From insight to impact – 2025 lessons and 2026 actions

A report from GGi’s final webinar of the year

GGi’s final webinar of 2025 on 10 December was a far-reaching conversation about what this turbulent year has taught public-purpose leaders, and how those lessons can be translated into action in 2026.

Chaired by GGi partner Aidan Rave, the session brought together Mike Burton, Editorial Director of Healthcare Management and the MJ; Dr Katy Steward, an experienced non-executive director and specialist in corporate culture and governance; Stefan Stern, author, visiting professor at Bayes Business School, and regular contributor to the Guardian and the Financial Times, and GGi CEO Andrew Corbett-Nolan.

Global uncertainty and domestic drift

Mike Burton opened with a stark reminder of the shifting geopolitical landscape, noting that the fragility of the transatlantic alliance and the re-emergence of authoritarian threat had shaped much of 2025. Domestically, he argued, political over-caution and unkept promises had fuelled voter volatility and deepened cynicism. For 2026, he urged greater courage from government—particularly in grasping ‘wicked issues’ that have long been deferred.

Governance failures, culture and curiosity

Katy Steward drew lessons from her role in major public inquiries – most notably the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry – emphasising that when governance fails and voices go unheard, real people suffer. She called for ‘energetic curiosity’ from boards and government alike—especially in overseeing arm’s-length bodies—and highlighted the need for evidence-based approaches to culture.

She stressed that boards must be able to challenge fixed organisational narratives, and that without deeper conversations about culture, secrecy and harm can persist unnoticed for years.

Human leadership in an exhausting year

Stefan Stern reflected on the pressures leaders have faced in 2025, urging them not to be too hard on themselves while resisting the myth of the heroic, all-knowing leader. He emphasised the importance of noticing, listening and clear communication, and warned that degraded public discourse undermines trust and makes honesty even more essential in 2026.

He encouraged leaders to adopt McKinsey’s ‘filter, focus and forget’ approach to preserve energy in an age of overwhelm.

The governance challenge ahead

Andrew Corbett-Nolan noted that organisations are often ‘heavy with governance but light on real governance’. With major system reforms looming, especially in health and care, he argued that governance must return to its true purpose: enabling big change, supporting moral leadership and fostering intellectually honest decision-making.

Brave leadership and deeper assurance

The discussion and chat revealed strong concern about cultures where challenge is discouraged or interpreted as disloyalty. Participants highlighted repeated governance failures—particularly in local government, maternity services and mental health—and questioned why reassurance so often substitutes for genuine assurance.

Several attendees argued that boards must go deeper when issues persist, even when executives appear confident that problems are resolved.

The conversation also touched on the overwhelming pull of financial crises and performance pressures, which risk crowding out strategic thinking, stewardship and curiosity. Some warned that inconsistent modelling of leadership behaviours at national level makes cultural transformation locally far more difficult.

There was also reflection on public trust: why communities feel unheard, why populist figures remain popular, and how leaders might rebuild confidence through reliability, visibility, and meaningful connection. Many pointed to the power of grassroots leadership, citing international examples of politicians who built trust through direct engagement rather than rhetoric.

Participants also explored psychological safety. Some noted that post-pandemic fragility has reduced many people’s tolerance for challenge—making board conversations about risk, assurance and accountability even more complex.

Hopeful horizon

In their closing remarks, the speakers all looked for more humanity

Mike Burton said strong, grounded human leadership remains the decisive factor in whether institutions will be able to rise to the challenge next year.

Katy Steward suggested that governance is about seeing to the heart of problems but ‘bringing in culture and values and doing things fairly by people’. She added: “There are masses of people who are looking for more humanity, more intimacy, more compassion, more connection, more social movement, more doing the right things by the grassroots, more working with communities.”

Stefan encouraged leaders to dig deeper—to ask better questions, use fresher language, and recommit to shared, humane leadership.

Andrew Corbett-Nolan closed the webinar by saying: “Governance is about enabling big change and it's a force for good in this world, but it's an intellectually demanding form of honesty that is not simple or straightforward. We believe in good governance – and that public sector and public-purpose institutions deserve to be run by people of the highest moral compass, working to the best of endeavours in an ethical culture. It’s about delivering and creating value for society.

“What we all do matters, but leave the spreadsheets at home, and start having the conversations, and take the actions, and say the things that need to be said in 2026.”