Hiring, retaining, and promoting women to the highest levels sets companies on a more prosperous path.

How leading organizations take culture to the next level To weather constant disruption and the accelerating pace of change, organizations fight for top talent, drive innovation, and focus on culture. So why talk about belonging? Belonging may be the key to retention, risk-taking, and engagement that launches an organization past the competition. “Basically, Maslow was saying if you're starving to death, you're not going to be sitting around contemplating life—you’re going to be out searching for food. But what we now know is that Maslow may have missed the mark, and that belonging, the human need to connect and be part of the group around us may be, in fact, our most critical need.” Howard Ross, Founder, Udarta Consulting Howard Ross describes belonging as a shared sense of identity, destiny and values, a sense of interdependence, all of which allow people to feel fully able to be themselves. He says, “When people ask me for definition of terms, I like to say that if diversity is being invited to the dance and inclusion is actually being allowed to dance, belonging is when you actually have some say about the music. In other words, you are so completely a part of [...]

By Peter Lagomarsino and Sean Weathersby Changes implemented by the SEC this past August to rules regarding the way shareholders vote for directors are poised to make it far easier and more attractive for activist shareholders to wage proxy fights. Current management and board directors need to be prepared for an onslaught of such contests. The SEC’s “Universal Proxy” rule that was adopted in November 2021 and went into effect in August 2022 mandates the use of universal proxy cards for contested director elections, significantly altering the shareholder activism landscape. Before the rule change, only shareholders attending the annual meeting were able to cast their votes for a mix of management and dissident directors; shareholders voting remotely or by proxy could only vote for the entire management slate or the entire dissident slate. How the new rule will affect director elections Because a single ballot listing both management and director candidates makes it easier for dissident directors to win election, many corporate governance observers expect to see an increase in proxy fights—and even more so given that turbulence in macroeconomic conditions and share price performance provide activists with additional fodder to call for change. Just as importantly, in addition to becoming more common, we expect [...]

An overlooked cohort is providing wisdom and stability in times of upheaval Werner Boel tells the story of an organization that had imploded at the senior executive and board levels, a community-critical organization with a public dimension. “The situation wasn’t being handled well, and there was tremendous upheaval in the community…. It was a textbook example of how not to do things,” says Boel, senior partner and practice leader, legal and compliance, at the global executive search and leadership advisory firm WittKieffer. When the organization approached people to help it repair itself, “everybody ran for the hills.” But the search consultant and remaining board members came up with a “novel strategy,” Boel says. They brought in a retired leader “who had the experience, was very familiar with the industry and its dynamics, and had a level of understanding and pedigree that would send the signal to the market that the organization was serious. This would help the organization get back into the market, attract talent, and address worries and concerns around the institution’s commitment to turn the page and do so in the way things needed to be done. They wouldn't have been able to recruit anybody if we hadn't [...]