This past week at an ICCO symposium we discussed the topic of Sustainable Leadership.  Not only did we wrestle with the term ‘leadership’, we tossed around the meaning of ‘Sustainable Leadership’, what ‘sustainable’ means exactly and every other permutation and combination of the term.  Then we looked at why in the world we would want leadership to be sustainable.  Good question!  Is it for the individual, the organization, the community or the world as a whole? 

The easy part of our discussion was looking at sustainable leadership for the greater good, not the greater bad.  For some a no brainer but for others, well, it’s a thing to consider, is it not?

Like many other topics of conversation and focal points in our lives, the meanings continually change.  What the symposium did for me in one instance was help me wrap my head around the implications of sustainable leadership for the world and what failure would mean.

Bottom line is, and I ask you this, what is the impact of being a leader and what might be the impact of dropping the ball in our leadership?  Pressure?  Yes.  Implications?  Definitely.  Bottom line is, we are stewards for the world and all those people within it whether or not we pay attention to the responsibility that brings. It also has nothing whatsoever to do with our level of power, role or workplace responsibility.  It has to do with who we are as human beings.

The concept of stewardship is being responsible to future generations for their condition; that we do not own the world but we pledge to do no harm in the world.  To be stewards is very humbling.  The question is, are you paying attention to your level of impact on people, situations, your world and the world as a whole?  Attitude is contagious.  If you live your life from your own story and focus on everything that’s going wrong in your life, you’ll attract the same or attract no one in your life at all. What impact will you ultimately have in the world?  When we look at the world and those within it from our own stories, we aren’t paying attention to anything really. It’s a 2 x 4 to the side of the head that says “Get over yourself”.  The world is a lot greater than you.  It’s also a reminder to ask others where they are, to listen rather than preach and judge.

Christina Baldwin said “To work in the world lovingly means that we are defining what we will be for, rather than reacting to what we are against.”

What will you be for?

Something to take note of:

A colleague of mine from Washington D.C. recently co-authored the book “A Coach’s Guide to Emotional Intelligence: Strategies for Developing Successful Leaders“. It’s an excellent book well worth the read and a great addition to your library. 

Click here for more information or to order it.

With deepest respect,

Donna Karlin
Founder and Principal
A Better Perspective
http://www.abetterperspective.com

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