Anthropocene and the Call for Leaders with a New Mindset

Abstract

The problem I will be addressing in this chapter is the new context in which business operates—the Anthropocene era—and its implications for, and demands on, leaders. A decade ago the surveys about awareness of sustainability and the importance of CSR provided mixed results: organizational leaders were slowly acknowledging its importance but were not yet acting on that understanding. Since then, the context has been changing dramatically, and the economic, social, and environmental circumstances have increasingly impacted business decisions and have caused organizations to re-write their carefully crafted plans. Covid-19 is just one, if the major, such circumstance. As if this were not enough, the voices of a new generation are clamoring for a new way of doing things. They don’t have the answers, but they are loudly requesting review of the operating system of our business and governments, and adjustment to the changed realities. They are calling for solutions and are taking an active role in effecting change. This chapter will address the invisible aspects that anchor current problems and suggest a possible lever of transformation. It is called the Sustainability Mindset. Based on her research over the past decade, the author will share the principles for a sustainability mindset, which constitute a scaffolding for developing the Thinking and Being dimensions which leaders can utilize to face the Anthropocene’s challenges. These leaders must start shaping the world we want to live in, and which we want to leave for succeeding generations. The main message of this chapter is that once we identify the elements of our mindset that continue to contribute to existing problems, we will be in a better position to change by developing new ways of acting and being in the world. And importantly, by starting the transformation with self, leaders will, in the words of Mohandas Gandhi‚ have the opportunity to be the change they want to see.