Abstract:

Sustainability leadership is an increasing preoccupation with leadership and leadership development as countering ecocide and omnicide takes centre stage in an era of the human-induced ‘poly-crisis’. Yet the challenges and development of Sustainability leadership at the level of individual managers remains conceptually unclear and lacking an evidence base. This developmental paper investigates micro-level sustainability leadership (SL) capabilities by focusing on the leadership practices of managers recognised as exemplars of sustainability leadership to create the empirical evidence for micro/individual level SL. Conceptually, we position Sustainability Leadership (SL) and its development as generating a mutually reinforcing cycle of Planet, People, Prosperity and Peace, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Building upon a macro–meso–micro framework for sustainability leadership, we argue that clearer specification of micro-level capabilities is essential to develop the evidence-base for leadership development interventions in business and management education.

Empirically, the study adopts a qualitative, interpretive design using semi-structured interviews with 17 owner–manager CEOs from New Zealand businesses shortlisted by the British–New Zealand Business Association for their triple-bottom-line commitments role modelling sustainability in their businesses. Interviews invited participants to narrate their sustainability journeys, key influences, trade-offs and tensions, and concrete leadership practices. Interviews will be completed by Mid-March, and analysis will commence in March using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) for narrative analysis. By combining reflexive thematic analysis with inductively generated themes the paper aims to reveal micro-level SL practices which emerge from the narrative analysis.

Anticipated contributions include, firstly, to offer an empirically grounded account of authentic sustainability leadership practices at the individual micro level. Secondly, it will provide the basis for designing leadership development, coaching and educational interventions aimed at strengthening managers’ capacity to contribute to business–community–planetary flourishing. Thirdly, it will outline a research agenda for further investigation and adapting these micro-level practices across diverse organisational and societal contexts.

Please choose your submission type: Developmental Paper

Primary Track: Leadership and Leadership Development

Keywords: Traditional paradigms of leadership, including traits, behaviour and contingency approaches;Leadership in education;Leadership skills and development;Emerging leadership theories

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Dr. Paul Aitken