Coming to the WBCSD Leadership Program as a sustainability professional, I had my own preconceptions about how to characterize a leader in this complex field of sustainability. 我认为他们应该有技术技能, 商业智慧, and a strong quantitative background to demonstrate the value of sustainability. 然而, 在洛桑创新的洛桑国际发展管理学院(IMD Business School)学习一周, surrounded by one of the most diverse and capable groups of people I’ve met, 挑战我的假设. There is so much more that entails sustainability leadership than I had imagined.
The week consisted of a series of workshops and lectures with thought leaders, 学者, 以及行业从业者. 反过来, these were complemented by thorough reflections and sharing best practices among the participants, who came from all regions of the world and companies from a variety of industries. Although this group had different points of view over how businesses can address the challenges that climate change, 自然损失和社会不平等造成, I perceived we reached common ground on who each of us should become to lead sustainable change.
The sections below outline traits of a sustainability leader discussed by 演讲者 and participants during training sessions. 捕捉所获得的全部见解, I interviewed fellow participants whom I believe embody these traits.
见解1:目的将人和组织联系在一起
“The first time I took a class dedicated to sustainability in business, 我立刻被这个话题迷住了. 在某种程度上, I felt at that moment that it was going to be a very important topic, and I wanted to make sure that I had the knowledge to help address it.”
——Anastasia，一家咨询公司的正规博彩十大网站排名经理
我有机会见到安娜斯塔西娅, 谁从2009年开始研究正规博彩十大网站排名, and has made it her purpose to convince organizations that it is important. 通过她分享的一些经历, I truly understood that the largest and most successful organizations have evolved to search for a higher purpose, without which they wouldn’t attract the people able to thrive in a complex world.
洞见2:同理心是关键
“Empathy is key to understand where people are coming from and what drives them. 只有这样, we can try to convince them to bring positive impact to our people and planet in their daily actions and decisions. Supporting them in removing any barriers they can face to do so.”
- Vanina, Head of Supplier Sustainability Performance at a Nutrition, Health and Beauty Company
我还遇到了瓦尼娜, whose work involves embedding sustainability into her company procurement strategy. My talks with her made me aware of just how important it is to understand where someone is coming from, 激励他们加入你的事业. 如果没有同理心, she wouldn’t be able to convince her procurement fellows and suppliers to implement sustainable initiatives.
洞察力 3: Courage will help you enact change where it matters most
安德里亚是我见过的最勇敢的人之一, who is part of a company sometimes left out of the table when it comes to sustainability. 我从她身上学到了两件事:
- Excluding companies from discussions only delays the transition to a better world.
- Being part of the solution in the face of criticism takes double the courage.
“[The transition to a low carbon economy] is a big challenge, no one has done before. There’s no golden solution, so courage is essential to push boundaries.”
——安德里亚，炭素部总经理 & 能源公司的供应链环境
洞察力 4: To transform, you must be transformational yourself
“我们正在经历一场变革, we feel empowered that this will enable more entrepreneurial ingenuity, which leads to more customer-focused and sustainable outcomes.”
- Cassio, Cloud Solutions Business 发展 Lead at an Agri-science Company
Cassio shared one of the most complex challenges I’ve heard, which is inverting the hierarchy of decision-making in a whole organization by empowering employees who have direct insight into customer needs with more decision-making responsibilities. 和他谈话, I became aware that companies that transform the value chain are leading by example by embracing transformation itself.
见解5:领导者是鼓舞人心的
经过深思熟虑, I could not decide on who to interview to support this insight because it became evident after our last session together, that I was inspired by every single one of the participants, 谁在周末成为了朋友.
当我结束第一个模块时, I would like to thank the WBCSD’s organizing team led by Rodney Irwin, 苏珊娜·费曼(Suzanne Feinmann)和赫萨姆·瑟维恩(hsamuren servine)的奉献精神, 还有所有的教授, 演讲者, and industry leaders who took the time to share their knowledge. 他们也, have contributed to a quote and belief that I hold close to my heart as I reflect on my experience in the Leadership Program:
“在推动变革方面，灵感战胜了恐惧.”