Essential element #5 – Social Responsibility
Overview
At our recent client retreat, the session we facilitated on Social Responsibility generated the most profound and emotionally charged discussions over the three days. Leaders shared their current commitments and initiatives (which were impressive), but there was also a collective realisation in the room that they could be doing so much more.
Yes, the Government could be doing a lot more to lead and incentivise, and yes, the current economic uncertainty could create a scarcity mentality and an overfocus on the bottom line, but they concluded that this is also a theme. They are in a privileged position with a high degree of influence, and therefore, they are on the hook for the impact their companies have on the wider society and the planet.
Here is a summary of the principles we covered and some questions for you to consider as a way of assessing how you could focus more on this element of radical leadership.
Reframe: You get to, rather than got to, do this.
You have earned the opportunity to do socially responsible behaviours, gestures, and initiatives as a leader. Hence why we see this as something you get to do (i.e. a positive opportunity) rather than something you have got to do (i.e. an obligation).
Melinda Gates powerfully speaks on the responsibility that comes with privilege. Whether you're leading a business, a team, or a community, your influence is an opportunity—and a duty.
Leaders need to appreciate the ripple effect here and realise the impact that their words and, even more so, their actions have initially across their organisation but then outwards to the broader society in which their employees spend time.
You get to set the importance of social responsibility in the hearts and minds of all your stakeholders.
They will follow your lead
Rethink: ROI timescales
The Triple Bottom Line theory was introduced by John Elkington in 1994.
He proposed that instead of focusing solely on profit, businesses should measure their success across three key areas:
Profit – Economic value: The financial sustainability and performance of the business.
People – Social impact: How the business affects employees, communities, and stakeholders.
Planet – Environmental impact: The ecological footprint of business operations.
Elkington believes that long-term success can only be achieved by focusing on all 3 areas simultaneously, and this framework is the foundational view that the Corporate Social Responsibility movement has been constructed from.
As the leader of an SME, it is always very easy to take the default view that you will do the People and Planet element once you have enough profit, which is a logical but flawed position.
The flaw is that each of these investments is on a different timescale. The planet is a long-term investment, your people are a mid-term investment, and profits to your shareholders are a short-term one. So, if you delay making an investment in your People and the Planet, you are further delaying the date either of those will see or feel a return.
As they say, the best time to plant a tree was 50 years ago, but the best available option is today. So we should plant today no more delays.
Similarly, you can’t sustain a successful business without retaining good people, so we need to invest regularly and continually to enable our team to positively impact the society in which they live if we want to create a team of fulfilled individuals.
Refocus: Hand over the reigns.
Social responsibility is the ideal element to incorporate another element of radical leadership, namely Embedded Empowerment. Your role here is to set the tone, agree on a budget (time and/or money), and then take a big step back.
Social responsibility initiatives work far better when the ideas and ownership come from outside of the company's ‘regular leaders’.
Our clients that have embedded social responsibility within their business-as-usual operations are the ones that have set up self-governing teams to run and oversee these responsibilities. They make the decisions, and they find areas to invest time and money that match their values and address their concerns, which may be different to yours.
And if you a little more convincing consider this evidence. According to a study by Cone Communications, 76% of Millennials consider a company's social and environmental commitments when deciding where to work, and 64% will not take a job from a company that doesn't have strong CSR practices. Additionally, 89% of Gen Z believe that companies have a responsibility to address social and environmental issues.
Social responsibility is no longer a ‘nice to have’, it’s a prerequisite for any aspirational company looking to attract and retain quality people.
