Leading Blog: A Leadership Blog: Creating a Sustainable Business Environment

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05.27.09

Creating a Sustainable Business Environment

Charles Handy writes that to repair the damage to the image of business, leaders of those businesses should bind themselves to a form of the Hippocratic Oath, “Above all, do no harm.” It means doing more than being legal. It means being ethical. It means taking the lead in creating sustainable environments for both individuals and the world they live in.

Lee Cockerell, former executive vice president of operations for Walt Disney World Resort, says that “the organization of the future will pay as much attention to people and leadership strategies as it does to products and services.” He adds that “good leaders are environmentalists: their responsibility is to create a sustainable business environment—that is, one that is calm, clear, crisp, and clean, with no pollution, no toxins, and no waste—in which everyone flourishes.”

To that end, leaders must create an inclusive workplace where every employee can contribute to the best of their ability. In The Organization of the Future 2, he suggests ten goals you can set for yourself where you can impact your organization’s culture:

Know Your Team. Get to know them as people. Know their skills, talents, goals and understand their potential.
Engage Your Team. Ask them for their opinions.
Develop Your Team. Stay engaged with your team members and know where they can benefit from training, mentoring and other forms of development.
Greet People Sincerely. Don’t get so busy that you don’t notice other people.
Build Community. Think of your team as a community with all of its diversity. Get to know their differences so you can leverage these dynamics.
Listen to Understand. Show you care enough to listen. This is MBWA (Management By Walking Around). Get out and give people your complete attention and listen to what they are saying as well as what they are not saying. Take the time.
Communicate Clearly, Directly, and Honestly. This is one where we all fall short from time to time. Use ordinary words and say what you mean. That doesn’t mean rude, blunt or intimidating. Listen for understanding.
Hear All Voices. Encourage other people to share. Practice the Four Cast Member Expectations:
   • Make Me Feel Special
   • Treat Me as an Individual
   • Respect Me
   • Make Me Knowledgeable, Develop Me, and Understand My Job
Speak Up When Others Are Excluded. Be on the lookout for people who are being excluded (for whatever reason) and bring them along.
Be Brave. Have the courage to do the right thing, encourage your team to do the same and let them know that you have their back when they do.

Posted by Michael McKinney at 12:30 AM
Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0) | General Business , Human Resources , Management

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Comments

The idea of the good leader as an environmentalist is very interesting. When you really stop to think about it it does make a lot of sense. Nurturing your environment whether it be plant, animal or human life can only yield positive outcomes. I have to say, you really don't know how true this is until you work with a triple bottom line company. I work with e3bank, which is a green bank in my area, and not only are the employees behind the company, but they are also behind the cause. That kind of enthusiasm provides for a better work environment and through that a better business.

Posted by: MR | May 27, 2009 02:21 PM

Leadership is so important… be it is not often that we see people taking the time to take a somewhat intangible idea such as leadership and turn it into a way of life with skills to back it. This is a great blog and a great set of tools that I hope all managers will use, and by so doing they will become leaders.

Posted by: Steve Hanson | May 27, 2009 09:32 PM

As the "CEO" of a family I'm planning to include these goals in my personal development plan. Our product is influence and it's important to create the right environment for "selling" it to both current and future generations.

Posted by: Marvin | May 28, 2009 11:27 AM

I love the premise of applying the Hippocratic Oath to leadership. Your point that this includes creating a sustainable environment is key. I do believe that is the future of successful organizations. And we have a long way to go to get from concept to reality. The medical profession (and the systems around it) hasn't done a particularly good job of keeping their eye on their equivalent of sustainability, wellness. Instead they treat disease and treating parts rather than the whole person. Organizations fall into a similar trap - fixing problems and treating people like parts instead of tending to the whole system. The change in mindset in both domains is essential to our future. Your analogy is both a great way to raise awareness and it points to the inherent challenges we face in making it so.

Thanks for providing an excellent analogy to explore.

Posted by: Susan Mazza | May 29, 2009 05:41 AM

Great post. Handy is always both insightful and understandable.

I would comment on "speak up when you see others excluded." You need to be careful about that. Some people do not want you to speak up for them. Others may take your efforts as grandstanding. It's worth doing, but worth doing carefully.

Posted by: Wally Bock | May 29, 2009 07:15 AM

Wally: It's true. They need to be brought along but you have to be careful because you're dealing with a lot of emotion.

Posted by: Michael McKinney | May 29, 2009 09:22 AM