Sustainable Leadership

Ok, I know I can’t possibly be the only person on the planet who gets confused when it comes to throwing trash away in the new recycle-friendly trash cans. Going green and keeping an eye toward sustainability has always been of great interest to me. I’m from the south, and we recycle everything (more accurately we never throw anything away we might need). But what about leader sustainability? In a time of growth and expansion, the sustainability of good leaders through both recycling and repurposing has to be in our crosshairs. Teaching new prospective leaders by teaming them up with more advanced, savvy leaders and helping experienced leaders grasp new advanced techniques will be the future of leadership sustainability. Sounds promising, right? But everyone knows you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, right? Wrong. Only dead dogs can’t learn. Old dogs and new dogs both can expand their horizons through sharing their gifts.

Sustainable Leadership is for anyone Who can say YES to:

Increased engagement by investing in a unique, holistic, and comprehensive professional and leadership development program.

Training is not only the key–it is essential to helping leaders at both ends of the spectrum succeed. Training is expensive, but so is making critical errors that lead to key people being underutilized.

Enhanced competencies, and expanded leadership capabilities and impact through training, skill-building, executive coaching, and interaction with a cohort of other leaders.

You’ve heard there is strength in numbers. Well, there is also synergy that is created for both old and new leaders in the exchange of good ideas and strategies.

Stronger leadership sustainability, retention, and commitment due to extensive learning, development, and investment based on individual goals, priorities, and needs.

Did you know a good leader can be worth $10,000 to $15,000 per employee? In a recent survey, 73% of respondents said they would stay at a company with good leadership versus leaving for a sizable raise to work for a company where leadership was weaker. So, recycling does have its rewards!

More satisfied, effective, and loyal leaders.

Everyone knows loyalty to the company went out with bell bottom pants and tie-dyed shirts. Not so! Oh, we have surpassed the cradle-to-grave ideology of industrialization, but loyalty, effect-ability, sustainability, and satisfaction-ability (Ok, I made some of those up, but you get the idea) are still alive and well everywhere.

Consistent, individualized support for greater impact and satisfaction in career, life, and leadership roles.

When we feel supported, we tend to grow. For those of you too young to have studied (or just can’t remember) the Hawthorne Effect, this is a good time to revisit it. People respond to being paid attention to! Focus on people, and they respond!

Focused learning on relevant topics to immediately apply in the real world.

Hate training for training’s sake?Want to see sales increase? Then, train them. Want to see safety awareness increase? Train them. Want to see great leadership? Well, you get the picture…

A robust network of highly-talented professionals in leadership.

Putting a race horse in the stall with a bunch of mules is going to ruin that race horse. The majority will pull down the minority! Surround yourself with people who have awesome potential. Set the example. Don’t make standard the mark of excellence.

A creative and collaborative space to solve problems, learn from others, and plan for what’s next.

Going to your office alone with problems is wasting the resources you have at your disposal. Collaboration of experienced and more novice leaders will result in new ideas and sustainable resources and leaders.

Time to pause and assess what is important in life and work and determine what change is needed.

Here is one final and very important point. Lead from where you are! Don’t get ahead of yourself. Master steps that will get you one step closer to your potential.

Sound aggressive? Sound challenging? Sound interesting? Then get on the sustainability train. Dr. Henry has many training resources from books to audio and video products that will aid your organization in its recycling efforts.