Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) is a set of standards measuring a business's impact on society, the environment, and how transparent and accountable it is. ESG is at long last on the boardroom agenda, but recent research shows that whilst three quarters of boards believe ESG is important to their company’s success there is a disconnect in linking their governance approach with performance and goals. How can boards drive through their approach to deliver results?

Unforeseen risk is a subject of concern for directors and whilst they would love to see into the future, companies will always be challenged by unexpected events. These events always contain elements of both threat and opportunity and a resilient approach to their navigation can have multiple advantages. What more can boards be doing to oversee risk and make the business resilient in the face of unexpected disruption?

The predictions and advice available on how best to weather these times of great uncertainty and business disruptions are many. Macroeconomic instabilities and a looming global slowdown affect us all. Adding our perspective to the mix, we see a key characteristic that organisations will have to practice and integrate, to thrive in the future - flexibility. Taking on an interim solution is for many companies and organisations still a new approach to create room for flexibility, growth and improved efficiency.

Catharina Mannerfelt, partner at Alumni, has extensive experience supporting boards and owners in board composition, board effectiveness and board development. Here she discusses some of the challenges and considerations she observes around board succession.

The implementation of targets has had minimal impact on diversity over the years, especially when looking beyond gender and race; perhaps it is time for a new approach? Leaders who can build a culture of inclusivity in their business can create organic change and build an environment where different voices and perspectives can be heard and made welcome.

FACT: Good leadership makes for good business – But what does a good leader look like? Authoritarian, democratic or delegating, there are almost as many leadership theories as there are leaders; the simple truth is that there is no one right way to lead. How to adapt with different approaches for every situation could be the most important leadership skill to learn.

We recently interviewed Anders Runevad, professional non-executive board director.

Recent times have highlighted the importance of workplace wellness and the current geopolitical and economic instabilities have kept it high on the agenda. In this article, we explain why psychological safety is necessary for the highest expression of integrity, innovation, and inclusion; explore the obstacles to creating psychological safety; and show how leaders can overcome these obstacles to boost resilience.

We have interviewed Johan Book, co-founder and advisor with organisation HejEngagemang! working to inspire businesses and individuals on the importance of employee angement and motivation, to create a more successful and healthy worklife.

What happens when the innate traits of leaders conflicts with the dynamic of cohesive teams and how can leadership development mitigate against this? Fredrik Malmsten, Chartered Psychologist at Alumni, outlines the common barriers to creating cohesive leadership teams and how organisations might overcome them.

Together with the International Hospital Federation’s Women in Leadership Forum, we recently hosted an event to help raise awareness and encourage an interchange of experience about career progression into senior leadership roles. This was a wide-reaching forum providing unique insights and personal experiences on overcoming the challenges of being a woman in a position of leadership, discussing topics such as: barriers to entry, structural inequalities leveraging opportunities, allies and sponsorship.

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors are rising up the boardroom agenda, as governments and businesses grow in their commitment to be less impactful on the planet and deliver more equitable societal outcomes. HR professionals can play a pivotal role in helping organisations achieve their ESG goals, whether through simply reflecting the diversity of society itself or committing to the strategic cultural goals of carbon footprint reduction and sustainable business practices.

In the hunt for scarce talent and an eagerness to seal a deal quickly, it can be tempting to settle for establishing a candidate’s skills, abilities, and performance through internal selection processes. However, in many roles leadership potential, business attitude, and cultural compatibility are crucial when it comes to making the right decisions in a hiring process. This article explores how getting a second opinion can make a difference in the recruitment process, avoid bias, and improve employers’ ability to make the right choice.

People—and how we invest in and develop them—will ultimately determine whether organisations thrive or merely survive. This article outlines how some principles of ‘Adaptive Leadership’ can support you to focus your priorities on your most important asset.

We recently interviewed Patricia Fors, experienced HR Director and co-founder of the network-based company Future of Work Solutions.

What is going wrong with succession planning when four in ten [1] of the internal job moves made by ‘high potential’ people ends in failure? Do we promote people to leadership roles using the wrong criteria? Daniel Mannheimer, Senior Consultant and Chartered Occupational Psychologist at Alumni explores the reasoning on which we base promotions, how the idea of good leadership is shifting and how we can start turn things around to build organisational resilience for the future.

We recently interviewed Henrik Grand Petersen, CEO of Stena Recycling.

A truly healthy organisation is one which strategically integrates employee well-being into its business objectives and reinforces it through improving and developing their leadership practices. Read more about how leadership impacts organisational health.

Healthcare systems worldwide are faced with escalating demands from the populations they serve. It is vitally important that we now take the necessary steps to realise the opportunities that do exist and only then will we emerge with a sustainable model of healthcare that delivers to patients and populations the care that they deserve. We present latest thoughts from Professor Sir Robert Lechler, Associate Advisor to our Global Healthcare Practice at Alumni

Malin Grundström, Senior Consultant and Head of Alumnis operations in Southern Sweden discusses how regularly conducted ‘Stay Interviews’ between leadership and their reports can provide valuable insights into daily work experiences and strengthen the employee's engagement and retention within the organisation.