There's a lot of people out there looking to make sustainability happen in their companies. These are the corporate sustainability 'change agents'. But what drives someone to be a change agent, and if you are one, what type are you?
Well, now you can find out. A new working paper, written by Andy with Wayne Visser, explores the motivations of sustainability managers that drive them to devote their time and energies to addressing social, environmental and ethical issues. It presents in-depth research among sustainability managers – and uncovers the pivotal role of values, inspiration, expertise, empowerment, strategic thinking and social contribution as sources of meaning for these purpose-inspired managers.
Check it out here at SSRN, where you can download it for free and work out for yourself which of the four types of change agent you are - expert, facilitator, catalyst, or activist.
Let us know what you think...after all, it is still a work in progress (but remember it is an academic paper, so you know, it has to fit into a few scholarly conventions..)
Photo by Adam Foster. Reproduced under creative commons license.
As someone very interested in how to engage/spark conventional business thinkers on sustainability, these sorts of profiles are very helpful. There are likely a lot of sustainability "change agents" out there who don't even realize that's what they are. Having this sort of description/profile available might help them focus their energies better. Case in point: reading about "catalyst" made me realize that's probably what I am! I look forward to learning more.
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