FOR A SUSTAINABLE LEADERSHIP

Article by Massimo Berlingozzi – “FOR A SUSTAINABLE LEADERSHIP” – December 2020_Mondo Formazione_HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

On 9 December, the magazine Nature published a research report, which was picked up by many newspapers, entitled: ‘Man-made things outnumber all life on Earth’. The study explains how the totality of man-made things – roads, dams, buildings, etc. – exceeded the entire biomass in 2020. To be precise: 1,100 billion tonnes of man-made matter against 1,000 billion tonnes of living mass, the entirety of the plant and animal kingdoms from bacteria to whales. In 1900, when the living realm totalled 1.9 trillion tonnes, man-made stuff accounted for only 3% of the planet’s total biomass.

It is an image, beyond the figure, that is highly symbolic and capable of igniting a child’s mind. A very effective way of explaining the idea of sustainable development, a definition that first officially appeared in 1987 in a World Commission on the Environment document, and was then defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same”. An idea of sustainability that sees environmental, economic and social systems deeply interconnected. If we think of an indispensable resource such as water, it is not difficult to grasp this connection, yet while the debate on the climate crisis and economic issues has often made the front pages of newspapers, reflection on the social implications has always remained on the sidelines, as recently confirmed by a European Parliament report.

There are many reasons that can explain this imbalance, not least a greater habit of translating environmental and economic issues into figures, but it is precisely to the concept of social sustainability that we must look if we are to define what a ‘sustainable leadership‘ is. It is not difficult, in fact, to identify in the criteria of individual well-being, equity, equal rights, cohesion and inclusion, usually mentioned in documents dealing with social sustainability, inevitable analogies with issues concerning the life of companies and the world of work in general. A very clear example for its immediate translation into figures is that of inequalities in pay: while in today’s world Adriano Olivetti’s moral rule that no executive, not even the highest-ranking, should earn more than ten times the minimum wage may seem utopian, it is difficult to imagine how sustainable a ratio that in many cases is hundreds of times higher. A similar and necessary reflection should be made with respect to the still imposing wage differences between men and women.

“Never waste a crisis”.

The debate around the idea of sustainable leadership is fairly recent, and is certainly in tune with a renewed ecological sensitivity that sees an increasing number of people, organisations and institutions committed to building a sustainable future. But now, in the face of a health crisis that has exposed the fragility of a system incapable of slowing down without inflicting on itself wounds that are difficult to heal, this idea presents itself as an opportunity not to be missed.

‘Never waste a crisis’ is a phrase uttered by Rahm Emanuel, Barak Obama’s advisor during the 2008 financial crisis. The current pandemic emergency will certainly be remembered for the enormous sacrifice of human lives, but it will also be remembered for the extraordinary changes generated in the world of work. The Smart Working observatory of the Politecnico di Milano estimates that more than 5 million workers will continue to work remotely at the end of the pandemic. This is not just a number, but an epochal turning point, which transforms, dissolving them to a large extent, the anchorages to the physical dimension of work, those referring to the concepts of space, time and speed, practically unchanged since the beginning of the industrial revolution. All this requires a cultural transformation that cannot fail to invest the concept of leadership, which has always been locked in a vision that has aimed to restrict this competence to top positions only. An idea that is too selective, tending to try to objectivise this dimension in the ideal characteristics of the leader. Let us then try to briefly indicate some guiding principles that should guide sustainable leadership:

Responsibility: the idea of sustainable leadership lives within a context of widespread responsibility, an ethic of responsibility capable of permeating the organisation as a whole through coherent practices when it comes to communication.

Systemic Thinking: complex thinking capable of questioning the consequences over time within a larger system: an effective solution to achieve a certain result is not always good if it threatens future equilibrium.

Cooperation vs. competition: abandoning the logic of ‘I win you lose’ to embrace the ‘negotiation dimension’, aware of the constraints of interdependence within a wider network of relationships.

Individual autonomy: encourage the possibility of getting involved at all levels: everyone should feel free to express themselves, to play a role and to see their contribution recognised within the organisation’s shared values.

Social cohesion: culture oriented towards diversity and inclusion.

Transitionality: sustainable leadership is a value that, to the right extent, should be extended throughout the organisation, but those in positions of greater responsibility, consistent with the concept of sustainability, should be aware of the transitional aspect of their role.