The Challenge

We live in a unique time. Organizational leaders have been handed a unique opportunity to demonstrate leadership, to show their creativity, to earn a profit while profoundly and positively impacting a world that is stressed by environmental and economic concerns. By using their creativity, influence and experience, by re-examining organizational behaviours, by using resources already available to them, by increasing the capacity of every member of their organization, they can create robust and lasting change which will meet the approval of their shareholders while lending a hand to an ailing planet. This is the challenge.

Creating a culture of sustainability is a one of those unique opportunities which allows us to do better business by being smarter about the things we do. But cultural change in an organization requires finding ways to help all employees naturally gravitate to the behaviours and values that will lead us in the direction we want to go.

The UN World Commission on Environment and Development described Sustainable Development as:

"development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

Making a shift towards a more conscious future in requires us as business and organizational leaders to use every ounce of our creativity and find practical ways of implement practices which save the planet and generate profits. As guardians and major consumers of resources, we have a responsibility to begin shifting our views, and the interesting challenge of using our skills of influence and creativity to shift the views of others. And we need to do this while constantly improving value to all of our stakeholders.

The following questionnaire will help you to think about next steps for creating a new culture in your organization that will lead to greater sustainability while improving business results.

Instructions

Read each section carefully and think about how your business is currently organized. Answer the question by selecting one of the options. As you review the options, you may wish to make notes about exceptions, goals and actions you may wish to take towards building a new culture.

After you have completed assessing where you are and thinking about where you would like to be, let us know how we might assist you in developing a new culture.

1) Business Performance management

The established culture of managing business performance will determine the ability of your organization to sustain it's approach in all aspects of business over the long term. Culturally adapted organizations do what is "right" consistently out of habit but also know when and where to look for guidelines, how to make decisions about practical exceptions, and how to build continuous improvement into their model.

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2) Sustainable Development

The established culture of Sustainability will determine your company's impact on the environment and the world. But it will also impact business performance, energy costs, how you are viewed from a social responsibilty perspective and it will impact how shareholders, clients and future buyers of your business will see you. Companies who are excellent practitioners of Sustainability, have proven themselves as outperformers in every industry.

3) Change Management

Change Management is both a science and an art. The ability to be agile is critical. But successful change is neither random nor unplanned. Successful changes are strategic in nature. They support the company vision while allowing for the natural evolution and adaptation of services and products to an ever changing social, business and technological environment. They require a mindset on the part of employees and leadership which sees change as inevitable, positive and an opportunity for growth.

4) Using Vision to Inspire

Leaders generally have a vision of where the company is going. In a dynamic company the vision is embraced by employees and serves to drive the decision making of the company. It incorporates both results the company wishes to achieve and values by which it operates.

5) Learning Environment

Creating a culture of learning requires a shift in the way we think, the way we evaluate and manage employees and even the way we measure and talk about success and failure. We may view strict adhereance to policy as the only way to ensure quality. But companies that wish to remain competative must also view quality through the eyes of an engaged workforce. When employees are encouraged to learn and contribute, they develop a passion for excellence. As learning becomes part of the culture, the ability to improve continuously becomes possible. Learning from others and sharing information and ideas freely without fear improves the quality of products and services and the safety of the organization. It allows the organization to learn what is necessary to constantly evolve.

6) Leadership Style, Development and Succession

Leadership is the primary influencer of organizational culture. When organizations provide guidance, flexibility and encouragement, employees tend to take on initiatives and show the desire to contribute. While no model of leadership is right or wrong, it is important that leaders have a high level of awareness of changes in the business and economic environment so that they can adapt their style and values to keep up. Leaders who are able to draw upon the creativity of the organization tend to be more successful. Training future leaders on how to encourage, evaluate and implement creativity takes a change in the culture of leadership. Sustainable organizations build cultural traits into succession plans through leadership training and coaching and through new hiring models.

7) Communication/Relationship Methods

How we communicate with other executives, team members, employees and even clients and shareholders will influence the relationships we have and the decisions we make. If we learn how to communicate effectively, we can create a cooperative culture where everyone pulls in the same direction while allowing for frank, creative and respectful contributions to the decision making process.

8) Use of Coaching Methods

Experienced leaders know how to engage employees by asking empowering questions and helping them to play a part in the decision making process. They empower them to share their learning and contribute to that learning by getting permission first before offering information. They understand how emotions are the first filter for all forms of communication and know how to work with these filters. Coaching naturally becomes part of the culture of communication at all levels.

The assessment is primarily designed as a way for you to think about and plan for your future goals of creating a sustainability culture in your organization. The only required information is your e-mail, but, if you wish, please feel free to share your goals and experiences and let us know how we may be of assistance to you.

Your assessment is held entirely in confidence and, if you decide you would like our assistance, we will use some of the information to determine ways in which we may assist your company. We hope that the assessment has helped you to think about your future directions.

Printing: To receive a printed copy of the report, please Submit along with your e-mail address.