This interview with BlueSteps Director of Executive Career Services Simeon Wong shares how today's executives are thinking about career change in the wake of COVID-19.

Cluen, a provider of executive search software, shares why accessibility should be in any organization's diversity & inclusion (D&I) strategy

This article shares top considerations for family businesses in transition, from executive talent strategy to digitalization.

Among the lessons of COVID-19 is the knowledge that human beings and our organizations can adapt more quickly and completely than we ever imagined. No one could have predicted how fast and how effectively office workers would adapt to remote work, or how nimbly business models would change. Health care, food service, education, entertainment, manufacturing and more evolved on the spot. COVID proved that the inability to adapt can be catastrophic. It also proved that we can change, if we want to. Going forward, how can C-level executives best ensure cultures of inclusion in the post-COVID workplace, and in turn, best attract and retain top talent? REFRESHER COURSE: Inclusion by the Numbers Thought leaders, executives, government entities and researchers have published, persuaded and pleaded the clear case for inclusion. Change has been slow despite the data-driven case for inclusion, but the numbers speak for themselves: INCLUSION AND THE WAR FOR TALENT In the ongoing competition for top talent, inclusive workplaces have a quantifiable advantage. July 2020 research from McKinsey found that 39% of all respondents say they have turned down or decided not to pursue a job because of a perceived lack of inclusion. Next-Gen talent is significantly more likely [...]

The transition to remote work in 2020 has driven technology adoption at an unprecedented pace. Online events, teleconferencing, and virtual meetings quickly became the standard. “Zoom” entered the vernacular seemingly overnight. At virtual happy hours, conversations swirled around whether Microsoft Teams or Slack was the better collaboration tool. Necessity became the mother of adoption. The threats This transition was also the mother of opportunity for cyber criminals and threat actors worldwide. The security implications for remote and hybrid work are immense, in which new vulnerabilities are met by an evolution in the threat arena. 1. Outside the Wall As the threat of COVID-19 became understood in early 2020, the first priority for organizations was business continuity: keeping employees and customers safe, shifting to remote work, deploying new collaboration tools, and building ecommerce capabilities. As vast numbers of workers left the security of their employers’ firewalls, technology leaders had to act quickly to improve endpoint security. Employees’ home networks are more vulnerable, and it is challenging to ensure that all security patches and updates are installed on employees’ home networks and devices. 2. Peak Volume Online shopping, virtual engagement tools, social media-supported food delivery and a jump in IoT (Internet of [...]

In Coaching: The Secret Code to Uncommon Leadership, Author and Leading Executive Coach Ruchira Chaudhary unpacks the critical role of leadership and coaching in turbulent times. Ruchira's new book contains valuable insights drawing on lessons from interviews with successful leaders worldwide.  Effective Leadership in Turbulent Times In June 1966, Robert F. Kennedy said in a speech in Cape Town, ‘Like it or not, we live in interesting times. They are times of danger and uncertainty; but they are also more open to the creative energy of men than any other time in history.’ You may be familiar with this apocryphal Chinese curse that sounds like a blessing or a warm wish but is used ironically to indicate a period of chaos or disorder. I cannot think of a better analogy to describe the uncertainty of mammoth proportions we face today, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. On the work front, virtually overnight, the economic shock gave rise to a new reality that caused much stress and anxiety, leaving everyone bewildered. The work from home (WFH) phenomenon is now becoming our new normal; we may have settled into a routine of sorts, but the underlying duress, angst and the occasional panic attack is [...]

“In these challenging times, it’s difficult to anticipate how customer needs will evolve and how operations may be disrupted. A business must be flexible and adaptable to stay relevant. This challenge will persist if a company is resistant to change. That’s why introducing young talent to the business is so important. Young employees can augment a company’s agility, and ensure it has the technical skills and innovation needed to succeed.” Marvin Opperman, “Businesses should be actively seeking out young talent right now.” HR Future, 9 February 2021 People and organizations will come out of the COVID-19 crisis changed, if not transformed. Next gen talent—specifically younger Millennials and older Gen Zs who grew up digital and came of age during the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, respectively, have been shaped by this disruption in meaningful ways. C-suite executives investing in their talent pipeline and preparing to recruit and retain young, high-potential candidates would do well to consider the social and professional impact of the pandemic on these future leaders. Next Gen Snapshot Multiple researchers on generational ‘types’ indicate that Millennials, born from 1980 to 1995, tend to be willing to compromise, have learned to be self-sufficient, and want to [...]

“Digital tools that got little traction for years are now business requirements, not only for productivity, but also for client engagement, business development, even social connection and celebration. The question we have to ask ourselves is no longer how will we adapt to our new normal, but more importantly, how will we create a better normal?” Erica Dhawan, AESC Virtual Conference. May 12, 2021 Erica Dhawan is an award-winning speaker, author and student of innovation and collaboration who spoke about digital body language, why it matters and how to use it to master sales and engagement at the 2021 AESC Virtual Conference, “Thriving in the Next Normal.” A New Language Barrier In a recent study of over 3000 office workers Dhawan found that the average employee is wasting up to four hours per week on poor, unclear or confusing digital communication. If roughly three-fourths of face-to-face communication is nonverbal body language, what are we missing when we are no longer communicating face to face? When we are engaging with people on screen, Dhawan said, “We can't just sense if someone's on the verge of tears or really excited; we can't read the ‘lean in,’ in a sales conversation with a [...]

ESG is more than a guideline for the good times, when companies can afford to be benevolent. Rather, it is a roadmap to sustainable value creation. “Beyond the crisis horizon, more evidence is emerging that companies that follow more narrowly defined ESG standards, on average, outperform the market,” according to the World Economic Forum. (September 2020) Yet, as world economies emerge from the overlapping crises of climate events, social unrest and a global pandemic, organizations that adhere to the ESG ethos have had their commitments tested. HARD CHOICES What do boards see as their responsibility in times of intense challenge? Their first order of business is making sure there is a business. Mpho Nkeli is Director at Search Partners International/AltoPartners in South Africa. “The responsibility of boards during a pandemic or crisis of this nature is multifold. Number one is to make sure that the business survives, if the business doesn't survive, everything else is secondary. When companies become cash strapped, the question is, what do you prioritize?” “This is not just about your environmental footprint or how green your operations are. It is about fundamentally striving to do the right thing by all stakeholders. It is about how you [...]