I typically advise my clients to take the following steps if they’re looking to turn their reactive social issue response into a proactive and sustainable strategy. Resolving this tension requires prioritizing the “right” reactive efforts, and using the time and trust they generate to take on longer-term proactive work in parallel. As a result, short-term actions always win out - a reasonable decision in isolation, but a compounding problem over time as stakeholders expect greater action that never comes. The paradox many leaders face is the relative difficulty of taking on such a substantial reimagining of their organization’s role in the world, compared to the relative ease of making a donation, commenting on social media, or investing in short-term resources. What stakeholders want, and that many leaders are yet unprepared to deliver on, is a proactive rather than reactive approach to taking action on social issues, in which corporations take on greater responsibility for not only their impact on society, but society’s impact on corporate stakeholders like employees, customers, and communities. If they choose to take action at all, they more often than not follow a long-outdated playbook of one-time corporate donations, hastily delivered unconscious bias trainings, and social media posts that come across as the corporate equivalent of “thoughts and prayers.” These efforts may be seen by stakeholders as not only inadequate, but also as potential indicators that corporate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives are “performative,” or similarly done for show but not effectiveness. What’s become clear to me is that, despite the increasing urgency from stakeholders of all kinds for corporations to take on a greater role in social change, a large proportion of leaders are vastly unprepared or even unaware of these expectations. I’ve seen the same in my work with U.S.- and Europe-based corporations in the last several years as I advised dozens of leaders through crises ranging from reckonings against anti-Blackness to reproductive rights post-Roe. And while survey respondents indicated low trust in “CEOs,” they paradoxically indicated high and growing trust in “my CEO” - highlighting the increasing expectations among employees around the world that their employer take action. The latest data from the Edelman Trust Barometer, an NGO researching trust in societal institutions, shows Business as the sole remaining “trustworthy” institution amid plummeting trust in Government and Media since 2020, worldwide. If you’ve felt like the pressure on organizations, especially corporations, to take action on social issues has increased in the last few years, you’d be well-justified in thinking so. “What are you and your organization going to do about this?” These stakeholders direct the same question to your organization’s leadership:

After these events occur, your workforce is anxious and distracted.

A major tragedy, violence, or disaster puts a spotlight on social inequity. A social controversy takes over the news cycle. A political development from a major institution shakes society.

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