Additive Catchments

How might we co-create a new blueprint for leadership - one rooted in empathy, collaboration, and a deep connection with nature?

Challenge

The utility sector - and the wider systems it touches - is undergoing profound transformation. Facing ecological decline, social fragmentation, and institutional complexity, it’s clear that conventional leadership models are no longer fit for purpose.

To regenerate our rivers, ecosystems and communities, we need leadership that reflects the living systems we seek to protect: dynamic, diverse, inclusive, and interconnected.

This sprint will explore how we can embed inclusive and relational values - care, listening, reciprocity, equity - into governance and leadership at every level, from the frontline to the boardroom. Together, we’ll define what it means to lead with integrity and humility in service of long-term planetary health

What will we do?

We’ll co-create a bold vision of what next-generation leadership should look like in the utility sector - built on river health, climate resilience, inclusive decision-making, and systems thinking.

Together, we’ll:

• Define the principles and practices of leadership that enable thriving ecosystems and communities
• Explore how collaborative governance can help unlock better outcomes for catchments, rivers, and ecosystems
• Embed WiSTEM voices to ensure diverse voices and leadership pathways are part of the redesign
• Identify gaps in current models - where siloed thinking or outdated approaches limit progress
• Develop practical strategies to grow and support nature-positive leaders - from graduate roles to the boardroom

How we will do it?

This five-day sprint will bring together leaders, early-career professionals, ecologists, policy experts, and STEM practitioners to:

• Map leadership structures and collaboration models across utilities and catchments
• Learn from river health case studies, including how leadership fragmentation affects ecological outcomes
• Run visioning exercises on “leadership for nature”, co-creating profiles, principles, and progression paths
• Use storytelling and system mapping to explore barriers and enablers of inclusive environmental leadership
• Prototype a leadership development framework for individuals, teams, and organisations - focused on river systems and broader nature goals

Target Outcomes / Impact Goals

By the end of the sprint, we will have:

• A co-authored definition of nature-first leadership in the utility context
• A model for inclusive, cross-sector governance aligned to environmental outcomes.
• Insights from WiSTEM voices to support diverse, inclusive leadership journeys
• A draft leadership development roadmap to help the sector embed environmental leadership principles
• Practical strategies to embed nature-first leadership across organisations and partnerships

Who will benefit from this sprint?

• Emerging and existing leaders who want to lead with impact in a climate- and nature-focused future
• Environmental and catchment teams seeking stronger support from leadership for river health
• Governance and transformation leads designing cross-sector partnerships and leadership pipelines
• WiSTEM and other talent networks who will gain clearer, more equitable pathways into decision-making roles
• Communities and ecosystems, through more holistic, connected leadership that champions long-term health over short-term gains