of the whole. But the challenges leaders face today, from digital disruption to sustainability, cut across boundaries. They call for an ecosystem mindset.
This shift means broadening the leadership lens: from managing a department, to cultivating interdependencies across industries, communities, and stakeholders.
According to an article in Sloan Management Review, Roche Group CEO Thomas Schinecker provides a powerful example of the shift from narrow optimisation to ecosystem leadership. Where previous generations of leaders might have focused solely on financial returns, Schinecker is stewarding Roche’s role within a broader healthcare system—combining diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, digital platforms, and strategic partnerships like its alliance with Nvidia to accelerate innovation.
Embracing ecosystems requires:
Looking beyond the organisation. Identify where partnerships, alliances, and cross-sector collaboration create collective value.
Experimenting at system level. Use small, fast tests to see how new practices or technologies ripple across functions and networks.
Balancing short and long-term. Ecosystem leaders don’t optimise only for quarterly results - they build capacity for resilience and positive societal impact.
Forward-thinking organisations lead with the ecosystem, not just within it.
Today’s fast-paced workplace requires us to change and adapt at increasing speeds while managing complex interpersonal demands. Despite these challenges, we can use emotional intelligence to meet these continually increasing demands and excel in our new reality.
If the new workplace is structured like an ecosystem, trust is the glue that holds it together. In a business landscape infused with AI and automation, what distinguishes great leaders isn't just their technical fluency, but their ability to foster belief, belonging, and accountability. This is where distinctly human strengths - like judgment, curiosity, ethical courage, and emotional intelligence - matter most.
At its core, these human skills are powered by trust: trust in leadership to be fair and transparent, trust within teams to share risks and challenge ideas constructively, and trust across systems with partners and customers. I’ve seen firsthand how trust accelerates both the speed and quality of collaboration. High-trust teams are more willing to experiment, engage in constructive debate, and innovate - all emotionally intelligent behaviours essential for thriving in complex ecosystems.
To build this muscle, leaders must treat trust not as an abstract concept but as a lived experience. This is where my Integrated Trust Building System provides a practical blueprint. Trust isn't built on words alone; it's built on the daily actions and behaviours that consistently support employee well-being and high performance. When leaders embed safety, connection, and a meaningful future into everyday routines, trust stops being an abstract concept and becomes a lived experience.
This system is built on a few core principles:
Judgment and critical thinking: High-performing teams, guided by trust, are not afraid to welcome dissent, weigh trade-offs, and challenge assumptions. They ask not just what technology can do, but where human wisdom matters most. Positioning AI as a collaborator rather than a substitute encourages teams to consider: Where is human judgment most essential?
Courage and connection: This involves sharing risks, supporting experimentation, and remaining accountable.
Autonomy and experimentation: Just as trees in a forest support one another to create a thriving microclimate, a high-trust culture empowers individuals to make decisions and experiment without fear. This freedom to act and learn - to “try new things” and take ownership—is the lifeblood of innovation. It ensures that teams not only feel supported but are also empowered to contribute their best work.
Leading with trust means high-performing teams ask not just what technology can do, but where human wisdom matters most. Leaders encourage open dialogue, protect psychological safety, and reward both insight and integrity.
Step 4: Design for Adaptability and Continuous Renewal
Just as forests renew themselves through cycles of growth and adaptation, organisations must treat renewal as a core practice, not an afterthought. Today’s most resilient enterprises are defined by their capacity to unlearn, relearn, and experiment without fear of failure. This shift from static structures to adaptive cultures is the only sustainable advantage in a world of constant disruption.
Adaptive cultures:
Institutionalise reflection—constantly question assumptions, review surprises, and seek new patterns.
Blend technical upskilling (in AI, data, sustainability) with human skills (storytelling, systems thinking, learning agility).
Encourage unlearning—discarding outdated practices as eagerly as adopting new ones.
Resilience now means being ready for tomorrow with the humility and curiosity to keep learning.
The hidden life of trees reminds us that longevity, strength, and innovation emerge not from rigid control but from interdependence and flexibility. It embodies an optimistic belief that growth emerges when we reach for what's possible.
“A tree doesn’t worry about growing. It simply reaches for the light, and growth follows.” Author unknown
Reframing our organisations from machines to living systems is not just a poetic idea; it's a strategic imperative. It's the most effective way to thrive in uncertainty.
A forward-thinking organisation is one where dynamic capacity, ecosystem thinking, trust, and adaptability grow together. Much like a thriving forest, the true value of an enterprise isn't in its isolated parts but in its vibrant, interconnected whole.