117: Sustainable Leadership | Clarke Murphy

The Leadership Enigma

Clarke Murphy is a CEO and Board Advisor and author of ‘Sustainable Leadership’. He hosts The Redefiners podcast. Leaders are faced with global growth, changing demographics of the workforce, constant change, digital transformation, automation, globalisation and more, and therefore lead in the transformation as opposed to the replacement business.

Clarke explains that sustainability is the broad umbrella for the 17 Sustainable Development Goals decided in 1998-1999 and not just climate change.

Sustainable leaders are essential for all organisations and Clarkes research has identified four key elements:

1. Multi-Level Systems Thinking - which allows a leader to think conceptually about the depth of complexity they operate in.

2. Stakeholder Inclusion – will you include your competitors. Regulators and employees into the conversation to solve a sustainable issue. This takes guts and followership.

3. Disruptive Innovation – questioning own beliefs and learning from failure with humility and listening skills in abundance

4. Long Term Activation – when hit with failure, can you keep moving long beyond the moment.

Clarke also introduces us to LQ: The ability for a leader to always learn especially from the younger generations within the organisation.

Sustainability is a non-negotiable for all leaders and not just a compliance or tick box exercise. Leaders must look at their organisations and identify what are their commitments to sustainability and understand how they measure their actions over multiple years. The journey starts with one step.

Clarke provides numerous examples of companies getting this right and the value they are creating both internally and externally. You will also have to decide if you are a 100%er, a Moon Shooter or a Fence Sitter.

Creating a better world is an obligation for every leader and every organisation. Take the first step.

Sustainable Leadership – Lessons of Vision, Courage, and Grit from the CEOs Who Dared to Build a Better World is available from Amazon.

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