Sustainable leadership features in decisions
Sustainable leadership has a visible impact on companies, both internally and externally. “A leader’s decisions have a broad impact on society, employees and the surrounding environment. Sustainable leadership is about more than a few good deeds, it’s deeply integrated with a company’s business activities,” explains Outi.
Outi adds that sustainability begins with personal realisation and understanding that leaders’ decisions have impacts. “Leaders should talk openly about the challenging aspects of sustainability, such as the importance of diversity, equality and inclusion, and how these themes should form part of a company’s daily activities rather than being treated separately,” Outi emphasises.
The core question posed by sustainable leadership is strongly linked to the company’s existence. Why does the company exist and what is its purpose? Leaders have responsibility for answering these questions.
Transparent and honest communications are also a key aspect of leadership. “Open, internal discussion of a company’s challenges and paths to success foster trust and credibility among customers, employees and investors. Genuine integration of sustainability with daily activities requires dialogue between stakeholders, networking, and readiness to learn new things,” Outi explains.
Sustainable leadership and decision-making can also involve shame about your own choices. “For example, travel is a tricky issue. I may feel that flying abroad will increase our carbon footprint, but that I’ll miss a chance to meet colleagues if I don’t go. Social and environmental considerations can therefore clash.”
Outi has some advice on ethical questions: “If you mean well and have tried your best, that’s good enough. Sustainability is not about paralysing leaders by demanding the impossible from them.”
Managing diversity
Sustainability also involves diversity in the work community. “If we provide services for different customer segments but take no account of diversity in service design, our services are hardly likely to cater for a diverse range of clients,” Outi points out.
“You can’t truly understand what belonging to a minority group means without experiencing it personally,” says Outi. That’s why it’s important to discuss and learn about issues, particularly diversity in the workplace.
Outi recommends open discussion and sparring, to pinpoint the areas of a company in which diversity can be improved. This prevents the creation of blind spots. She mentions office facilities as an example. Do they take account of accessibility? Can all staff and customers enter the facilities freely? Outi recommends starting with the big picture and the reason for the company’s existence, and moving to the operational level from there.
Achieving better results through sustainable leadership
Sustainable leadership also boosts the bottom line. “Consumers, investors and owners expect companies to act transparently and sustainably. Trust leads to a better financial result – for example, a better employee experience feeds through to customers,” Outi explains.
“No one ever solves all sustainability problems, or gets to tick every box. It’s about continuous activity and operational development,” adds Outi.
How can we make sustainable decisions if finances are tight, in a way that aligns the company’s interests with those of people? “It’s in precisely these situations that sustainability has an impact. There’s no such thing as a company which is not the sum of its people. Sustainable and humane leadership does not mean never having to make tough decisions. But all discussions should be adult-to-adult and open,” states Outi.
“If you can look in the mirror and live with your decisions and actions, and feel that you made decisions for the right reasons, you’ve acted sustainably as a leader,” says Outi, giving words of encouragement to leaders and entrepreneurs.
The next Optimistit business podcast episode focuses on preventing biodiversity loss. It features Ville Eskola, a sheep farmer who preserves natural landscapes. Listen to Ville’s advice on how to maintain biodiversity. The podcast is in Finnish.
