What We're Learning

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What We're Learning

What We're Learning | Fall 2025

October 29th, 2025by Leading Edge

Here’s what the Leading Edge team is learning about culture, executives, and boards this fall.

It’s not too late for post-Oct. 7 leadership do-overs

Two years after Oct. 7, some leaders look back wishing they could redo certain workplace decisions, including open discussions that unintentionally left colleagues exposed when views diverged. Writing in eJewish Philanthropy, Ilana Kaufman (Founder & CEO, Jews of Color Initiative, and Leading Edge Board Member) shares the approach she took to support her team: “When we did discuss the rippling impacts of the Oct. 7 attacks, I leveraged skills and tools to best enable constructive dialogue, regardless of individual viewpoints.”

She encourages leaders to take that do-over now by centering care, focusing on the work, and ensuring staff have “space, freedom and safety to not have to prove where, and to what degree, their loyalties lie.”

CULTURE

M² survey finds Jewish professionals lack hope, fear internal division, but believe in their work
Just 24% of Jewish communal professionals frequently feel hopeful, with internal division cited as their greatest challenge. Still, 85% said they draw hope from seeing their work’s impact on others, and most reported feeling deeply connected to the Jewish People.
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No One Has Office Friends Anymore. Why That’s Bad News for Employers
Gallup’s research shows only 20% of U.S. employees report having a best friend at work. This erosion of connection is not just social; employees without strong friendships feel less fulfilled, collaborate less, and are more likely to leave.
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EXECUTIVES

Supporting the people who hold the center: A community relations imperative
Jewish community-relations professionals have been stretched to their limits over the past few years. Leaders at the Jewish Council for Public Affairs describe a two-fold response: supporting the work itself, and investing in the people who do it.
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Why Senior Leaders Should Stop Having So Many One-on-Ones
Instead of relying on 1:1s for operational discussions, CEOs and senior executives should convene small, cross-functional “capability meetings”: 1:2 or 1:3 conversations that reflect how value is actually created.
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Inc: Why Complexity Is Not a Strategy
oneusefulthing.org: Latent Expertise: Everyone is in R&D
HBS: The 'Secret Ingredient' for Effective Training: Middle Managers

BOARDS

How Board and C-suite collaboration can build organizational resilience
A Deloitte global survey finds that volatility and rapid tech change are pushing Boards and executives to partner more closely, which improves alignment, strategic focus, and Board capability to bolster resilience across organizations.
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When the CEO Becomes Board Chair
More than 40% of outgoing S&P 500 CEOs assumed board chair roles within a year of stepping down, according to a 2023 study. With foresight, structure, and empathy, it’s possible to blend continuity with renewal and empower new leadership.
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