A short list of five qualities I have found in sustainability leaders and now “findable” in abundance at EarthSayers.tv, the voices of sustainability.

 

Now that I live and work in a community (Portland, Oregon) where there is much more support for sustainability I don’t have to spend as much time doing missionary work on the relevancy of it, but I do talk more about leaders and why sustainability leaders need to ban together and become much more visible, not just on EarthSayers.tv, but, locally in their communities.

 

I have been listening to leadership experts who generally don’t reference sustainability (more missionary work needed here), but who have been talking about the qualities of leadership that are lacking and, as Bill George of Harvard and a member of the Board of Exxon Mobile and Goldman Sachs observes;  it is a ”failure of leadership” that has put our country at risk. Of course it’s not just our country is it?

 

So here is my leadership short list and feel free to add to it, because right now is a good time to talk about leadership for two reasons:  we need sustainability-conscious leaders to come to the front and lead and we need to look for these qualities in both the young and old for we are all leaders. It's not just me saying this: listen to Bob Edgar of Common Cause or Bill George or...

 

1. Givers not Takers

Sustainability leaders don’t fit the old model of leadership. Bill George asks:  "On what basis have we been choosing our leaders?  More for charisma, than character, more for style than substance, more for their image than their integrity.  Not very authentic people, smart, but not committed, takers rather than givers.” 

Listen to the leaders of B Corps. The "B" stands for benefit.  Two come to mind immediately - Jeffrey Hollender of Seventh Generation and Jay Cohen Gilbert, a co-founder of B Labs.

 

2.  Motivators

Again from Bill George: “Economists told us for many years that people only interested in money. Not motivating people. Today we want to find meaning and significance in our work.

Over 90% of the voices on EarthSayers.tv (nearly 300 and growing) have motivated me to continue with my work and many in different ways emphasize the significance of taking the first step.  I don’ think anyone says this better and more simply than Kip Ward, owner of a completely recycled motel in the beach community of Lincoln City, Oregon. Give him a listen.

 

 

3. Different and Humble

According to Blair Sheppard, dean of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, company recruiters are saying they need a “different kind of person. (They) need a person who is more of a leader, but humble.”  I think the collection of leaders on EarthSayers demonstrates how different the sustainability leadership is and you can hear and see it for yourself. 

 

4. Multi-cultured

Here’s Dean Sheppard. “If you think about the structure of the problems businesses are grappling with today, more and more of it requires that people work effectively with other people, often times from different civilizations from their own." It’s not just businesses is it?

 

Organizations such as the Ecotrust recognize the most innovative indigenous leaders for their efforts to improve conditions in their communities through award programs and public events. There is Kavita Ramdas, President and CEO of the Global Fund For Women and then there is the The Goldman Environmental Prize, world’s largest award for grassroots environmentalists.

 

That’s my short list for now. It will grow as we add more and more sustainability leaders to EarthSayers.tv.  Oh wait, I forgot the last one.

 

5. Visable

 

Robert Seireeni in his book, The Gort Cloud, references “The Invisible Force powering today’s most visible Green Brands.” Well, it’s time to get visible.

 

That's one big reason we founded EarthSayers.tv so you can find them. Now we need more sustainability-conscious leaders to step forward and talk with us about their vision and core values - the ones they put into practice.