What’s in November’s issue of Governance & Leadership?

The cover theme of November’s G&L is our inaugural survey of trustee attitudes to charities speaking out on important issues, conducted in partnership with the Sheila McKechnie Foundation. In all, 165 trustees took part in the study, and demonstrated overwhelming support for the idea that charity chief executives ought to have a higher profile and a louder voice in the national discourse. The research also helped to pinpoint some of the barriers that are preventing this from happening, prompting some of our contributors to suggest how these might be overcome – for example, by boards opening up conversations with their CEOs and discussing it with them, and agreeing policies and parameters for topics and views.

Related to this, the issue also covers the Charity Commission’s new guidance for charities on their use of social media, with the regulator itself summarising the main points in the document and comms expert Becky Slack road-testing it against some real-life examples.

As we gear up for the launch of the 2024 Charity Awards, we hear from previous awards participants and experts about the traits and attributes of effective leadership in the current operating environment.

And, as it’s November, there’s our annual Responsible Investment section. Two of the articles, from NCVO and the Diocese of London, focus on the shift away from fossil fuel investments, while Friends Provident Foundation outlines its approach to social impact investment.

Last but never least, our two regular columnists offer their unique take on sector issues: Noelle Rumball exhorts trustees to examine their own motivations for taking on the role, while Dr Wanda Wyporska urges CEOs to cast off their superhero capes and ditch those feelings of indispensability.