leadership

Heading for the exit: do RTO mandates target the wrong people?

Some large firms are leveraging strict return-to-office policies as a way to reduce headcount. But such a short-term strategy might be self-defeating when you lose the people you will need most

Preparing for Davos: the leadership, AI and resilience questions shaping 2026

Davos 2026 will be less about vision and more about readiness. Insights from a McKinsey preview webinar point to the structural gaps organisations can no longer ignore

Signal File: how employees are preparing for the future

From uneven AI access to rising financial anxiety and declining trust, this week’s signals reveal a workforce navigating progress without support

Is misplaced faith in mandates making things worse for the RTO?

Company bosses are doubling down on the return to office but all the evidence on mandates suggests that they repel talent and wreck morale without really raising levels of performance

Why is full-time office work flatlining despite strict mandates?

Evidence suggests that the return to office is stalling, but leaders will miss a trick this autumn if they obsess on RTO policies and not on practices that really improve the work environment

Interview: Google’s Matt Brittin on leading through uncertainty

Matt Brittin, former President of Google EMEA, reflects on nearly two decades at the forefront of digital innovation and what he’s learnt about leadership in a rapidly transforming landscape

Signal file: what this week’s headlines reveal about the unseen forces reshaping work

From disengaged teams and emotionally exposed workplaces to boardrooms lacking digital fluency, this week’s stories highlight subtle cracks – and what it takes to lead in this landscape   

Signal file: what this week’s headlines reveal about soft power and silent tracking

From gendered leadership gaps to the rise of surveillance tech, this week’s signals expose the systems shaping control in the workplace – and what that means for trust, equity and autonomy