Written by: Dimitris Papadimitriou
Original LinkedIn Post

Sustainable Leadership: Transforming Leaders for a New Era

Sustainable Leadership. What is it and how is it connected to the principles of Sustainable Development? Is it just a trend or does it have substance?

In 2014, the first Accelerator for Rural Development, based on the principles of Sustainable Development, was created in Greece by "Exelixi". Startup Pathways was there and our Head of Learning Dimitris Papadimitriou was a mentor and trainer.

Through this experience we realized that innovative initiatives always require a readiness by society to accept them... Now and after the need has become imperative, sustainability is transforming from an unknown concept, to getting the respect it deserves and becoming an obligation.

The past 12 months we had the pleasure of training 18 scaleups and startups in Leadership with Sustainable Development Principles, some of them in the framework of the SSE Accelerator whose training program we designed on behalf of #Microsoft.

Come along to untangle the meaning of sustainable leadership in a time where sustainability is front and center in every organization’s values and mission.

Decoding Sustainable Leadership: What does the term include?

Let’s start with what it does not include. The term sustainable leadership does not include new management skills. It also does not include technical knowledge for each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

The manager will not suddenly become an expert in managing marine resources or fighting poverty. This is a big misunderstanding that scares businesses and has led to a significant delay in the formation of leaders who consciously defend and incorporate the Principles of Sustainable Development.

Sustainable Development mainly requires technical knowledge and expertise. However, Leadership with Sustainable Development Principles does not require technical knowledge.

A company that will decide to adopt the new model of Leadership with Principles of Sustainable Development (Sustainable Leadership) must guide the leader/manager to first reposition themselves and then to plan and organize the strategic repositioning of their team in a context of respect and commitment to some of the 17 Sustainable Development goals.

We automatically discuss the design of a micromodel of the team's vision-mission-values statement, connected to the Principles of Sustainable Development that every unit of a company can serve.

In smaller companies such as a startup, the redesign of the Product Journey / Service Journey is required by integrating some of the 17 SDGs** and the redesign of the Vision - Mission - Values Statement.

Walk the Simple but Essential Steps Towards Sustainable Leadership

1. Leader’s Personal Repositioning
   As leaders it is important to be informed and choose the SDGs you and your team can serve. Additionally to research and realize the value of these goals. Picking at least 3 goals is a good start!
   
   This process can be implemented through attending training programs, participating in Conferences, creating a network of mentors, etc. Our experience has highlighted the difficulty of finding the appropriate resources and institutions in our country for such a process of learning and repositioning a leader.
2. Connect SDGs with Entrepreneurship
   
   The leader should connect these goals with business opportunities that may arise for the company. The SDGs are not just a trend, apart from a huge responsibility, they are also a new market and a repositioning of a company's brand.
   
   As a leader you must discover these opportunities and create a new strategy. Often the goals are related to a company's cost savings (the simplest example) or to creating economies of scale and new partnerships.
   
   Planning the strategy using the Business Model Canvas will significantly help to create an overall picture of the personal strategy of a Leader / manager.
3. Motivate People Towards Sustainability
   The motivation of your team (there are various models for motivation that we propose in our training programs) and the agreement of personal goals for each member of the team is another important step to take towards a sustainable leadership approach.
   
   
   It is important to showcase consistency and continuously monitor the team's commitment, provide feedback for this purpose etc. At this point we are not “reinventing the wheel”, we are however intensifying the management effort of a leader as it is about changing consciousness and mindset and therefore habits and personal goals of the team members.
4. Create a Strong Network
   Creating a competent network within or outside the company to promote this strategy and maintain communication with this network will boost your journey towards sustainability.
   
   
   Our experience in the previous months highlighted this need. A network helps you as a leader, to get unstuck in difficult moments when the vision seems to meet obstacles or cognitive gaps.
5. Measure the Impact
   Measuring impact is a particularly difficult process and requires very good organization in data collection and regular monitoring of KPIs.
   
   
   The measurement of your strategy and team results is important for confirming the effectiveness of the strategy but also for the promotion of the company's Sustainability Footprint, now necessary for obtaining financing, for the evaluation by investors and soon for compliance reasons.
   
   
   The team's commitment to the new tasks resulting from the above is the sole responsibility of the leader.
6. Need to Redesign
   The redesign of the product or service, external (final product) or internal (operational unit) with innovation tools (we use for instance service design - and many more innovation tools) is also an important step if deemed necessary.
   
   
   This ensures that the new vision that includes Sustainable Development Principles is reflected in the product produced by your team.

Cultivating the Seeds of Sustainable Leadership

In short, Sustainable Leadership is the redefining of your purpose as a leader and your strategy in order to become an ambassador of change towards a sustainable mindset and a sustainable perspective of the planet and the human species and to encourage your entire team towards the same goal.