DECODING THE DNA OF SUSTAINABLE LEADERS.

The author details his project of interviewing fellow Chief Executive Officers/CEOs about one of today's most important topics, sustainability. How can executives lead their organizations to sustainability? This project began with "a career‐changing conversation I had at the World Economic Forum's Davos 2019 with Lise Kingo, then president of the United Nations Global Compact, and a pioneer of the "triple bottom line"—balancing economic, social and environmental priorities." He notes that "in 2000, more than 10,000 companies including my own, Russell Reynolds Associates, pledged to help meet the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030." But nearly 20 years after that pledge was made, things seemed stalled. At the same time, some leaders seemed to be doing well. He and Kingo "developed a blueprint of Sustainable Leadership, which set out the specific mindset and skills business leaders would need to move the dial on sustainability—everything from having an almost instinctive understanding of the role their organization plays in society, to working hand‐in‐hand with stakeholders, and applying a disruptive mindset to everything they do." He also describes "moonshotters," leaders who "are ready to commit to bold action without even necessarily knowing what the exact solution is or how they will get there." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]