New Leadership Book Argues Burnout, AI Anxiety and Workplace Disconnection Share the Same Root Cause
As organisations grapple with burnout, AI-driven transformation, declining trust and employee disengagement, leadership expert Thom Dennis believes many businesses are trying to solve 21st-century challenges with outdated assumptions.
His acclaimed new book, Rewilding the Corporate Mind, argues that the real crisis is less to do with technology or operations, but is a deeply human one.
Senior leaders are under increasing pressure to deliver more, adapt to rapid change and navigate unprecedented complexity. Dennis challenges the industrial-era leadership models built on hierarchy, control and extraction that continue to dominate many workplaces. Instead, he proposes a radically different approach inspired by living systems, drawing on lessons from nature, regenerative thinking and humanity’s oldest wisdom traditions.
“Most leadership books give you a better map of the same territory, but this one changes the territory,” says Dennis. “The future belongs to organisations that can balance performance with humanity, innovation with wisdom and ambition with stewardship. As AI becomes more capable, the defining leadership advantage becomes more human, not less.”
A leadership conversation
The publication comes amid growing concern about workplace wellbeing and increasing scepticism towards traditional leadership structures. At the same time, a broader international movement towards regenerative thinking is gaining momentum, influenced by voices including King Charles III, Paul Hawken and Kate Raworth. Across business, government and civil society, leaders are increasingly questioning whether systems designed solely for efficiency and growth, remain fit for purpose.
Rewilding the Corporate Mind builds on this by exploring how principles found in healthy ecosystems – diversity, adaptability, interdependence, resilience and renewal – can help organisations thrive in an era of disruption.
From Royal Marines officer to leadership pioneer
Dennis brings a unique perspective to the debate. A former Royal Marines officer and CEO of Serenity in Leadership, he has spent more than three decades working internationally with leaders and organisations across sectors including banking, pharmaceuticals, energy, engineering, software and professional services.
Combining military leadership experience, group facilitation and human development work, he offers a perspective rarely found in traditional business literature. He argues that many workplace challenges, from burnout and disengagement to fear-based decision-making, are symptoms of deeper systemic patterns rather than individual failings.
What readers will learn
Through practical insights, real-world examples and reflective exercises, readers of the book will discover how to:
- Recognise fear-based leadership patterns that suppress creativity and innovation
- Apply the intelligence of living systems to complex organisational challenges
- Build cultures of belonging, psychological safety and collective responsibility
- Move beyond command-and-control management towards more adaptive and resilient leadership
- Address burnout and disengagement as systemic issues rather than individual weaknesses
- Balance analytical thinking with intuition, empathy and courage
- Create organisations that are capable of surviving disruption and contributing positively to people, communities and the wider world
The book also includes a series of reflective “Seeds for Reflection” designed to help leaders examine the assumptions shaping their organisations and explore new possibilities for the future.
Why this matters now
As organisations face the combined pressures of AI, geopolitical instability, climate uncertainty, talent shortages and shifting workforce expectations, Dennis argues that leadership itself must evolve.
“This is a recognition that qualities we’ve historically undervalued – empathy, collective wisdom, intuition, long-term stewardship and compassion – are becoming essential capabilities for navigating complexity. The organisations that flourish over the next decade will be those that learn how to create the conditions for life, creativity and human potential to thrive.”
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