Article: Highlights – 22 July Wednesday 22 July 2026 Share Share to LinkedIn Share to Facebook Share via email World Cup own goals, tackling the youth employment crisis and championing disabled leaders 22 July View all 2026 CMI Highlights The FIFA World Cup 2026 may be done and dusted, but the highlights will no doubt be picked over for weeks to come. At CMI, we were very satisfied to see our messaging on the importance of effective leadership and management replayed across the national press. Our research showed that only 20% of businesses intended to provide flexible working arrangements so their staff could watch the North America-based tournament, in which many key games were broadcast late at night in the UK. As Petra Wilton, CMI’s director of policy and external affairs, pointed out in The Independent, the World Cup is another reminder of why flexible working matters. “If millions of people have stayed up until 3am supporting their team, asking employers to let them start a little later the next morning is simply common sense,” she said. “Great managers recognise that people have lives outside work, and when they offer sensible flexibility, whether that’s around caring responsibilities, medical appointments or even the occasional late-night sporting event, organisations benefit too through higher engagement, improved wellbeing, stronger retention and, ultimately, better performance.” Tackling youth unemployment CMI’s latest research highlights another own-goal: the growing crisis of young people not in education, employment or training (so-called NEETs). Our Bridging the Gap report shows how the transition from education into work is broken, and flags the role of employers and managers in helping young people access opportunities and build successful careers. “Too many young people are leaving education with ambition, talent and potential, only to discover they haven't been prepared for the realities of the workplace, and that the managers responsible for supporting them haven’t been equipped either,” Ann Francke OBE CMgr CCMI, CMI’s chief executive, told The Scotsman. “If we want to tackle youth unemployment, improve productivity and build the next generation of leaders, we need to stop treating workplace readiness as somebody else's problem.” Timely interventions The youth employment issue is a glaring example of a problem that has been allowed to spiral into a bona fide crisis. The same can happen at the organisational level – if the warnings aren’t spotted early. In this week’s newsletter, Dr Said Al Darmaki CMgr FCMI explains why strategic leaders must recognise the subtle signs of trouble long before crises become visible. Get it right and you can strengthen resilience, improve decision-making and prevent disruption before it strikes, he writes. Also in this week’s newsletter, we consider human intervention of a different kind. Nasser Zaman Chowdhury CMgr MCMI writes that the real barrier to AI adoption isn’t technology – it’s management. As organisations rush to adopt the latest tools, managers must focus more on trust, capability and human judgement. Speaking of judgement, another skill is knowing when and how to take control of our own situations as individuals. In the newsletter, Judith Otisi ACMI fCMgr explains how the decision to study for a Level 7 qualification with CMI helped her build confidence, think strategically and become a more effective leader – transforming not only her career, but also her life. Inspiring leaders One way to transform your thinking is to expose yourself to new ideas. That’s the opinion of Rosie Hewat CMgr MCMI, our Chartered Manager of the Week, founder of Rosie’s People, an international HR and business operations consultancy that helps start-ups and scale-ups. She shares how CMI has helped her in that regard. “Everything suddenly starts to connect,” she says of the CPD process. Finally, the newsletter also features our Chartered Companion of the Month, Dr Alice Maynard CBE CMgr CCMI. Despite being told by a doctor that she wouldn’t live to see her 14th birthday because of her spinal muscular atrophy, Alice has gone on to forge an accomplished career as a chair, non-executive director, coach and adviser – all part of her drive to demonstrate the power and value of disabled people occupying leadership positions. Best, Matt Roberts CMgr FCMI Director of membership and professional development, CMI Like this article? Why not share it. Share to LinkedIn Share to Facebook Share via email You might also like these posts on this topic: Topic: From survival to strategic leadership: how learning transformed my confidence, career and life Judith Otisi ACMI fCMgr explains how studying for a Level 7 qualification with CMI helped her build confidence Read article Article Topic: The real barrier to AI adoption isn’t technology – it’s management As organisations rush to adopt AI, managers must focus less on tools and more on trust, capability and human judgement Read article Article Topic: Why strategic leaders must recognise weak organisational signals before crises emerge Long before a crisis becomes visible, organisations often reveal subtle signs of trouble. Here’s what to do as a leader Read article Article Topic: “I’m here to demonstrate that disabled people can be in leadership positions” Dr Alice Maynard CBE CMgr CCMI, forged an accomplished career as a chair, non-executive director, coach and adviser Read article Article Browse all posts Don’t miss out - get notified of new content Sign-up to become a Friend of CMI to recieve our free newsletter for a regular round-up of our latest insight and guidance. CMI members always see more. For the widest selection of content, including CPD tools and multimedia resources, check out how to get involved with CMI membership. Newsletter More ways to get involved Article Our extensive range of articles are designed to keep you in the loop with all the latest management and leadership best practice, research and news. Members See More CMI Members have access to thousands of online learning and CPD resources. 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