Sandja Brügmann is a
sought-after leadership advisor who, among other services, has helped top
leaders from Grundfos, The Body Shop, and Chr. Hansen CEO Mauricio
Graber integrate sustainability into core business practices.
Whereas CSR is an extremely narrow term, often associated with CO2 reduction,
compliance and risk management, to actually become regenerative — meaning to
contribute more than we extract from the world — we need purpose-driven,
conscious leadership and personal development.
Brügmann has worked with sustainability, values-driven business and purpose for
18 years; and is the founder of The Passion
Institute, which focuses on leadership
development and sustainable business strategy. In January 2019, she launched the
Sustainable Leadership
Network.
In order to integrate sustainability into the core of a business, it has to be a
part of the company’s culture. In order for this to happen, a top leader must be
willing and ready to go first and evolve, Brügmann states.
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According to Brügmann, leaders cannot successfully pursue sustainability if they
don’t also work with a deeper consciousness regarding their underlying
motivations.
Sandja Brügmann: Think about the company as a tree, where the tree top is
all that is visible in the form of KPIs, products and business strategy. At the
trunk and below is the non-physical — our values, our feelings and our
subconscious beliefs and actions — which are at risk of tripping us up; and at
the root is where we find purpose and a deeper meaning that lies beyond the
financial aspect.
A specific example is a Danish CEO of an SME I worked with recently. One if his
core values is to respect others. As his sustainability and organizational
culture change advisor, I experienced that he did not treat me with respect. I
made him aware that he, in a specific situation, had overstepped my boundaries,
and that this needed to be corrected if our collaboration was to continue. He
was very surprised to see himself through my eyes, because he was not aware that
he had acted in that manner. This is understandable, as few of us can truly see
ourselves from the outside. To do this, we need the help of others.
This same reasoning lies behind the need for self-awareness and psychological
development as a prerequisite to drive transformative growth and change, as a
business leader or leader of sustainability efforts. This takes courage — from
both leaders and employees.
The CEO would not have become aware of his behavior had I not communicated
openly and set a boundary. But to set a boundary takes courage, because I could
lose a client. The most important aspect, of course, is that when his actions do
not reflect his own values towards me, it’s likely also the case in other
situations — such as with his employees, collaborators, customers and so on.
Our unconscious actions create our results — if we do not create the results we
want, it is most likely due to our unconscious actions; or, in the tree trunk,
if we use the same analogy. Scale this mindset to the organizational level,
where it immediately becomes substantially more complex to ensure authenticity.
The consequences are also magnified. We ought to see it as the most exciting
journey, we can undertake — the growth journey to be able to live our purpose
and potential.
It’s important that top leaders surround themselves with people, who have the
courage to speak up. It requires trust-based relations to lift each other
towards better.
It’s human nature that absolute power corrupts absolutely. The leaders I work
with are aware of this; and if they are not, then we work with awareness around
this. Therefore, top leaders need to be surrounded by people who are hired to
call them out when they are out of line. Otherwise, a top leader runs the risk
of being surrounded by pleasers. This is not good for the business, nor the
individuals.
We can all say that we have beautiful values. Most companies do, as well. But
do we actually follow through and act according to our values? Politics and
games are a known factor in most companies based on the desire to reach
individual goals and ambitions. This can mean that information is not shared
with others, or that people undermine each other. This type of behavior works
against the goal of a sustainable work culture. To achieve this type of positive
work atmosphere, we have to look beyond our own siloes and our own egos, so
instead we can work together across work responsibilities and hierarchies.
When you share a message with CEOs stating that they have to be less ego-driven, how do they react — because don’t people in their positions have a certain degree of ego?
SB: As an executive in one of the largest companies, you have to have
confidence and drive, so ego is not necessarily bad. It is about driving it in
the right way, so it creates positive development.
One of the most important exercises I ask CEOs to do is to reflect on, ‘what is
at the center of your life?’ If you, as a CEO, are at the center, then you have
a big problem. We are in reality just insignificant human beings, who are here
for 100 years. We are not special, though we act as if we are. That is just ego.
And it’s important that we move beyond that.
To solve the climate emergency, we must collaborate internally within organizations and on a global scale. As the business world functions currently, most leaders exhibit linear thinking in short-term KPIs and returns, but this thinking will never solve the climate
emergency.
Sustainability might not be an area one grabs hold of to develop a company’s culture — but is it an inevitable by-product?
SB: Absolutely. As a person or as a company, we usually only develop when
something hurts and is so difficult that we need to change. Currently, a climate
emergency related to sustainability is the most urgent change agenda in the
world, because it is threatening the resources we all are dependent on. All of
our money and our KPIs are worthless and pointless if the earth is destroyed.
I often hear people say that companies talk about sustainability, but do they
actually put actions to their words? My response to this is that we have to
remember that the transformation process is not linear. Sustainable leadership
is about providing space to your own and others’ imperfect process. As long as
we measure our own progress against ourselves and ensure we are moving in a
positive direction towards the goal of being more and more sustainable, then we
are well on our way.
What are the most important qualities for the leaders of the future who have a focus on sustainability?
SB: The ones who will do best have a beginner’s
mindset
and are curious and open. It takes a lot of confidence to stand by the fact that
you do not know everything and that you can make mistakes. This is something
everyone needs to start recognizing as a strength. The future leader easily
says, ‘sorry, I was wrong,’ or ‘that is not where we should be heading, so let’s
change direction,’ without covering the fact that you made a mistake. Long-term
strategies are not useful to the same degree as previously.
As a leader, you have
to be rooted in the present to be able to evaluate the current circumstances.
This requires new skills such as being ready to evolve, be transparent and be
humble.
Many companies have long-term, 2030 plans in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals — is this then wrong?
SB: A purpose is like a north star; we use it as a navigation guide.
However, the strategy to get there can change. So, 2030 plans which are set in
stone should be avoided, because the context is constantly changing. The 17
Sustainable Development
Goals is the north star,
guiding us towards a desirable way to think and act. In my eyes, the business
world has the deciding role to play if we are to succeed to live, consume and
act within the planetary boundaries.
Sandja Brügmann’s 5 Ways to a Strong Sustainability & Purpose Culture
1. Move from being change-ready to change-driven
In order to solve sustainability challenges, as a leader you need to be able to
bring other people to life, to flourish; such that they experience and are able
to access their innate passion, innovation and creativity. This requires
leadership development on the personal-development plane to know what motivates
and drives others, beneath the obvious and spoken. This is why you need to see
leadership development as personal transformation and as an on-going commitment
to a process; where you never reach the end goal, but experience continuous
successes of growth and learning towards the end goal.
2. Become conscious of your own values and purpose
It requires self-awareness to become conscious of one’s own values and deeper
purpose — and to live them. Only when an underlying purpose is identified are
you able to create a strong sustainability culture organizationally and
leadership-wise.
Everything is created twice, as leadership expert Stephen Covey has said.
First, we create a vision of the world we would like to create and live in.
Then, we take action to realize this vision. And the second part is a much
grander challenge: To live our values and purpose requires self-management,
dedication to personal growth and a strong will. In order to succeed with this
process, it is important not to look for the holes in the cheese, as we shoot
down good ideas and intentions, before there is provided ample room to execute
and implement. Creating a purpose and sustainability culture is a lengthy
developmental process for both employees and the management team.
3. Empower and uplift each other
Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely. Ensure processes are in
place within the organizational structure and the top leadership team, such that
power is openly questioned and a natural part of the organizational culture.
Create a culture and structure, where everyone supports and empowers each other;
and where transparency and open communication is valued and expected, such that
unsustainable behavior is called out and corrected. In this manner, the
supportive and well-aligned actions will gradually increase. To focus on
continuous personal development in the direction of a stronger autonomous,
responsible, sustainable and purpose-driven cultur, where people grow is called
a DDO — Deliberately Developmental Organization.
4. Sustainability is contingent on psychological development processes
The challenges of our time are global in nature, complex and interdependent.
Thus, we cannot solve any of the grand challenges alone. We need to develop
leaders who are eco-literate systems
thinkers
and sensers, who can perceive and understand the interrelatedness of issues such
as climate change, biodiversity
loss,
economic polarity, social inequality, social illness (stress, depression,
anxiety), health issues (diabetes, cancer, etc) and so forth.
The future leader needs to understand the importance of mindset change from
being short-term, profit-only-focused; to becoming long-term, profit- and
purpose-focused. Leaders need to move from hierarchical structures towards a
broader redistribution of influence and power within organizations; and rather
than leading with control, learn to lead with autonomy, as per experts such as
Dr. Robert Kegan, researcher at Harvard University.
5. A strong sustainability culture requires transparency and honesty
Get a nuanced and honest picture of where your organization — and your own
leadership — create inadequate results or behaviors, which sabotage or slow
development and intended performance. It requires deep self-awareness and will
to work on; and with personal leadership development, you can create honesty and
transparency internally in the organization, which are prerequisites to work
with sustainability risks in every corner of the business — from the supply
chain to negative branding.
Bonus tip: Meditation and mental training help to move beyond automatic
reactions to proaction, and to improve self-understanding. Science shows that
meditation and mindfulness increase mental strength and overall life
contentment. It also improves our productivity and the quality of our decisions.
The Passion Institute is launching a new professional business initiative and
the first offering global remote access, the Sustainable Communication
Network* —
which focuses on the communication professional’s important business function as
a potent driver of sustainable and behavioral change, brand influence and
engagement of all stakeholders.*
This article was originally written in Danish, by Tine Brødegaard Hansen, and
published in
SustainReport 29,
in May 2019.
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Sustainable Brands Staff
Published Jan 10, 2020 1pm EST / 10am PST / 6pm GMT / 7pm CET