Evolving Sustainable Leadership-Engaging the Core

In my previous post on Evolving Sustainable Leadership we looked at some of the technologies through which leaders can deepen their practice to become more fully engaged with their selves and the people and world around them.

The question I frequently get, though, is what can we do deepen our practice on a daily basis?

The following process I consider to be the core means through which leaders can sharpen, deepen and expand their capacity to live, work and lead sustainably:

Presence: Presence in the form of awareness and perspective forms the foundation for action. The greater your presence, the deeper your capacity for action.

Pattern Yields Practice: From the application of Presence comes an understanding of the patterns or dynamics of a particular field or area of endeavor. The more refined, expansive and deep your Presence, the greater the capacity to perceive pattern. From the understanding of pattern action arises to fit coherently with systemic needs.

Generate Value: Generation of Value is the gathering together of necessary elements and resources for a particular project or endeavor. The “shopping list” is generated from the Key Success Factors for a particular practice in a particular field. Resources take many forms including tangibles like materials for technology creation to intangibles like know-how, networks & relationships.

No Waste: No Waste means what it says and says what it does. On a tangible level it could mean looking for and implementing lifecycle oriented solutions that incorporate technology into the eco-systems into which it will be introduced. Intangibly it is about integrity: matching action with words and espoused values: being the change we want to see in the world.

Innovate & Implement: Implementation of plan. Marketing of concept, service, product. Do-ing, execution. Walking the talk. Digging into the earth, planting seeds, getting technology to market in sustainably, eco-centric ways.

Resilience & Responsiveness: Stewardship, support, service, maintenance & improvement. Building and maintaining flexibility. Everything changes. At the core of eco-centric, sustainable action is the heart of flexibility and the perceptive wisdom to respond with change.

Tags: capacity building, sustainability, sustainable leadership