The impact of diversity and inclusion on successful sustainable leadership
With Jürg Eggenberger
According to Harvard professor John P. Kotter, management stands for the perfect organization of processes, planning and controlling. Leadership, on the other hand, means inspiring and motivating employees with visions. Leadership thrives on creativity, innovation, meaningfulness and change.
Sustainable leadership takes this even one step further: it stands for living and working in a larger context and includes people and the planet in all decisions, in addition to profit.
In today’s episode, I talk to Jürg Eggenberger, General Manager of the SKO, the Swiss Leaders’ Association, about the core skills and mindset that characterize a sustainable leader and the crucial role that diversity, equality and inclusion can play in all of this.
“You can compare diversity in a social context with biodiversity for the ecological dimension. What do we mean by biodiversity? It´s the wealth of nature! […]So diversity and inclusion in a social context is very important for the adaptability and stability of our social systems.And we know from STATIS that diverse and inclusive workforce contributes also to productivity, to engagement and also improves strategic decisions“
What you will learn
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- Diversity and biodiversity have a lot in common, enabling more adaptability and creating more stability in your system, whether it’s on an ecological or social perspective
- Focusing on small and medium size companies and looking into the problems they have in terms of diversity and inclusion will be the key, as 98% of the swiss workforce are in these companies.
- Sometimes you have to provoke things to make them happen, installing quota in organizations can be a way to do just that
Tips
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- To be a good leader focus on having a cool head, a warm heart and working hands
- Put your ego aside, it’s ok if you don’t have all the answers
- Invite your colleagues to participate in the discussion, and share the responsibility
Additional Resources
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- Sustainable Leaders Initiative
- Leader Mag article: Inside SKO Swis Leaders – An der Transformation mitwirken
- Organizational and Team Development process & Feedback tool: We Coach
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“Doughnut Economics – 7 ways to think like a 21st century economist” by Kate Raworth
ISBN: 1847941397 / EAN: 9781847941398
Biography
Jürg Eggenberger studied economics at the University of Zurich and completed a master’s degree in service management at the University of Applied Sciences of Central Switzerland and further training in organisational development.
Since 2013, he has been the General Manager (Geschäftsleiter) of the Schweizer Kader Organisation SKO, an association for managers and higher professionals with 10,000 members. Previously, he worked in education for 10 years, including as rector of an university of applied sciences. He has over 30 years of leadership experience in a wide range of industries and advises companies on leadership development.
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