Nawar Alsaadi, FSA, SIPC

Thought leadership is by definition seeing what everyone else is seeing and thinking what everyone else is not thinking. If all you do as a thought leader is package other people's ideas, you won't get far. Thought leadership entails a degree of risk, since in most cases you are pushing the envelope, exploring new terrain, making new connections, and testing untested concepts. And like all leadership roles, thought leadership requires a degree of humility since you won't always get it right. Sustainability leadership requires deep interdisciplinary knowledge, and the capacity to cross pollinate different streams of thought and practice into a new constructs. Finally, you need to make your thoughts accessible and share them broadly.

You can make the case in the interview itself. If there is a bunch of people at the interview, and they are all the same gender, skin color, and age group. You can readily make the case that the room is probably missing a broader perspective, and so is the company in terms of understanding the market, their customer base, and identifying potential risks and opportunities otherwise captured in a more diverse group. Companies that understand the market better, meet their clients needs better, manage risks better and capture opportunities better will inevitably beat those that don't. Diverse teams have a clear edge over uniform teams when it comes to excelling in these areas

Probably the most powerful enabler to creating sustainable products and services is enabling a culture that challenges the status quo. In tangible terms this means challenging language such as "we've always done it this way" and "this is not the way we do things". Creative thinking is the unknowable how for a knowable objective. Creative thinking for sustainable products and services is not a set of instructions, it's not about using pinch of sustainable materials and a dash of circularity. Creative thinking is about the art of the possible, it's about creating a space for exploration, it's about trying, failing, and trying again to achieve a sustainable outcome.

Giving feedback to a sustainability team member shouldn't be different from giving feedback to anyone else. The focus here should be on communication, understanding and follow up. The fact that the feedback ties back to a sustainability task is immaterial. Of note, there is a difference between giving feedback, which tends to be backwards looking, and giving advice which tends to be forward looking. Framing the conversation as either advice or feedback has implications as to how the employee would experince the interaction.

You don't get teams to prioritize sustainability by focusing on sustainability. You get teams to prioritize sustainability by showcasing how they can do their job better though sustainable choices. If you want teams to be more diverse, don't focus on diversity per se, but show them how diversity makes teams more content, innovative, and productive. If you want your team to generate a better bottom line, show them how using circular solutions, energy saving solutions, and environmentally responsible solutions can drive better returns. If you want your team to prioritize sustainability in strategy, show them how sustainability can offer a competitive edge, increase loyalty and open new markets.

The sustainability community is extremely open and welcoming. As such, building relationships within the sustainability industry is an attainable goal for many, but this doesn't mean you will get a free pass. To cultivate relationships within the sustainability space, or any other space, you need to develop genuine interest in people. You need to give as much as you take. You need to engage legitimately with others about real issues and not approch them under false pretenses. You need to be authentic, dependable, and trust worthy. Having said that, real relationships take time to develop, they must be earned and nurtured. Be patient and consistent. And in time, you will cultivate a rich supportive sustainability network.