myAIPMThe implications of Covid-19 for leadership on sustainability
The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
"Over September and October 2020, CISL invited close friends, Senior Associates and Fellows to a series of conversations to explore the implications of the challenges and transformations for business action on sustainability. In total, 50 experts with a wide range of backgrounds joined the sessions.
What has Covid taught us about the leadership we will need within organisations to build sustainable economies and societies?
We need leaders who can translate knowledge, discussion and analysis into action.
Unlocking action will require a better understanding of the reasons for inaction. That requires us to recognise that there is no single, ‘rational’ and objective truth or path that leaders should follow. That our interpretations of what is ‘rational’ depends on our values and our world views, which shape the structures and rights that we seek to protect and the needs that we seek to meet. We also need to recognise that those values and worldviews aren’t changed and shaped only by data, but also by the ‘tribes’ (political/social/professional) to which we belong, and affected by emotional, psychological and cultural factors. Effective leadership in the future will need to:
- Challenge itself to consider whether aspects of the status quo, such as values and aspirations, that it is seeking to protect are part of the problem rather than offering solutions. This means engaging with the’ tough stuff’, being willing to sit with discomfort and pushing personal and collective boundaries to enable new thinking to emerge.
- Engage with people who hold different world views to identify common ground, using engaging strategies that use powerful, aspirational narratives that speak to multiple communities rather than relying solely on data driven arguments.
- Demonstrate emotional intelligence, with the ability to pause and listen, to empathise, to engage authentically. There has been media commentary that political leaders who have demonstrated emotional intelligence have fared better (some commentary has focused on the relative success of female leaders and ‘feminine’ traits).
Our leadership is much better at responding to an urgent crisis than responding to major long term, systemic challenges. We need leadership that is able to bring future crises into the present in order to stimulate an immediate response."
Read more
The implications of Covid-19 for leadership on sustainability, The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, 2020