Leaders are often encouraged to be open, authentic and vulnerable at work. Employees are similarly told their voices matter in the workplace and to speak up when they need to. But, being open and honest at work is not always as straightforward as these messages suggest. What these invitations for honesty don’t fully acknowledge is that speaking up is an act of confidence, bolstered by a steady reserve of self-worth. For many people, speaking one’s truth or revealing one’s honest thoughts and feelings can be a nerve-wracking experience because it leaves them exposed to judgment, ridicule and re ..read more

While many of us can name a handful of CEOs, identifying directors serving on the boards of those same organizations is probably more challenging. The work of directors, whether they hold volunteer or compensated positions, is rarely publicized, and when it is, it is rarely good news. Indeed, corporate scandals often prompt public scrutiny, focusing on the board’s role and questioning how directors could have overlooked issues or been complicit in questionable organizational conduct. Consider instances such as Valeant Pharmaceuticals’ questionable accounting practices, which went undetected an ..read more

Have you worked with or for someone who is a charmer to some people yet simultaneously harmful to others? Maybe you’ve seen the media highlight these people in politics or the entertainment industry, or traditionally male-dominated sectors? They hold such power and influence that they can hire, fire, and destroy another person’s career simply by gossiping and undermining them within their network.  If so, you may be witnessing a form of harassment called professional abuse. There is little to no awareness about professional abuse in the workplace. Knowing what it is, how it presents, and ..read more

By Dean Bennett in Edmonton An Alberta Health Services investigation into a long-running dispute involving six physicians and conflict of interest allegations has been animated by new counter-accusations and legal warnings. The dispute involving Dr. Daniel O’Connell of Edmonton began more than a year ago and led to the Opposition NDP calling for an independent investigation. Alberta’s health minister has said she’s content to let the in-house probe run its course. The allegations against O’Connell are contained in a complaint and revolve around his interim role as division director a ..read more

By Tara Deschamps BlackBerry Ltd.’s new chief executive has his eye on lowering expenses as the company works to split its two main businesses and return the firm to some of its former glory. “A key focus is to return BlackBerry to profitability and positive cash flow, and this requires us to make some tough decisions on our cost structure,” John Giamatteo told analysts on a call held Wednesday, roughly a week into his tenure. Cost-cutting efforts helped the Waterloo, Ont.-based software company — which has pivoted away from its smartphone roots in favour of pursuing cybersecurity and Internet ..read more

By Tara Deschamps As shoppers crammed into stores across the country on Black Friday, Carrie Baker was busy greeting customers and ringing up purchases at Canada Goose Holdings Inc.’s store on Saint-Catherine Street West in Montreal. The president of the luxury apparel business was one of 15 members of Canada Goose’s executive ranks who ditched her desk to play sales associate. Chief executive officer Dani Reiss was stationed at Yorkdale Mall in Toronto. Others visited stores in Los Angeles, London, Zurich, Shanghai and Tokyo. Their goal was to spend the day observing customers and employees b ..read more

By Matt O’brien The ousted leader of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI is returning to the company that fired him late last week, culminating a days-long power struggle that shocked the tech industry and brought attention to the conflicts around how to safely build artificial intelligence. San Francisco-based OpenAI said in a statement late Tuesday: “We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board.” The board, which replaces the one that fired Altman on Friday, will be led by former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor, who also chaired Twitter’s board ..read more

By Louise Champoux-Paillé, Concordia University and Anne-Marie Croteau, Concordia University Over the past few years, there has been a great deal of research looking at how well women are represented in top companies. The findings continue to be distressing. Whether in Canada or the United States, the proportion of women in top management in large organizations still hovers around five per cent. Can we expect this percentage to increase over the next few years? Will today’s pool of up-and-coming female talent ensure a substantial increase in the number of female CEOs, or will other strategies ..read more

The chief executive of Shopify Inc. is discouraging staff from taking on side gigs that divert their attention away from the company. Tobi Lutke says in a memo circulated to staff that the Ottawa-based e-commerce company’s mission to build world-class software for millions of merchants requires their unshared attention. He says he felt like he was on the Truman Show when he recently learned the company was handing out offer letters to prospective hires encouraging side gigs. He says staff should still feel free to run a Shopify story to learn about the company’s products, but if it grows, he w ..read more

By Ritika Dubey NHL coach Mike Babcock thought he was just trying to get to know his players better, but experts say he may have crossed a line that’s sometimes hard to see. After joining the Columbus Blue Jackets, Babcock was called out this week for allegedly asking some players to show family photos off their phones — raising questions of privacy and misusing his position as a head coach. Experts say it is important for senior-level employers to remember that positional power is a real thing. “From a positional power perspective, because it is someone in a higher position asking you a quest ..read more