Thinking the Unthinkable Founder and Director Nik Gowing joined Lawrie Philpott on The Leadership Listening podcast. The aim was to explore how leadership is addressing accelerating uncertainty across geopolitics, climate, technology, and public institutions.
In the midst of crises, Nik argues that leaders are still operating on assumptions that no longer hold.
“This is about the end of stability. The stability we take for granted… is potentially under threat in ways which I don’t think most people are really wanting to accept.”
What makes this shift more difficult, he suggests, is not just the scale of change, but the inability of existing systems to respond at the speed required.
“Overall, tragically I don’t think politicians… can handle the enormity of what is now happening. They are facing new realities they’ve never really considered or confronted.”
Many of the structures that are meant to support decision-making are now actively constraining it. They are shaped by inherited assumptions and professional norms that no longer fit the environment they are operating in.
“One of our main findings is the qualifications which get you a job actually disqualify you from being able to do that job.”
Nik describes this as a deeper cultural issue inside institutions and organisations. A preference for compliance and following “zombie orthodoxies” over uncomfortable insight.
“Most people are brilliant operators and extraordinary thinkers, but they are hamstrung by the fact they are expected to comply as opposed to think the unthinkable.”
That gap between what is visible and what is acted upon is one of the defining leadership failures of the current era. Evidence exists but is often resisted because it disrupts established narratives.
“The evidence is very clear… people could not believe it.”
The consequence is a growing mismatch between the pace of change in the world and the pace at which leadership systems are designed to respond.
This is not simply about geopolitics or national security, but about the resilience of societies and organisations more broadly. This includes their ability to adapt to disruption without defaulting to familiar but outdated thinking.
“You’ve got to have eyes open. You’ve got to have a system around you of people who are prepared to tell you what you don’t want to hear but need to hear.”
What emerges from the conversation is not pessimism, but a call for a different kind of leadership. One that is more honest about uncertainty, more willing to challenge orthodoxy, and more able to operate without the comfort of assumed stability.
“You’ve got to have mind muscle which allows you to think spontaneously and opportunistically about what is needed and how it can be achieved.”
Nik’s message is that leadership is no longer about managing a predictable system. It is about navigating a reality where leaders are constantly under pressure, and where the old playbooks no longer apply in a volatile world.
