Over the past three years, our Partnership Awards have shown a clear evolution in how organisations work with their technology and service partners. In 2024, we highlighted the foundations of great collaboration: trust, shared goals, honest communication, and a focus on people over products. As our 2024 Partnership article noted, “the best partnerships invest in relationships… it’s about working together to make sure [technology] is used in the best way”.

In 2025, we saw partnerships becoming more strategic and culturally aligned. We described how successful collaborations “transcend traditional transactional dynamics” and how deeply integrated teams create a unified force working toward shared outcomes.

Stepping into a senior leadership role in a new organisation is rarely a clean slate. It is more often like joining a story already in full flow. For Hannah Will, her first year in post felt exactly like that.

“It was like being dropped into the middle of a very complex story halfway through the book, with no glossary or terms of reference.”

Despite a warm welcome, Hannah quickly realised that success would not come from imposing solutions, but from listening deeply, understanding unspoken dynamics, and earning trust through authenticity.