Developing leaders for a sustainable global society
| Pages | 32-35 |
| Published date | 01 September 2005 |
| Date | 01 September 2005 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14754390580000835 |
| Author | Nancy McGaw |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
32 Volume 4 Issue 6 September/October 2005
VER THE PAST DECADE, increasing
focus has been placed on the role that
businesses can – and should – play in
contributing to a sustainable global society.
Failure to face up to these challenges has significant costs.
Increasingly, a firm’s long-term competitiveness is
dependent on how creatively and adroitly its leaders
manage at the intersection of financial, social and
environmental objectives.
Responsibility for assuring that leaders at all levels in
the firm are ready to meet these rising expectations is
widely shared throughout the corporation, but HR
professionals, particularly those responsible for leadership
development, can be at the forefront of the effort.
To be in this vanguard, leadership development
experts must reflect on two critical questions: What
kind of leader is called for? And how do we develop
individuals with these capabilities? Since 1999 the
Aspen Institute’s Business and Society Program has
been convening experts in leadership development
from academic institutions, corporations and
professional service firms around the world, inviting
them to share insights on these questions. This article
details what we have learned so far from conversations
with these leading thinkers.
A new model for business leadership
If we are now expecting businesses to operate with a
longer-term view that takes social and environmental
impacts into account, we need a new model of
leadership to achieve that result. Typically, “new
model” leaders:
• are able to span boundaries, listen to diverse
constituencies and be willing to be altered by any of
these inputs;
• have the courage to make tough decisions in a way
that acknowledges the often conflicting
values/expectations of these constituencies;
• are enriched, not overwhelmed, by complexity and
diversity;
• build a team that is stronger than its individual parts;
• see the firm in a larger context, considering social and
environmental issues beyond the corporation’s gates;
• move beyond solving specific problems or addressing
particular needs to setting a broad agenda.
Of the skills and perspectives implicit in these
characteristics, four stand out:
1. Self knowledge and mindfulness
The new model of leadership relies on an individual’s
capacity for consciousness, awareness and presence.
Executives think most expansively and hopefully about
the role of business as a force for positive change when
they think holistically about their sense of self in the
world, not simply as business executives but also as
parents, citizens, neighbors, spouses. From this
by Nancy McGaw
The Aspen Institute
Developing
leaders for a
sustainable
global society
A new model for leadership
development
O
Asking business leaders to make decisions that produce
superior financials and simultaneously contribute to
social progress while protecting environmental quality
is a tall order. Nancy McGaw,deputy director at the
Aspen Institute’s Business and Society Program, shares
the results of its research into leadership development
with representatives from firms around the world.
© Melcrum Publishing Ltd. 2005 For more information visit www.melcrum.com or e-mail info@melcrum.com
To continue reading
Request your trial