Talks and Workshops

Leadership for Sustainable Organizations:
Paying attention to the “soft” side of Sustainability
The purpose of this workshop is to alert practitioners to the ‘soft-side’ challenges of implementing sustainability principles in organizations – primarily, the leadership responsibilities and challenges. We would like to share insights, models, tools, and exercises participants can use to assist them in developing and implementing the leadership necessary to execute sustainability initiatives in their organizations and with their clients. This workshop is based on research conducted with organizations that have formally adopted sustainable principles into their everyday business practices; companies like: Nike, Interface, Fetzer Wineries, Gaiam, Norm Thompson, Vail Resorts and others. The research was conducted by a team of professional researchers and leadership coaches from The Center for Creative Leadership, The Catamount Institute, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and Eartheal.

INTENDED LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Attendees will: 1) Discover requisite qualities of leadership for creating and implementing successful sustainability initiatives; 2) Learn various models that address principles of Sustainability, such as The Natural Step, Natural Capitalism, and Eco-Efficiency; 3) Understand the visions, philosophies, strategies and lessons learned by successful leaders through their sustainability programs; 4) Determine the legacy they want to leave as leaders of their organizations, and ultimately, the world; 5) Define action steps they will take to move forward in creating a more sustainable approach to their life, work or community; 6) Recognize that sustainability is a ‘hopeful agenda’ about ‘celebrating abundance’(quote from one of our study participants, Bill McDonough).