The culture solution CEOs are missing

In his reflections on the 2025 Wall Street Journal CEO Council summit held in December, WSJ Leadership Institute president Alan Murray noted that CEOs are not actually preoccupied with AI, tariffs, or geopolitics. Instead, they’re focused on something far more fundamental: people and culture. How do you build an organization that can adapt, collaborate, and innovate amid persistent volatility?

That instinct is correct. Yet one of the most effective tools for strengthening culture and developing talent remains surprisingly underused—skills-based volunteering (SBV).

In a world shaped by geopolitical conflict, climate disruptions, pandemic aftershocks, and unpredictable supply chains, companies need employees who can navigate complexity with creativity and resilience. Skills-based volunteering is a proven, powerful way to build those capabilities while contributing meaningfully to communities and giving employees the purposeful work they crave. SBV is unlocking the next wave in talent potential and catalyzing the workforce of the future.

WHY SBV DESERVES MORE CORPORATE ATTENTION

SBV matches employees’ professional expertise with community-based organizations’ needs. Its impact goes well beyond traditional volunteering, to include:

1. Leadership development and creative problem solving
Working with nonprofits and social enterprises—often in resource-limited or rapidly changing environments—exposes employees to new perspectives and teaches agility, systems thinking, and cooperation across differences. These are the exact qualities CEOs describe as essential, but are difficult to cultivate internally.

2. Strengthens culture and engagement
Employees increasingly seek meaningful work and a sense of purpose. SBV offers both. It reconnects teams to shared values, supports well-being, and fosters belonging at a time when engagement across industries remains low.

3. Produces multi-layered return
Nonprofits and other host organizations benefit from much-needed skills and networks. Communities receive unprecedented support and critical insights. Employees grow professionally and personally. Companies advance ESG commitments while enhancing their cultures. Few corporate initiatives produce value across so many dimensions.

4. Builds cross-sector fluency
From climate resilience to healthcare access to food security to digital equity, the next decade of business challenges will require collaboration across government, civil society, and industry. SBV gives employees practical experience navigating those intersections, a form of strategic literacy that will soon be indispensable.

This is why companies across industries—from technology and finance to logistics and manufacturing—have integrated SBV into their leadership and culture strategies.

A GLOBAL CONTEXT

Two developments underscore the timeliness of SBV. The first is that the United Nations designated 2026 as the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development.

Although not a major campaign, the initiative still signals a broader recognition that volunteer-driven action—especially skills-based engagement—is essential for achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Companies that embrace SBV now will be better positioned to contribute meaningfully to that global effort.

Second, each January, the World Economic Forum in Davos convenes leaders to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges.

Davos is built around the search for solutions. SBV is a solution already available: a practical mechanism for aligning business capability with community needs, strengthening culture while improving outcomes for society. If even a portion of the companies gathering there committed to a coordinated SBV effort, the impact could be immediate and globally resonant. SBV is a practical, proven way to build the resilient, purpose-driven cultures companies say they want while contributing to the broader stability and well-being the world urgently needs.

A NOTEWORTHY SBV DEVELOPMENT

Against this global backdrop, two organizations known for advancing SBV—Pyxera Global (my organization) and Common Impact—announced that we are uniting our efforts. This alliance is designed to accelerate the work both have been doing for decades.

We will retain our brands and long-standing relationships, but integrate strategically to help companies deploy SBV more effectively at a time when the need is acute. Our alignment reflects a broader shift occurring across the social impact sector: moving from fragmented initiatives to more collaborative, systems-oriented approaches.

Our work also extends beyond SBV into partnerships focused on climate action, circular supply chains, economic opportunity and digital inclusion—further evidence that cross-sector partnership is becoming an essential strategy for addressing complex global challenges.

THE LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITY HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT

Alan Murray is right: The central challenge facing CEOs is not technological but human. Yet culture doesn’t transform through messaging campaigns or structural reorganizations. It transforms through experiences—through opportunities that deepen empathy, expand perspective, and develop new skills.

Skills-based volunteering offers exactly that. The companies that embrace it now will be better equipped to navigate the challenges ahead, and to help solve them.

Deirdre White is CEO of Pyxera Global.

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