BES Insights

Explore practical insights and leadership perspectives from BES on talent strategy, organizational performance, and future-ready teams.

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EDIA/Chad Martin Lawrence
Systemic Racism Without Explicit Laws: Understanding the ‘Shadow System’ of Today
This article clarifies what is meant by systemic racism in contemporary contexts—particularly in environments where explicitly discriminatory laws no longer exist. While many modern systems are designed to be fair, disparities in outcomes continue to persist across areas such as employment, leadership representation, and access to opportunity. Rather than locating systemic racism solely in formal rules, this paper argues that it increasingly operates through what can be understood as a “shadow system.” This shadow system is not codified in policy, but exists alongside formal structures, shaping how decisions are interpreted and applied in practice. It is influenced by habit, familiarity, and historical patterns that continue to inform judgments about competence, potential, and fit.
Read Systemic Racism Without Explicit Laws: Understanding the ‘Shadow System’ of Today
Sustainability/Helen Mekonen
Equity is not Optional: Lessons from Public Education for Every Organization
What happens when our systems only recognize certain kinds of contributions, and only reward certain ways of leading? Drawing from the lessons of public education and the insights of scholar Nicole Ineese-Nash, this article explores how organizations can move beyond performative inclusion toward systems that truly honour cultural knowledge, relational leadership, and shared responsibility. Rather than focusing on what’s lacking, Helen Mekonen invites readers to consider what’s already present—gifts, strengths, and ways of knowing that are often overlooked. For organizations committed to sustainability, equity is not a one-time investment; it is a design principle that must live in everyday practice, accountability, and imagination.
Read Equity is not Optional: Lessons from Public Education for Every Organization
Professional Development/Helen Mekonen
Let’s Go to Lunch! One of the Many Ways to Integrate Culture into Strategy
In this article, Helen Mekonen explores how culture in today’s workplace is shaped not only by where we work but by how we come together. She argues that while digital platforms remain useful, the true power of connection is revealed when people share space: in a meeting room, at a conference, or over lunch. These face-to-face moments build trust, sharpen cultural fluency, and foster collaboration in ways digital exchanges alone cannot. By intentionally making room for in-person interaction, leaders can design strategies that are not only human-centred but also resilient and performance-driven.
Read Let’s Go to Lunch! One of the Many Ways to Integrate Culture into Strategy
Professional Development/Urmilla Mahabirsingh
Elevating Talent Management and Recruitment with Yoga: Cultivating Mindfulness and Wellness
In the demanding world of talent acquisition and management, professionals often face high stress and complex challenges. Yoga offers a powerful tool to cultivate balance, resilience, and mindfulness, enhancing both personal well-being and professional effectiveness. By integrating practices like deep breathing, meditation, and targeted poses such as Mountain Pose or Warrior Pose, professionals can reduce stress, boost creativity, and improve communication. This article explores how yoga can empower talent managers to navigate their roles with composure and innovation, fostering a healthier work-life balance and driving organizational success.
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Professional Development/Jason Murray
From Competent to Compelling: Six Tips for Elevating Your Leadership
In this article, Jason Murray offers six practical and personal strategies for individuals who want to deepen their impact as a leader and grow in their leadership abilities with intention. Rather than focusing on titles or external validation, he emphasizes the importance of building confidence through experience, developing a clearly articulated leadership identity, and cultivating the emotional intelligence required to lead others well. He reminds readers that leadership is not about having all the answers but about staying flexible, curious, and anchored in service.
Read From Competent to Compelling: Six Tips for Elevating Your Leadership
Indigenous Knowledge/Chad Martin Lawrence
Indigenous Languages in the Workplace: A Path towards Reconciliation and Innovation
Incorporating Indigenous languages into the workplace is a powerful step toward reconciliation and inclusivity, extending beyond symbolic recognition to meaningful cultural and operational transformation. These languages carry rich histories, cultural values, and unique perspectives that can foster deeper connections, inspire innovation, and enhance workplace culture. By integrating Indigenous languages into corporate practices, organizations create spaces that honour the heritage of the land's original stewards while addressing systemic barriers to equity and inclusion. Practical applications, such as bilingual signage, language workshops, and culturally informed greetings, visibly and actively celebrate Indigenous contributions. Additionally, engaging local communities, supporting employees with resources, and ensuring authenticity in these efforts amplify their impact while avoiding tokenism. Businesses that embrace Indigenous languages not only strengthen relationships with Indigenous communities but also position themselves as leaders in equity, diversity, and innovation.
Read Indigenous Languages in the Workplace: A Path towards Reconciliation and Innovation
Sustainability/Stephanie La
Green AI: The Role of AI in Sustainability
Green AI emphasizes the importance of balancing innovation with environmental responsibility, addressing the significant environmental and ethical challenges posed by AI development, such as high carbon emissions, energy consumption, and data privacy concerns. While AI offers transformative benefits, including climate change prediction, pollution monitoring, and public health insights, its rapid advancement often prioritizes speed over sustainability. By adopting Green AI practices—such as energy-efficient algorithms, renewable energy sources, and sustainable development goals—organizations can reduce their environmental impact, align with sustainability objectives, and foster long-term growth while contributing to a more sustainable and equitable future.
Read Green AI: The Role of AI in Sustainability
Sustainability/Erica Ing
Greenwashing vs. Authentic Sustainability: An Evaluation
Sustainability has evolved from a peripheral concern to a central pillar of modern business strategy, offering benefits that extend far beyond environmental impact. Companies genuinely committed to sustainable practices attract top talent, foster deeper employee engagement, and build long-lasting brand loyalty. However, the rise of greenwashing—making superficial or misleading environmental claims—threatens to undermine these gains, eroding trust and credibility. Authentic sustainability demands integration into core business values, active employee participation, and measurable, transparent progress. By prioritizing real action over appearances, leaders can harness sustainability as a strategic advantage, driving innovation, cost savings, and resilience while aligning with the values of a more environmentally conscious generation.
Read Greenwashing vs. Authentic Sustainability: An Evaluation
Leadership/Melissa Sumnauth
Perfectionism vs. Good Enough: Leading with Progress over Perfection
Perfectionism begins with a lie—that we are not enough as we are. It can paralyze leaders and organizations, stalling projects, delaying decisions, and undermining authentic voices. Yet perfectionism is not inevitable. Leaders can choose tools and practices that shift the focus from flawlessness to meaningful progress. The 80/20 Rule helps clarify where to invest energy for greatest impact. The Eisenhower Matrix trains attention on what truly matters, not just what feels urgent. Agile approaches remind us to learn through action rather than cling to rigid plans. Beyond frameworks, perfectionism also intersects with systems of oppression, amplifying the weight carried by equity-deserving groups. Naming this systemic critic allows us to challenge its power and move toward our inner champion: a voice of resilience, balance, and authenticity.
Read Perfectionism vs. Good Enough: Leading with Progress over Perfection
Leadership/Urmilla Mahabirsingh
Stewardship in Action: Corporate Responsibility and Policy Implications
In this article, Urmilla Mahabirsingh explores what responsible business leadership looks like today. She explains why environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues are still essential, even as some companies shy away from them. Drawing from Canadian regulations, climate disclosure frameworks, and Patagonia’s business model, she lays out how boards and senior executives can stay focused, transparent, and aligned with their values. For companies that want to build long-term trust and success, she argues, stepping back from ESG is not an option.
Read Stewardship in Action: Corporate Responsibility and Policy Implications
Leadership/Melissa Sumnauth
Diversity of Thought: A Framework for Compassionate and Effective Leadership
In fast-paced, high-stakes environments, the greatest time-wasters are often not technical failures but interpersonal breakdowns: misunderstandings and conflict. In this article, Melissa Sumnauth explores how Edward de Bono’s ‘Six Thinking Hats’ framework offers leaders a practical, compassionate tool to bridge different thinking styles within teams. Through deeper understanding of facts, emotions, benefits, creativity, planning, and judgment, leaders can create more innovative, empathetic, and high-performing organizations.
Read Diversity of Thought: A Framework for Compassionate and Effective Leadership
Leadership/Helen Mekonen
Talent Acquisition Timeline: The Past, Present, and Future
Executive search has undergone a profound shift—from a network-driven process based on visibility and access to a technology-mediated landscape shaped by digital profiles, algorithmic tools, and evolving expectations of leadership. In this article, Helen Mekonen draws on her experience as a search consultant to examine the past, present, and future of talent acquisition. She explores the barriers historically faced by underrepresented leaders, the need for greater discernment in an era of performative visibility, and the legal and ethical concerns surrounding AI’s expanding role in hiring. With practical guidance for search professionals and employers alike, this piece calls for a more human-centred, equity-conscious approach to identifying talent.
Read Talent Acquisition Timeline: The Past, Present, and Future
Leadership/Erica Ing
How to Overcome Decision Fatigue: A Learner’s Guide
In today’s fast-paced world, leaders face the relentless challenge of decision fatigue—the mental exhaustion caused by making countless choices every day. This condition can diminish judgment, productivity, and overall well-being, ultimately impacting organizational success. To combat decision fatigue, leaders must adopt strategies that simplify processes, delegate wisely, and focus on what truly matters. Streamlining routine decisions, leveraging data for clarity, and setting boundaries around technology and rest are essential steps. By prioritizing energy and fostering a supportive environment, leaders can maintain sharp decision-making, set an example for their teams, and steer their organizations effectively toward long-term success.
Read How to Overcome Decision Fatigue: A Learner’s Guide
HR Corner/Stephanie La
The Burnout Divide: Examining Stressors and Solutions in Diverse Workplaces
Workspaces today—whether onsite, remote, or hybrid—present unique challenges that contribute to stress and burnout among employees. Onsite workers often face high-pressure environments and struggle with work-life balance, compounded by the need for visible productivity. Remote workers, while enjoying flexibility, grapple with blurred boundaries, extended working hours, and isolation from colleagues. Hybrid models blend flexibility and connection but still require careful structuring to address employee needs. The key to mitigating burnout lies not in choosing a specific work model but in fostering a supportive environment tailored to diverse employee experiences. By offering mental health resources, promoting clear boundaries, and encouraging open communication, organizations can prioritize well-being and create a workplace where employees thrive, regardless of their work setting.
Read The Burnout Divide: Examining Stressors and Solutions in Diverse Workplaces
HR Corner/Erica Ing
Providing Feedback: A Manager’s Guide
Feedback is a powerful tool for fostering employee growth, development, and performance. To be truly effective, it must be delivered thoughtfully, with care, and respect for the individual. In diverse workplaces, where employees come from various cultural, ethnic, and personal backgrounds, feedback should go beyond performance metrics to create a sense of trust, belonging, and motivation. This guideline is designed to help you provide feedback that is clear, specific, and actionable, while also aligning with Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (EDIA) principles. By doing so, you ensure that all employees receive fair, supportive guidance that promotes their development and strengthens the inclusivity of your team and organization.
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HR Corner/Erica Ing
Reskilling for the Future: Partnering with Technology to Unlock Human Potential
In today’s rapidly evolving world, technology is not a replacement but a partner, enabling us to amplify our unique human strengths. While AI and automation transform industries by handling routine tasks and increasing efficiency, they leave space for our creativity, empathy, and critical thinking to shine. Reskilling is the key to thriving in this landscape, empowering us to collaborate with technology and tackle more meaningful work. Whether it’s doctors combining AI insights with compassionate care, financial advisors blending data with personalized service, or professionals across fields leveraging new tools, the future of work lies in human ingenuity enhanced by technological innovation. By embracing reskilling, we ensure our relevance, deepen our impact, and remain at the forefront of a workforce where humans and technology shape progress together.
Read Reskilling for the Future: Partnering with Technology to Unlock Human Potential

Thought Leadership Videos

Watch recent thought leadership videos on inclusive leadership, workplace culture, and transformation.

Watch on YouTube

The Invisible Line Between Senior Leader and Executive

When moving into executive roles, how you communicate matters as much as what you’ve done. In this short, Jason Murray breaks down what executive-level

Watch on YouTube

Why High Performers Stall Below Executive Level

In this short, Jason Murray explores why strong leaders get held at that threshold and what hiring committees are actually looking for beyond performance, including signals of trust, judgment, and peer-level presence.

Watch on YouTube

What Executive Presence Actually Is

In this short, Jason Murray breaks down why hiring committees look for calm, clarity, and restraint, and how presence often comes through in what you don’t say.

Watch on YouTube

The Interview Mistake Strong Leaders Make

When interviewing for executive roles, strong delivery is expected—so it’s no longer what sets you apart. In this short, Jason Murray shares a common mistake leaders make: answering like high performers instead of future peers.

Watch on YouTube

Why Confidence Stops Working at Executive Level

When interviewing for jobs at the executive level, confidence is expected—and so it’s no longer a differentiator. In this short, Jason Murray shares tips on what executive hiring committees are listening out for, which includes evidence of sound judgment and being able to navigate ambiguity.

Sustainability/Stephanie La

Green AI: The Role of AI in Sustainability

Green AI emphasizes the importance of balancing innovation with environmental responsibility, addressing the significant environmental and ethical challenges posed by AI development, such as high carbon emissions, energy consumption, and data privacy concerns. While AI offers transformative benefits, including climate change prediction, pollution monitoring, and public health insights, its rapid advancement often prioritizes speed over sustainability. By adopting Green AI practices—such as energy-efficient algorithms, renewable energy sources, and sustainable development goals—organizations can reduce their environmental impact, align with sustainability objectives, and foster long-term growth while contributing to a more sustainable and equitable future.

Learn more

Leadership/Melissa Sumnauth

The Importance of Pronouncing a Name: An Act of Inclusive Leadership

Names are not just labels; they are powerful reflections of identity, culture, and history. In this article, Melissa Sumnauth explores the significance of correct name pronunciation in leadership and organizational culture. Drawing on her experience in executive coaching, executive search, facilitation, and people & culture she illustrates how mispronunciation can function as a microaggression and a barrier to inclusion, while intentional effort to say names correctly fosters dignity, belonging, and trust. With practical tools and a call to action for leaders, this article reframes name pronunciation as a vital practice in advancing equity and respectful engagement.

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BES Insights

All Posts

Systemic Racism Without Explicit Laws: Understanding the ‘Shadow System’ of Today

Equity is not Optional: Lessons from Public Education for Every Organization

Let’s Go to Lunch! One of the Many Ways to Integrate Culture into Strategy

Elevating Talent Management and Recruitment with Yoga: Cultivating Mindfulness and Wellness

From Competent to Compelling: Six Tips for Elevating Your Leadership

Indigenous Languages in the Workplace: A Path towards Reconciliation and Innovation

Green AI: The Role of AI in Sustainability

Greenwashing vs. Authentic Sustainability: An Evaluation

Perfectionism vs. Good Enough: Leading with Progress over Perfection

Stewardship in Action: Corporate Responsibility and Policy Implications

Diversity of Thought: A Framework for Compassionate and Effective Leadership

Talent Acquisition Timeline: The Past, Present, and Future

How to Overcome Decision Fatigue: A Learner’s Guide

The Burnout Divide: Examining Stressors and Solutions in Diverse Workplaces

Providing Feedback: A Manager’s Guide

Reskilling for the Future: Partnering with Technology to Unlock Human Potential

Thought Leadership Videos

The Invisible Line Between Senior Leader and Executive

Why High Performers Stall Below Executive Level

What Executive Presence Actually Is

The Interview Mistake Strong Leaders Make

Why Confidence Stops Working at Executive Level

Green AI: The Role of AI in Sustainability

The Importance of Pronouncing a Name: An Act of Inclusive Leadership