Environmental Leadership

Abstract

Responding to climate change is now a matter for all organizations and employees. Leaders play a key role in affecting employee behavior more generally, so it is likely that they also affect pro-environmental behaviors. This symposium explores the notion of environmental leadership within organizations. Across five presentations we will cover the definition and operationalisation of environmental leadership, what leaders feel and how environmental leaders may reduce their vulnerability to burn out, and how environmental leadership (and a form of 'anti' environmental leadership) affects employee behavior. The presentations include new theorizing, scale development, qualitative, and both survey and experimental quantitative studies that are based on samples from Australia, Canada, the U.S., and Russia. We conclude this symposium with an active discussion led by Dr. Julian Barling surrounding the theoretical, empirical and practical implications of environmental leadership and avenues for future research. Environmentally-specific Transformational Leadership: Scale Development and Validation Presenter: Jennifer Robertson; Western U. Goal Conflict in Workplace Pro-Environmental Behavior: The Signaling Role of the Leader Presenter: Kerrie Unsworth; U. of Western Australia Presenter: Mirella Wilson; U. of Western Australia Top Management Emotional Responses to Climate Change: A Longitudinal Study Presenter: Sally V. Russell; U. of Leeds Presenter: Kelly Fielding; U. of Queensland Presenter: Alice Evans; U. of Queensland Managerial Leadership and Employee Proenvironmental Behavior in Russia Presenter: Laura M. Graves; Clark U. Presenter: Joseph Sarkis; Worcester Polytechnic Institute Presenter: Natalia Gold; Northeastern U.