Rob Dobi challenges the traditional view of loyalty as an inherent organizational virtue. With recent political examples highlighting loyalty's pitfalls, the article argues that loyalty often masks obedience, favoritism, or self-interest rather than true commitment to mission or values. Unhealthy loyalty can suppress dissent, enable unethical behavior, and harm organizational performance. Instead, Dobi advocates for a shift away from loyalty towards shared principled commitment, where relationships are based on mutual respect, trust, and a shared purpose. He outlines unhealthy forms of allegiance — coerced, sycophantic, relationship-first, and idealized devotion — contrasting them with the healthiest approach: shared principled commitment. Leaders should cultivate cultures that value open challenge, relational reciprocity, and clear values aligned with organizational purpose. This fosters resilience, ethical behavior, and high performance, ultimately building workplaces where commitment to mission transcends mere loyalty to individuals or status quo.

Rob Dobi's article is based on a four-year ethnographic study of a professional services firm that attempted a major transformation to reverse declining performance but ultimately failed. The research involved extensive observation, interviews, and document analysis. It reveals how leadership anxiety, if unacknowledged and unmanaged, paralyzes organizations and leads to defensive behaviors that sustain the status quo rather than change. Anxiety among leaders manifests as fear about their competence and social expectations, creating a cycle of idealizing comforting visions, blaming others, engaging in empty rituals, and ultimately scapegoating. The study emphasizes that successful transformation requires leaders to recognize, share, and manage anxiety by cultivating courage to face worries, curiosity to seek feedback, and care to support others. The article counters the traditional view of leadership as flawless confidence and calls for a culture that humanizes anxiety and channels it toward adaptive change.

Friction in the workplace often gets a bad rap, typically associated with conflict and discomfort. However, when managed well, these interpersonal tensions can actually fuel creativity, inspire innovative ideas, and enhance problem-solving. Rather than avoiding disagreements in favor of easy consensus, embracing contrasting viewpoints opens the door to fresh perspectives and solutions. Experts like psychologist Roni Reiter-Palmon highlight that true creativity emerges from debating ideas, not simply agreeing. Our brains naturally seek to resolve ambiguity, which explains why intellectual friction can spark moments of insight and breakthrough thinking. Studies show that when conflict is approached constructively, it boosts creativity and strengthens team connections. Learning to welcome disagreement requires practice, as modern routines often steer us away from discord. But by encouraging honest debates and moving beyond surface-level consensus, workplaces can unlock a 9% increase in idea generation. Ultimately, fostering a culture comfortable with conflict challenges the status quo and drives innovation—proving that a little discomfort is a small price to pay for creative success.

John Pearson, CEO of DHL Express since 2019 and a seasoned leader with over three decades at the company, shares insights on how DHL’s corporate purpose "Connecting people, improving lives" drives its culture and performance. At DHL, the approach to excellence begins with people — engaging motivated employees to foster a great work environment. Purpose is fundamental; it defines why employees come to work daily and shapes the company’s impact globally. DHL’s purpose has two facets: the daily mission of connecting people and businesses worldwide, and empowering employees through volunteer programs like GoTeach and GoHelp that generate social impact. This dual focus especially resonates with younger employees who seek meaningful engagement beyond routine work. To embed purpose in leadership, DHL incorporates it into self-assessments for managers, promoting reflection on their contribution to the company’s mission. Pearson emphasizes leveraging company assets, such as its global logistics network, to live its purpose — exemplified by initiatives like the GARD program, which prepares airports worldwide for disaster response in partnership with the U.N. This strategic use of resources highlights how purpose can translate into impactful action.

Securing manager approval for innovative ideas is often challenging. Research reveals that employees who have transitioned from working-class backgrounds into white-collar roles tend to communicate in ways that make their ideas more likely to be heard. These 'upward transitioners' are more prone to acknowledge potential gaps in their ideas, invite managers' input, and remain open to revising their proposals. Surveys and behavioral experiments involving over a thousand participants, including a multinational engineering firm's employees in India, indicate this communication style resonates particularly well with powerful managers. The openness reduces defensiveness, shifting the focus from who is right to what solutions might work, and encourages managers to take ownership of the ideas. This approach contrasts with the confident, firm pitches often used by employees with consistently higher-class backgrounds, which may be less effective with those in positions of power.

Andrew Bailey, in his capacity as the chair of the Financial Stability Board, has expressed concern over the potential destabilising effects of advanced AI technologies on the global financial system. He highlighted that cutting-edge AI models are demonstrating increased autonomy, sophisticated problem-solving skills, and potential threat capabilities, raising alarms about their impact on economic stability. This warning was conveyed in a detailed letter to international finance ministers and central bank governors at the G20 meeting.

Agentic AI is shedding light on leadership deficiencies that have long hindered business growth, offering fewer excuses and more accountability for effective management.

I recently had a discussion with a cybersecurity company's founder who mentioned that the board only thinks about a potential M&A process when they’re "in the mood," signaling that selling is often treated as a backup plan when growth slows or liquidity pressures arise. However, the best moment to consider selling usually comes when things are going exceptionally well—when revenue is growing, customer retention is strong, and market momentum is high. This is when strategic buyers tend to offer the best valuations since they prefer acquiring winning businesses.

Another sign to start thinking about sale options is when the founder begins to lose energy or shifts focus, though this doesn’t necessarily mean a sale—sometimes a leadership transition or a partial liquidity event suits better. Also, when multiple buyers show interest, it’s valuable intel that the company may be strategically well-positioned, even if formal selling isn’t immediately planned.

Typically, boards only seriously consider selling when the company faces challenges like slowing growth or cash constraints, but at this point, valuations often reflect struggles, and shareholders may receive less favorable offers. Instead, these moments might be better for a strategic reboot like pivoting or leadership changes to regain momentum.

Boards should actively avoid inertia by continuously evaluating whether selling, scaling, pivoting, or remaining independent will best create shareholder value. Ideally, these conversations happen proactively—not out of urgency or crisis.

Itay Sagie advises tech companies and boards on strategy and M&A, emphasizing the importance of timing and strategy in maximizing company value.

Many boards have made strides in increasing diversity with more women and people of color serving as directors. However, diversity alone is insufficient without true inclusivity, which ensures all members’ voices are heard and valued. Our interviews with board chairs and members revealed a gap: chairs generally believe their boards are inclusive, but many directors disagree. Inclusion means every board member feels respected and empowered to contribute, with diverse perspectives actively sought and thoughtfully considered. We identified five often-overlooked behaviors that chairs can adopt to foster inclusion: 1) Using pre-meeting calls to understand, not control, perspectives; 2) Framing agenda items for discussion rather than presentation, encouraging open dialogue; 3) Demonstrating true hearing by acknowledging and integrating input beyond just active listening cues; 4) Managing seating arrangements to disrupt power clusters and ensure equal participation; and 5) Providing equal access to information and executives to all members consistently.

Additional inclusion boosters include explicitly measuring board inclusiveness through surveys or one-on-one conversations, and offering training to close expertise gaps on complex topics like AI and sustainability. Intentions alone don’t create inclusion—it requires deliberate, consistent chair behaviors. Chairs who embrace these practices can transform diverse boards into inclusive environments where smarter, more innovative decisions thrive.

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Every organization and hiring manager aims to hire the best talent and gain an edge over competitors. But consider this: Have you ever been given a chance by a decision-maker despite lacking perfect credentials? You likely exceeded expectations because someone saw potential in you. Yet today, many leaders hesitate to take these bets, often focusing only on candidates with flawless resumes and backgrounds. This approach is costly and risky.

Research shows that opportunity — giving people a chance and investing in their growth — drives recruitment interest, engagement, effort, and retention more than salary or job design. Yet most leaders reserve opportunities for those they already perceive as "the best," which is neither objective nor efficient. Talent evaluation varies widely, and the "only the best" mindset narrows candidate pools, drives up costs, and often results in poorer performance when star hires fail to meet expectations in new roles.

An alternative is the "opportunity mindset," which doesn’t mean lowering standards but identifying candidates with the right skills and potential rather than credentials alone. By supporting new hires through onboarding, mentorship, and development, organizations can turn good hires into great employees. This approach broadens the talent pool to include nontraditional candidates like community college grads, career switchers, or parents returning to work, creating a more diverse, resilient workforce.

Leading companies like IBM, Bank of America, Google, and others have adopted skills-first hiring and internal promotions, finding these strategies improve retention, productivity, and financial performance.

Even in today’s hiring recession, the opportunity mindset remains valuable. Increased applicants don’t improve judgment, and AI-generated resumes blur signals, making skills assessments more critical. Hiring now offers a chance to invest in undervalued candidates at a lower cost, preparing your company for future labor shortages and a tighter market.

To apply this, try a hiring experiment: define key job skills, evaluate all finalists consistently, and commit to developing the new hire’s potential over their first year. Track performance and retention. This approach could uncover a powerful competitive advantage — transforming good candidates into outstanding employees.

The opportunity mindset builds enduring, inclusive, and future-ready organizations by betting on potential and growth. Remember how someone once believed in you and the returns that brought. Those who make similar thoughtful bets now will lead organizations that thrive over the long term.