EDITION 848
14 DECEMBER 2020

As another week slips by, here are 10 things which caught my attention and may have escaped yours. So grab a brew and find out what's new.

This newsletter is sent to 50,000+ subscribers each Monday at 10am. Please share on social media and forward to your colleagues and friends so they can subscribe, learn and engage. I'd be very grateful if you did.

1. How to promote strategic thinking in your team. Encouraging routine strategic thinking may be the most important thing you can do as a leader. It’s not an easy skill to teach or learn, because it is as much a mindset as a set of techniques - but it’s not impossible. Consider these ways to cultivate strategic thinkers; since they often make the most highly effective leaders: [MORE]

2. Brussels prepares for no-deal Brexit. The EU has published a list of “contingency measures” to stave off big disruptions in case a deal with the UK is not reached or ratified by the end of December. Though talks are ongoing and both parties said an accord would have to be reached by Sunday, the European Commission proposes four measures to prevent chaos in transport and fisheries. On the condition that the UK reciprocates, certain air services as well as road freight and passenger transport would continue for six months. The Commission also suggests letting EU and UK vessels fish in each other’s waters for another year. The Times

3. Online learning gains prestige. Online courses haven't always been given the same weight by employers as in-person degrees, but with the pandemic shifting learning online globally, industry experts have told the BBC they think the prestige gap could shrink. Higher education institutions have moved many degree courses online, including hands-on subjects such as engineering. As well as opening learning up to people unable to attend in person or less interested in the social side of university, industry experts say it could reduce the “stigma” associated with learning online. Our own 10/10 leadership development and mentoring programme is available online and comes with up to 67% government funding. [MORE]

4. Biden and Harris named Time magazine’s people of year. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been named Time magazine’s people of the year for 2020. Announcing the news, the magazine said: “Together, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris offered restoration and renewal in a single ticket.” Former president Barack Obama and outgoing president Donald Trump have also received the honour. Last year’s winner was climate activist Greta Thunberg. Time Magazine

5. Family firms show resilience. Family businesses are handling the pandemic relatively well. Even though family-owned firms generally have to make do with fewer resources, they outperformed other companies “in every region and sector” this year, according to Credit Suisse research. Their secret? There’s more solidarity between management and employees. Management tends to feel highly responsible for workers, which in turn leads to flexible employees who are prepared to put in more hours. Family firms were also aided by their long-term planning and their ability to adapt their business models. The Financial Times

6. COVID hits over 50s job prospects. With unemployment on the rise due to the impact of the pandemic, the Centre for Ageing Better warns that the over 50s are likely to struggle the most to get a new job. Both the youngest and oldest workers are more likely to have lost their jobs, but the charity says previous recessions show the over 50s are more likely to become long-term unemployed. The issue is gaining prominence as a third of the workforce is over 50, and the majority of people are out of work by age 65, though the state pension age is now 66. The Financial Times

7. How The Crown has changed people’s views. 35% of people who have watched the Netflix series The Crown say their impression of the royals has improved. 42% say it has stayed about the same, while 23% say it has worsened. A quarter of viewers say their perception of Prince Charles has worsened, while 34% say it has improved. The Sunday Times

8. Flexible roles far from the norm. Despite the seismic shift towards remote working during the pandemic, the vast majority of job postings still make no mention of flexible working arrangements. That's according to the Flexible Jobs Index from consultancy Timewise, which looked at 6 million job ads from 450 job sites and found 78% don't mention flexible work whatsoever. It's an improvement on last year, though, when only 15% of job ads referenced the possibility of flexible hours, remote working, part-time arrangements or the like. Previous research from Timewise highlighted that 9 in 10 people want to work flexibly. BBC

9. Companies eye neurodiverse talent. Neurodiversity is emerging as the final frontier in the diversity debate – and employers are taking note. In the UK, only 16% of adults on the autism spectrum had full-time employment in 2016; they and other neurodiverse people can face discrimination and challenges at school or work. But increasingly, organisations – from SAP to Universal Music to the Israeli Army – have begun to focus on recruiting and retaining neurodiverse talent. Having people who think differently and see the world differently is really going to support innovation [Editor]. The Observer

10. The bottom line. The proportion of Britons who expect to spend Christmas alone is up from the usual 4% to 8% this year. Daily Mail