Sometimes I feel that 'sustainability' is such a concept.

Sustainability can be understood to mean almost anything. Everything from recycling copier paper in the office to creating micro-loan schemes that enable poor women in developing countries to set up their own organic farming business.

However, the problem is that many things that are not sustainable can also be marketed as sustainable. And things that are sustainable on one level are not necessarily sustainable on another. A contemporary example might be the production of oat milk to offer a drink with less impact on the climate, while at the same time being owned by a company that destroys rainforests and allegedly violates human rights.

So when we talk about leading for sustainability, how do you actually approach it in a way that is - well - sustainable?

To make a difference, they must have a meaning that matters to us in our organization.

In my experience, the first step is to define for yourself what you mean by sustainable. Many people see sustainability in three dimensions: ecological, social and economic. And for these three aspects there are plenty of good definitions to fall back on. But to make a difference, they need to have a meaning that matters to us in our organization. We must constantly reflect on what sustainability means to us and how it affects the way we lead and manage our business.

And in this reflection, there are also other sustainability aspects to take into account. Such as the internal sustainability of the business: How do we ensure that the working methods and processes we establish are actually sustainable in the long term for those who are expected to carry out the work? How do we evaluate and develop them so that they continue to be so? In order to provide external sustainability, the working methods must have internal sustainability - for example, organizational, cultural, technical and competence-related.

Another dimension is conceptual sustainability. The world we live and work in is a VUCA world. It is characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. What is true today is not true tomorrow. Being sustainable in the long term can often mean being short-term in your decisions on ways of working and not getting too attached to today's knowledge and today's solutions.

And last but not least, there has to be sustainability of purpose: we have to find our "why?" deep down. And it's not just management: everyone in the organization must understand and feel the purpose - both intellectually and emotionally. What is the actual purpose of taking the - usually - longer, more complicated route that sacrifices short-term but known financial gain for vague promises of a better world in the future? As long as sustainability is something we work on because we are 'expected' or 'have to', it will be neither long-term nor motivating.

So how can we lead for sustainability and avoid the word becoming a lip service or an empty signifier?

Here are some concrete starting points:

1. Keep it simple. Keep the compass direction but constantly improve the way you work. Start from your common purpose - "why?" - and dare to be creative with 'how? and "who?".
2. Start with the facts. Create a knowledge base of potential sustainability risks and opportunities and analyze them based on your organization. Think broadly from many perspectives and stakeholders - ecological, economic, social, internal, external. And use all the eyes and ears of the organization by involving all employees in the mapping process.
3. Build in constant reflection. Create contexts where we can constantly return to questions like "are we on the right track? Do the ways we have chosen to work lead to the results we want to create? Are we being true to ourselves or are we denying something to ourselves?"
4. Create a truth-telling culture. Build an environment of psychological safety that allows everyone to face the truth and tell what they see. Build mental readiness to identify and accept the consequences of missteps so that it is possible to change direction without loss of prestige.
5. Make it visible. Follow up, give feedback and highlight the results - the benefits - of the work. Let everyone feel that they are contributing to an important and valuable development.

The difficulty with sustainability and other strategic issues is that they are often slow. It takes discipline to keep talking about issues that rarely feel urgent - "important, but not urgent". And that's the discipline needed to make sustainability a reality, both in terms of real results and as a natural part of your business culture.

So is it possible to lead for sustainability? Yes, but it requires us to build a culture where people really feel that they are contributing, that what they are contributing is important, and where everyone sees and is acknowledged that their contribution matters.

It may sound like a big job, but on the other hand: once we have built such a culture, we will succeed in everything we want.

Good luck!

Ola Ljunggren Bergeå
ola.ljunggren.bergea@real8.se
Real8 Consulting Group