Leadership + Culture = Impact

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The job of a CEO has always been to lead. People follow people. But the shift to sustainable business demands an entirely different set of leadership skills than the past. 

Today's executives need the imagination to seek a different path, the courage to overcome challenges and the humility to bring others on their sustainability journey. Unfortunately, our research indicates that many leaders lack many of these capabilities.

We asked respondents to indicate whether they believe the senior leaders at their organization display each of 10 important attributes: Humility; Self-awareness; Authenticity; Empathy; Leading by Example; Inclusiveness; Purpose; Hopefulness; Humanity; and Transparency.

In the US, employees scored their leaders low on all 10 competencies. Only a quarter believe their most senior leaders demonstrate humility or self-awareness. And only a third believe senior leaders display empathy, humanity and inclusivity. This view is not only held by frontline employees—even C-suite executives do not see these attributes in their senior leaders.

C-suite perceptions of the greatest barriers that leaders face to embedding sustainability across business strategy (US) 

Without these skills many executives will struggle to get the traction they need to build a culture of sustainability that flows from the top of the organization to the frontline. Indeed, leaders are running into myriad challenges on their sustainability journeys. When asked about the top barriers they faced, 37% cited organizational complexity/bureaucracy, while a further 36% said a slow-changing company culture.

Which of the following attributes would you say the senior-most leaders in your organization display? (US)

At the same time, our research indicated widespread DE&I challenges: around two-thirds of C-suite executives say the senior leaders at their organization show bias or favoritism to employees who are like them. Around the same proportion believe that gender and racial bias influence promotion decisions. Interestingly, C-suite leaders are more likely than employees to report these issues. 

Thinking about your employer, how much do you agree with the following statements? (US)

Since the Black Lives Matter Movement, there has been no shortage of organizations committing to build diverse, equitable and inclusive workplaces. Yet, as our research shows, the US still has a long way to go to root out and change patterns of behavior that still allow bias and favoritism to thrive. It is not enough to talk the talk on DE&I. Leaders also need to walk the walk.