Introduction
Sustainability seems to be a buzzword everyone uses nowadays. Whenever I scroll my feed on whichever social media, I am reminded of how much of a grip this concept has on society today. Forbes, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and other globally prominent publications educate a large sum of their news and analytical pieces to sustainability efforts of either governments or private entities. The notion of sustainability intrigued me, which became the primary reason I decided to sign up for this course in the first place. I knew little to nothing about it, yet was committed to expanding my knowledge on the subject. In fact, I now remember the limits of my understanding of sustainability as I mentally go through my pre-course reflection the meaning of sustainability leadership. My main focus was the destruction of the Earth and the sustainability initiatives necessary to minimize the impact of humans on the environment. The most striking part is the obvious fact that I have regarded sustainability exclusively as a term related to climate change and environmental preservation.
A Newly-Discovered Meaning of Sustainability Leadership
At this point in my learning, successfully completing the course, I understand the true meaning of sustainability leadership. I consider it a mindful effort of a leader to manage the resources they are in charge of, prioritizing long-term environmental, social, and developmental goals. A sustainable leader is a true visionary who encourages their followers to celebrate change, particularly in the name of an environmental or social agenda. In addition, I now recognize the corporate value of sustainability leadership. At the start of the course, I only regarded sustainable efforts as those benefiting the planet. Currently, I am aware that besides such direct environmental benefits, sustainable leaders can create advantages for the organization. A sustainable leadership approach is an essential source of competitive edge. It is reflected in innovation, positive change, and opportunities for leveraging consumer behavior and meeting interchangeable target audience needs that it generates.
Bright and Dark Inclinations
Apart from the transformation in conceptualizing sustainability leadership, the course has been especially helpful in my personal process of self-assessment. I became aware of the bright and dark inclinations I might have in relation to sustainable leadership. I have learned how to critically evaluate my character in regards to managing people. Thus, I now know that two distinct qualities, which will be of great benefit to me as a sustainable leader, are my empathy and heightened sense of morality. I am very caring because I can easily put myself in another person’s shoes and empathize with their struggles. According to Visser and Courtice (2011), the fact that I am empathetic means that I have a high level of social intelligence. The aforementioned qualities have served as the foundation for the development of my value system, which includes such values as long-term success, humor, and love.
Despite the bright inclinations I might have, the course has helped me realize no sustainable leader is perfect. We are human, after all, which means that there are always some challenging parts of our character or background that we have to learn to manage. I now recognize that I am susceptible to bias, which originates from the lessons I have picked up from my environment, namely friends, family, and teachers. Thus, I have found SDG 10 “Reduced Inequality” to be an exceptionally good fit for me. I have become more aware than ever of the issues surrounding racial, gender, and other types of inequality. This has made my interest in the topic of ensuring equality high. Furthermore, my academic background in psychology has made SDG 3 “Good Health and Well-Being” suitable for me. I have come a long way in approaching the concept of sustainability. I now associate it not only with the planet but people, inequality struggles, education, and much more.
Systems Thinking
As I reflect on the lessons learned throughout the course, I cannot help but remember insights about systems thinking I have gained. Currently, I have an understanding of how to critically look at the world through systems. According to Caldwell (2012), systems thinking allows to identify specific factors, which may potentially contribute to a certain outcome. I believe this knowledge will be exceptionally useful to me in transforming my sustainability leadership vision into reality.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is apparent that this course has taught me a great deal of crucial lessons. My understanding of sustainability as a concept has shifted and now encompasses much more, than environment conservation and efforts to battle climate change. As a result of studying the literature assigned throughout the course and completing self-development assignments, I have become aware of my strengths and weaknesses. On the one hand, I am particularly good at navigating the world using my moral compass and prioritizing empathy. On the other hand, however, I can become a mental prisoner of the biases and prejudices instilled in me since childhood. As I move forward on my sustainability leadership journey, I am determined to take full advantage of my best qualities to create value for organizations and the environment simultaneously.
References
Caldwell, R. (2012). Systems thinking, organizational change and agency: A practice theory critique of Senge’s learning organization. Journal of Change Management, 12(2), 145-164.
Visser, W., & Courtice, P. (2011). Sustainability leadership: Linking theory and practice. SSRN Electronic Journal.