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What makes a sustainability leader?
10 October 2023

I’m often asked what makes a good Sustainability Lead(er). The answer – as usual – is that it depends. The criteria would differ depending on how the organisation understands sustainability and the organisational culture(s) that determine how things get done.

Most SLs find their jobs challenging. Geoff Marlow’s substack piece ‘Get a head and fall behind’ explains why many find their jobs damn near impossible. “Organisations have an unfortunate habit of appointing individuals to “Head of X” when “X” requires systemic change.” If pushed on capabilities, knowledge sets and personal qualities, I’d say that SLs need context, clarity, cynefin, connection and charisma. We are more likely to survive / succeed if we:

  1. Understand the organisation, the business model and its socio-ecological context (context)
  2. Understand what sustainability means – from compliance to resilience, and as much as possible in-between (clarity)
  3. Know the difference between complicated and complex challenges and how to approach them effectively (cynefin)
  4. Know how to work with formal and informal networks both inside and beyond the organisation (connection)
  5. Are able to attract attention and influence people (charisma).

Number five is indispensable and draws on my cross-training in an indigenous system that turned a dysfunctional cynic like me into something more useful for society. (Of course, humans have been working on their relationships with other people and nature for a long, long time.)

These five criteria would pertain to a CSO. They also apply to some “sustainability managers” because some organisations do not think the role through very well. If you’re employed as a manager and aspire to do more than tick boxes, you also need an understanding of power and agency, otherwise you will burn out. Sustainability consultants who help organisations improve thinking, decision-making and action must be able to learn fast to get up to speed on the company in question.

What have I missed?

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Banner cropped from a photo by Guilherme Stecanella on Unsplash

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