What are the Executive Mindsets and Traits Every CEO Needs to Propel Sustainability?

Blog by Julie Urlaub, Founder and Managing Partner at Taiga Company
Jun 2, 2011 12:45 PM ET

Taiga Company blog by Julie Urlaub, Founder and Managing Partner at Taiga Compa…

Consider the following findings from the Hay Group: Research conducted worldwide shows that leadership contributes to 70% of corporate atmosphere, while corporate atmosphere contributes to 30% of corporate performance. Therefore, leadership can exert direct influence on 21% of corporate performance. 

Sustainable business leaders are evaluating new markets, new products, and going after the most innovative people.  However, in business, every function has a purpose and every job requires a unique set of skills in order to fulfill on that purpose.  When it comes to defining roles for a sustainable business future, what skills and leadership qualities are required of the CEO to foster a business culture of innovation and promote sustainable business practices?   The post, Three Traits Every CEO Needs examines three attributes responsible for the execution ability of the most effective executives:    Realistic optimism. Leaders with this trait possess confidence without self-delusion or irrationality. They pursue audacious goals, which others would typically view as impossible pipedreams, while at the same time remaining aware of the magnitude of the challenges confronting them and the difficulties that lie ahead.   Subservience to purpose. Leaders with this ability see their professional goal as so profound in importance that their lives become measured in value by how much they contribute to furthering that goal. What is more, they must be pursuing a professional goal in order to feel a purpose for living. In essence, that goal is their master and their reason for being. They do not ruminate about their purpose, because their mind finds satisfaction in its occupation with their goal. Their level of dedication to their work is a direct result of the extraordinary, remarkable importance they place on their goal.   Finding order in chaos. Leaders with this trait find taking on multidimensional problems invigorating, and their ability to bring clarity to quandaries that baffle others makes their contributions invaluable.  Click here to continue reading.  

Home to one third of the earth's trees, the Taiga is the largest land-based biosphere and encircles the globe. Its immense oxygen production literally changes the atmosphere and refreshes the planet. It is this continuous renewal that has shaped Taiga Company's vision to drive similar change in the business world. Taiga Company seeks to be the "oxygen for your business".