Beyond unsustainable leadership: critical social theory for sustainable leadership

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to prepare the conceptual groundwork for the future study of leadership for sustainable development. The paper demonstrates the relevance of Critical Leadership Studies to future research on sustainable development policies and practices. A critical approach is also applied to concepts of sustainable development, with three paradigms of thought described. Design/methodology/approach The approach taken is an extensive literature review in fields of leadership and sustainable development, with a focus on some of the broad assumptions and assertions in those literatures. Findings A key finding is that leadership studies drawing from critical social theory can provide important insights into future research and education on leadership for sustainability. This literature shows that some assumptions about leadership may hinder opportunities for social or organisational change by reducing the analysis of factors in change or reducing the agency of those not deemed to be leading. These limitations are summarised as “seven unsustainabilities” of mainstream leadership research. Research limitations/implications The paper calls for the emerging field of sustainable leadership to develop an understanding of significant individual action that includes collective, emergent and episodic dimensions. The paper then summarises key aspects of the papers in this special issue on leadership for sustainability. Practical implications The implications for practice are that efforts to promote organisational contributions to sustainable development should not uncritically draw upon mainstream approaches to leadership or the training of leaders. Originality/value The authors consider this the first paper to provide a synthesis of insights from Critical Leadership Studies for research in sustainability.

Introduction

“…The gap in the literature that this paper may begin to address is the lack of discussion within management studies and practice of the end of the idea that we can either solve or cope with climate change. In the Sustainability Accounting Management and Policy Journal (SAMPJ), which this paper was originally submitted to, there has been no discussion of this topic before, apart from my own co-authored paper (Bendell, et al, 2017). Three papers mention climate adaptation in passing, with just one focusing on it by considering how to improve irrigated agriculture (de Sousa Fragoso et al, 2018).…”

“…It is related to other perspectives that despite the attention of international institutions to "sustainable development goals," the era of "sustainable development" as unifying concept and goal is now ending. It is an explicitly post-sustainability framing, and part of the Restoration Approach to engaging with social and environmental dilemmas, as I outlined elsewhere (Bendell, et al 2017).…”

The Influence of Sustainable Leadership and Strategic Agility on Business Sustainability

“…Leader with sustainable leadership quality requires taking long-term perspective in making decisions; fostering organized innovation towards value; developing a skilled, devoted and highly engaged workforce; and offering products, services and solutions of high quality (Gerard et al, 2017). In fact, sustainable leadership refers to any ethical behaviour that has the purpose and effect of serving groups of people and addressing communal problems in significant ways (Bendell et al, 2017).…”

“…The seven principles of sustainable leadership consist of creating and preserving sustainable learning; securing success over time; sustaining the leadership of others; addressing issues of social justice; developing rather than depleting human and material resources; developing environmental diversity and capacity; undertaking activist engagement with the environment (Amanchukwu et al, 2015). On the other hand, Bendell et al, (2017) combined their critique on both leadership and sustainability, and proposed seven mains "unsustainabilities" in mainstream leadership which includes ignoring purpose or assuming the primary purpose to be the benefit of an employer; assuming or believing a senior role holder to be most salient to organizational or social change; ignoring the political and moral aspects of an exclusive focus on enhancing the agency of senior role holders; assuming that "leader" is a continuing quality of a person rather than a label; assuming that the value of an individual lies mostly in their confidence in their distinctiveness;…”

“…From the global perspective, United Nations' adoption of seventeen (17) sustainable development goals (SDGs) by the United Nations in 2015 expect that governments, firms and other organisations can achieve progress on social and economic factors while not degrading the environment (Bendell et al, 2017). Sustainable development presents an enormous opportunity-if business leaders can understand economic, social, and environmental challenges as future value drivers (BSDC, 2017).…”