Friday 13 April 2012

Climate Matters. L is for Leadership

This post is for L in the A-Z Blogging Challenge 2012. Link in the sidebar.

With so much doom and gloom surrounding corrupt corporations, stick in the mud politicians and belittling of sound scientific research, it’s possible to lose sight of the innovative leadership that is happening around the world. Wise leaders in neighbourhoods, communities, and towns as well as in many industries are working together to mitigate the unsettling and damaging effects of dramatic climate events.

As part of overall change, many businesses have experienced the need to adopt more sustainable  practices and are connecting with suppliers, service providers and customers to promote their achievements. They're finding that improvements to reduce energy and water usage have paid for themselves and simply make good business sense. Simple things like fixing leaking taps and turning off lights are an obvious start.

Assessing waste and doing some basic sorting to reduce disposal and landfill costs and increase recycling can be a real saving. Some industries are ideal candidates to reuse materials, others benefit from reducing waste at the initial stage of production. These businesses are providing leadership and forging the way to achieve cost savings through cutting consumption and addressing their environmental impact.  Many are conducting research and focusing on innovation to reduce their carbon emissions.

More and more small and medium businesses are promoting their achievements not only in their own communities but around the globe. By example and encouragement they help others to address the need to become industry leaders.

Those who are managing well, have discovered the benefit of collaborating with others in different professions as well as being committed to self management and self leadership. They've embraced change and found it caters to their ability to be creative and think laterally.

Consumers have enormous power to effect change. Individually choices and decisions may seem insignificant, but collectively the weight of these choices has an effect. When we purchase goods from quality providers who are already supporting sustainable change we’re having a positive effect.  Our choices can encourage businesses to provide better, more detailed information regarding their environmental impact on their websites and in promotional literature. This is resulting in more providers improving the quality, longevity and sustainability of what they are offering to the market. As consumers become more aware, it’s easier to make informed choices and boycott companies that pursue unethical practices and make unsustainable products.

As the global economy has contracted, many people have also become self employed either by choice or as a result of redundancy or under-employment. Their worklives have changed as they adapt to the need for managing their careers in a new way. They’ve found they need for understanding and communicating their strengths and the benefit of being creative, resilient and adaptable as they negotiate and forge new pathways and unfamiliar worklives. Many are emerging as a new style of leader. Not grandiose or self important, but going about their business quietly and having a positive impact in their communities.

Many have become resilient, self reliant and supportive leaders as they acknowledge that large corporations can’t be relied on to act with the needs of future generations in mind.

Wise leaders choose to take time out of meditate, exercise and immerse themselves in nature.
Tidal River. Wilsons Promontory. Victoria.
Cape Schank. Victoria.
Last year for the letter L, I wrote about Lies for my theme of workplace bullying. Here.

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4 comments:

MynameisEarl said...

I was always told that being a leader means that you have to know how to be a follower as well.

Leaders nowadays have to listen to the people but those voices will inevitably fall on deaf ears...

Visiting from the A-to-Z challenge! :)

Sue said...

Earl, we're so used to hearing the negative stories on the news about corrupt politicians and businessmen, that it's easy to overlook the positive things happening lower down the scale. I don't consider those power-hungry people to be leaders.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Sue .. people are certainly re-evaluating their roles in life - we hear more and more who are leaving the rat race, setting up locally and joining in life in the community.

The unsung heroes are out there .. lets hope more come along .. there's so much disparity around the world. But home is where it needs to start to get sorted out .. care and compassion for others ..

Leadership at all levels - we can't afford the not for me attitude - it matters to us all .. all the way from just being human, into our family and then our role in the greater community.

Cheers - Hilary

Sue said...

Hi Hilary, Yes to everything you say. I am encouraged by the local leaders, but sometimes the larger forces of corrupt mega corporations and governments make me wonder how the ethical, businesses with wise leaders can win the day. I live in hope though.

cheers. Sue