Trends
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Trust Is Built in the Small Moments: How to Lead with Consistency
Trust is one of the most important currencies in the workplace, yet it is often misunderstood. People tend to equate trust with honesty, assuming that as long as they tell the truth, trust will follow. While honesty is essential, it is only one part of the equation. Trust also involves dependability, discretion, empathy, and how well you follow through on what you say. These qualities are shaped not by big promises, but by the repeated behaviors that others observe over time.
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Santos CFO’s Exit Highlights Succession Risk and Governance Gaps
The abrupt resignation of Santos CFO Sherry Duhe exposes critical lessons about succession risk, governance maturity, and leadership resilience. This article explores how sudden executive departures test organizational continuity, stakeholder trust, and board accountability.
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Leadership Links #19
Porsche names Michael Leiters CEO for 2026, Santos loses its CFO, Heathrow lines up a new chair, Michael Dell calls for manufactured urgency, and Hyundai Motor India installs its first Indian CEO with a major investment plan.
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Resilience as a Team Sport: Why You Can’t Bounce Back Alone
When we talk about resilience in the workplace, we often imagine the lone professional who endures pressure with grace, bounces back from failure effortlessly, and thrives in high-stress situations without missing a beat. This narrative may be inspiring, but it is also misleading. Resilience is rarely built in isolation. Instead, it is shaped and sustained by the relationships and support systems that surround us.
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NI Holdings’ New CEO: Turning Board Confidence into Execution
NI Holdings, a provider of specialty insurance and business services, has appointed Cindy Launer as President and CEO effective October 10, 2025. She succeeds Seth Daggett, who stepped down to pursue other opportunities. Launer is no stranger to the organization. She has served on the company’s board of directors and previously stepped in as interim CEO, giving her an established reputation within both leadership and operational circles.
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Leadership Links # 18
This week’s edition focuses on execution under pressure and the structures leaders use to turn strategy into results. Virgin Atlantic selects a proven operator to steer reliability and premium experience. ANZ lays out a tougher, clearer plan that ties costs to outcomes. FedEx finalizes a freight spin-off team to unlock cycle-specific focus. Volkswagen Group confirms a CEO to scale SEAT and CUPRA through electrification. HBR closes with a practical playbook for when old success conditions vanish.
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The Power of Everyday Forgiveness: Letting Go Without Letting Down
Forgiveness is often seen as a deeply personal virtue, something reserved for close relationships or moments of profound hurt. In the workplace, however, forgiveness plays an essential but often overlooked role in leadership. When conflict, mistakes, or unmet expectations arise, the ability to forgive allows a leader to reset the tone and restore trust. This doesn’t mean ignoring problems or letting people off the hook. Instead, forgiveness gives us a way to move forward without letting the past permanently stain the relationship.
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Burberry’s DEI Rollback: Embedded or Invisible?
Burberry has taken a step that reignited global debate about the future of workplace inclusion. The company announced the elimination of its head of diversity position and plans to reduce […]
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Leadership Links #17
This week’s edition spotlights how companies are tuning leadership roles to match strategy in a fast moving market. Microsoft is creating a dedicated commercial CEO to tighten execution while Satya Nadella concentrates on AI and core architecture. Apple’s succession chatter centers on hardware leadership. H-E-B advances an experienced operator to a historic first. S&P Dow Jones Indices chooses a derivatives and data veteran to lead its next chapter, and Unilever strengthens people leadership across customer development, supply chain, and digital work.
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Accountability Without Authority: Holding Everyone to a Higher Standard
Accountability often brings to mind images of confrontation, discipline, or even public reprimand. In many workplaces, the word has been misused so frequently that it now carries a negative tone. Yet accountability, when practiced with intention and care, is one of the most valuable tools for personal and organizational growth. Rather than a mechanism for blame, it should serve as a structure for clarity, consistency, and shared purpose.
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GSK CEO Transition: Balancing Legacy, Expectation and Renewal
Leadership transitions in the pharmaceutical industry carry stakes that extend far beyond shareholder headlines. The recent announcement that Emma Walmsley, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), will step down at the end of 2025 represents one of those inflection points. Walmsley, who has guided the company since 2017, will remain through September 2026 to support continuity while Chief Commercial Officer Luke Miels takes over as CEO on January 1, 2026.
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Leadership Links #16
CEO shifts and org redesigns headline this week’s Leadership Links, from GSK’s planned handoff to Oracle’s co-CEOs and Mercedes’s tech and production refresh. Plus, healthtech M&A accelerates and MakeMyTrip adds new operating and finance leaders. Get board-ready takeaways on succession, structure, and execution.
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Reclaiming Joy at Work: The Case for Collaborative, Caring Workplaces
In many workplaces, joy has become an afterthought. The pressure to meet deadlines, hit performance targets, and keep up with nonstop change leaves little room for fulfillment or connection. Over time, this constant pressure erodes enthusiasm. What was once meaningful work begins to feel mechanical. Employees focus on surviving the week rather than thriving in their roles. While organizations may not intend to drain energy from their teams, a culture of stress can become normalized if no one steps back to challenge it.
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Gucci’s Leadership Reset under Kering: Francesca Bellettini’s Mandate and the Urgency of Heritage Forward Strategy
Gucci, one of the most recognized names in the luxury sector, is entering a defining chapter in its history. Sales have fallen by roughly twenty five percent and profits have been cut nearly in half, creating a sharp contrast to the brand’s legacy of strength and influence. These numbers reflect more than short-term turbulence. They signal a deeper vulnerability at a time when competition in the luxury market is more intense than ever.
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Leadership Links #15
IndusInd Bank of India has appointed Viral Damania as CFO effective September 22, 2025. This follows a $230 million loss tied to accounting irregularities of internal derivative trades. The accounting lapse also prompted earlier resignations by former CEO Sumant Kathpalia and deputy Arun Khurana. Damania, with 27 years of banking experience including senior finance roles at Bank of America India and Citibank North America, is expected to help stabilize financial reporting, reinforce internal controls, and rebuild credibility.
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From Stuck to Streamlined: How Process Thinking Transforms Daily Work
In many organizations, the pace of work is relentless. Meetings fill the calendar, emails stack up, and people rush from task to task with little time to think. On the surface, this level of activity may look like productivity. Teams appear busy, deadlines are met, and metrics are updated. But beneath the surface, important questions often go unasked. Are we solving the right problems? Is this work creating value? Could we be doing it in a better way?
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Microsoft’s Return‑to‑Office Policy: What Leaders Should Know About the Shift to Three Days In Office
Many large employers are tightening hybrid norms to regain speed, alignment, and apprenticeship. Microsoft’s plan to require most employees to work in office at least three days per week is the clearest signal so far. The policy reframes presence as a tool for work that benefits from proximity, not a blanket statement about trust. It also raises hard design questions for leaders. Which activities truly need in person time. How should schedules, spaces, and coaching evolve so that office days raise quality rather than just count attendance.
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Leadership Links #14
This week’s edition spotlights leadership choices made under pressure from cyber risk, succession planning, shifting client demand, and profit headwinds. You will see how M&S responds to a costly cyberattack […]
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Purpose Over Profit: Rethinking What Makes a Business Truly Productive
For years, productivity has been measured by traditional financial outcomes. Revenue growth, profit margins, and return on investment are the benchmarks that dominate boardroom conversations. These metrics are useful and necessary, but they do not tell the whole story. When organizations focus only on profitability, they often miss what makes their success sustainable. Efficiency and earnings can rise in the short term even as employee morale, customer trust, and long-term resilience begin to decline.
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Leadership Links #13
This week’s edition examines how leaders navigate political risk, culture scrutiny, unconventional talent bets, and the fast rise of AI inside decision making. France’s confidence vote is rattling boardrooms that […]
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Tech Won’t Save You: Why Human-Centered Workflows Still Matter Most
Modern organizations are flooded with tools designed to make work faster, smarter, and more efficient. Project management platforms, AI-driven analytics, workflow automation, and communication apps are now staples of daily operations. These technologies promise to streamline tasks, reduce human error, and unlock productivity gains across the board. While some of these promises are fulfilled, others fall short. The assumption that better tools automatically create better results often leads companies to overinvest in technology while underinvesting in the people who use it.
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Flattening Corporate Layers Is Changing How Work Gets Led
Many large companies are removing layers to move faster and spend less. Across Corporate America, the average manager to employee ratio has stretched from roughly 1 to 5 in 2017 to about 1 to 15 by 2023. Google, Amazon, Intel, and Estée Lauder are among the firms that cut middle management in pursuit of speed, clearer accountability, and lower cost structures. The intent is simple. Fewer layers should mean quicker decisions and less bureaucracy. The reality is more nuanced.
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Leadership Links #12
This week’s edition looks at how leadership teams are reshaping strategy and structure under pressure from markets, politics, and talent dynamics. You will see why Renault tapped an experienced operator to steer Dacia through a competitive cycle, how BlackRock is pressing state officials to keep pension investing focused on fiduciary duty, and why Milan is pulling finance leaders with tax incentives even as global fundraising cools. We also cover a surge in asset management dealmaking that points to a scale and capability race, plus a rapid flattening of corporate org charts that is changing how managers lead.
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Ditch the Carrots and Sticks: Building Cultures That Actually Motivate
In many organizations, motivation is still treated as something external. Employees are pushed to perform through performance bonuses, public recognition, and the threat of poor evaluations or job loss. These methods are rooted in the idea that people will only do their best when they are given a strong enough reason to care. For decades, companies have leaned heavily on reward systems and disciplinary policies to drive results. This model may yield short-term gains, but it often fails to create lasting engagement. Once the reward is earned or the threat removed, motivation tends to fade.
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Citi’s Leadership Dilemma: How to Balance Performance, Culture, and Governance
Citigroup finds itself in a classic leadership bind. The bank recruited Andy Sieg in 2023 to accelerate its wealth strategy and simplify a sprawling organization. Since then, Citi has pointed […]