March has been a month of accumulation. Data points that individually are striking, but that together suggest something more structural: a world in transition — demographically, politically, economically, and climatically. And a parallel, personal recognition that transition is not just something that happens out there.

Multilateral institutions still matter - but they no longer monopolise influence. Increasingly, power is exercised through coalitions of the willing, and that changes everything for long-term strategic decisions.

February reinforced a theme that has been building for months: divergence. Between institutions and individuals. Between fragility and resilience. Between those who lean into volatility and those who retreat from it. At the geopolitical level, systems are more brittle. At the organisational level, leadership pipelines look thinner. At the personal level, responses to instability are increasingly split. The question running through all of this: who adapts — and how? What follo

Most senior panels do not fail because the speakers are weak. They fail because no one is leading the conversation. In volatile geopolitical and corporate environments, public discussions are not neutral. They signal strategy. They expose alignment — or the lack of it. They shape how leaders are perceived. Moderation is not logistics. It is strategic leadership in public.

My response to the volatility that has marked the opening weeks of 2026 has been to be slow and steady. That is deliberate. In my recent paper, State of the World 2026: Leadership When Outcomes Widen, I argue that as the range of plausible outcomes expands, leaders face a heightened risk of over-reacting

This year the drafting felt harder - because the world is more chaotic, the range of possible outcomes has widened considerably. The biggest leadership mistake I see right now is confusing unpredictability with powerlessness. When scenarios multiply, the temptation is to hedge everywhere, delay decisions, and react to noise. That feels prudent. In practice, it's often costly.

As 2025 closed, I found myself reflecting on what has shifted—and what has hardened—over the past twelve months. As we enter 2026, like so many others, I’ve been working on  my annual State of the World  assessment which I’ll have out in the coming weeks. An early teaser – greater volatility, more widely diverging scenarios, and the behaviours leaders will need to navigate them. Meanwhile, here are the signals from December that feel particularly telling.   What I’ve Learned

My brain is changing.  As many of you know, about seven years ago, in my mid-40s, I had breast cancer. Six months later, after several rounds of chemo and radiotherapy, I am clear. The only overt reminder is the pill I take every morning. But there’s another reminder that I notice now and again, and that is that my brain feels different.  About a year after my treatment, I saw my surgeon and explained that I felt like I’d lost about 30% of my brain power. I switched medicatio

Power, data, and imbalance. This month I’ve been struck by how unevenly the benefits of technology and growth are distributed — between nations, between systems, and sometimes within ourselves. From the rise of “embodied AI” in China to the deepening digital divide across the Global South, and from new thinking on growth to the psychology of loss and change — here are my October insights. What I’ve learned about the context Friedrich Merz, Germany’s Chancellor, noted that reg

INSIGHTS SEPTEMBER 2025 September has been a month of dissonance — between speed, and depth, alignment and drift. Between work and...

The age of distraction is also the age of obsession. This line resonated with me deeply this month as I reflected on how attention has become our most valuable—and contested—resource. From China's $680 billion clean tech investment to the 95% failure rate of AI pilots, the patterns emerging in our world mirror the challenges we face as leaders...

Xenia Wickett - AI After a demanding June, July gave me space to reflect, reset, and work on some of the longer-term institutional goals...

Xenia Wickett - Executive Coach, Moderator, Geopolitical Advisor June 2025 Insights June flew by. Intense, energetic, and full of...

For 80 years, the US anchored the global system. Now, uncertainty reigns. Will America turn inward, fuelling division and instability, or recalibrate and remain a key—if less dominant—global player? For business leaders, preparing for both futures is essential as geopolitics becomes a central concern. Which path will rise, and how will you navigate the complexity ahead?

The pace and pattern of change today demands more than traditional leadership instincts. In a world that is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous, clarity is no longer a luxury—it’s a strategic asset. This short piece explores the structural shifts I believe every senior leader should understand—from fracturing global trust and economic headwinds, to demographic divergence and the strategic implications of the energy transition.

Wickett Advisory May 2025 Insights This month I’ve been focused on what I am trying to achieve, for myself and my business. My behaviour...

It’s time to talk about optimism. Not the fluffy kind. Not delusion or denial. But serious, grounded, strategic optimism. The kind that helps us see possibility amidst uncertainty. The kind that fuels bold decisions and creative action. The kind that helps you lead. Because here’s the truth: optimism is not the opposite of realism. It’s part of it.

We’re living through a new kind of uncertainty. Not the occasional shock or unexpected shift—but a persistent, ambient instability. Markets are jittery. Geopolitical tensions simmer. Generative AI, climate risk, culture wars—none of these pressures are new, but they’re now combining in ways that feel relentless. For business leaders, the challenge isn’t just to respond. It’s to lead through the fog. This is a conversation I’ve been having recently with quite a lot of CEOs.

Xenia Wickett - Wickett Advisory April 2025 Insights Something shifted in September last year that has put my business on a new...

On geopolitics – Forecasting long-term global trends is increasingly futile. The divergence between best- and worst-case scenarios is too vast. Yet, while the West obsesses over US retrenchment, China’s rise, and Europe’s struggle for autonomy, much of the Global South (or Global Middle if you prefer) is simply adapting.