Although the mind map above describes several areas of leadership originating from the chief conceptual theme in the center, this report reflects on sustainable leadership. It is critical to define leadership and sustainable leadership to establish the context of this report. Leadership implies the process of individuals defining a path that members of a group in an organization follow to attain specific goals (Clegg, Pitsis, and Mount, 2021). In addition to specifying a route for followers, a leader mobilizes members through intrinsic motivation to achieve unique objectives (Buchanan and Huczynski, 2019). From a broad perspective, leadership involves encouraging individuals to achieve personal and collective goals within particular periods.
Companies in the modern-day world have become more complex than in the past. Increasing social pressure in recent years has resulted in a momentous change in leadership in businesses (Villena and Gioia, 2020). Thus, there is a need for organizations to have leaders who can demonstrate sustainable governance. Sustainable leadership is the process of significantly reducing a firm’s adverse effects and maximizing its positive impacts, including social, economic, and environmental effects while establishing long-term returns for stakeholders (Serafeim, 2020). Therefore, sustainable leaders should see the bigger picture that encompasses more than an organization desiring to attain immediate profits. They assess how their products impact physical goods as well as resources (Ibarra and Scoular, 2019). Individuals at the top of firms demonstrate sustainable leadership as they become more knowledgeable about the effects of commercial processes on the bottom line.
In my opinion, I am certain I can positively contribute toward sustainable leadership since I always focus on influencing my followers to succeed in particular goals in the long term. What is important in the context of this style of leadership is the need to succeed for several years or decades as opposed to thriving for a few weeks (Thomke, 2020). Any sustainable leader should demonstrate a responsible perspective in his or her way of leading others (Davenport and Bean, 2018; Malnight, Buche, and Dhanaraj, 2019). As a sustainable leader, I will consistently consider my organization’s stakeholders and critically evaluate the natural systems in which we operate, including their potential and limits.
At the core of sustainable leadership is the culture of change, which implies that those leading should motivate their followers to embrace transformations within and outside firms. Budhwar and Cumming (2020) contend that organizations cannot achieve their goals unless they are prepared to react to changes appropriately. When creating change within firms, individuals at the helm should establish a firm foundation to implement adjustments in a controlled fashion (Groysberg et al., 2018). As a leader looking at the bigger picture of sustainability in the long term, I will critically assess the organizational plan, time, and process. I will not wait for changes to accumulate to react to them. Instead, I will direct my followers to accept and reflect on transformations when they are small and equip them with the necessary skills and expertise to adjust to more changes in the future.
Finally, strategy is an important ingredient in sustainable leadership since it allows leaders to evaluate, direct, communicate a firm’s vision, and plan for resources. As Tatoglu et al. (2020) and Collins (2021) argue, sustainable leaders rely on organic and broad leadership models to achieve sustained growth and development. From a personal viewpoint, I will always analyze complex business paradigms, such as integration and connectivity. Consequently, I will guide my followers to engage with others within and outside the firm in structured cultural and business communication processes.
In conclusion, this report reflects the sustainable leadership style. It has defined leadership as the process of guiding juniors in a company to individually and collectively attain specific objectives. It has described sustainable leadership as the process of motivating others in the workplace to achieve goals in the long term. Finally, it has given insights into the two sub-themes of sustainable leadership, the culture of change and strategy.
Reference List
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