Leaders with a 'sustainable mindset' can help solve societal problems

The past year has highlighted what will likely be an ongoing challenge for years to come: the increasing frequency of challenges leaders must face that impact the economy, environment and society simultaneously. From pandemics to large-scale environmental disasters, to uprisings over societal injustice, it is clear that we need problem-solvers who can transcend silos – we call those people sustainable leaders.

Last year, Russell Reynolds Associates partnered with the United Nations Global Compact on a major research effort to identify and understand sustainable leaders in the business world. Our work involved in-depth analysis of executives at organizations around the world and long conversations with more than 50 CEOs and board directors who have long track records of achievements in both sustainability and corporate performance – demonstrating that success in one area doesn’t have to come at the expense of the other.

Our work highlighted the importance of a sustainable mindset – a purpose-driven belief that business is not a commercial activity divorced from the wider societal and environmental context in which it operates. But a sustainable mindset on its own is not enough – it has to be paired with the right skill set, specifically four leadership attributes that can drive transformation inside and outside the organization:

While sustainable leaders all demonstrate these skills, they didn’t all develop them in the same way or at the same time. In fact, our research shows that there are three fundamental types of sustainable leaders:

There is strong evidence that work experience contributes to someone becoming a sustainable leader. Our research shows that sustainable leaders were three times more likely than other executives to have worked on two or more continents (45% vs. 16%). One in three had worked in the Global South during their careers (excluding those from there), compared to only one in 10 of other executives. These experiences likely broaden an executive’s understanding of different people and cultures and raise awareness of societal issues they may not have previously experienced firsthand.

Sustainable leaders were also more than twice as likely as others to have had significant career experience in two or more functions (64% vs. 30%) and were notably more likely to have had experience in operations and supply chain (55% vs. 32%). These work experiences furnish leaders with a broader perspective on their business and industry, and the operations and supply chain findings suggest that a deep understanding of business networks and corporate partnerships is helpful.

All of this data tells us two very important things: firstly, there are likely more sustainable leaders in your organization today than you might think, and secondly, we have the opportunity to shape and grow more sustainable leaders in our ranks by converting people into the ‘Convinced’ and ‘Awoken’ categories.

Here are three ways companies can take action today:

What have you seen your company do to help embed sustainable leadership traits into your organization?