Caring in relational leadership for sustainability

Abstract

The population continues to grow despite the continuous depletion of scarce resources, perplexing climate changes and many other related conditions, which are fast converging in an unprecedent fashion to create a complex mix of sustainability issues, thus threatening human survival and endangering environmental preservation for current and future generations. Most CEOs in leading organisations claim to take the issue of sustainability seriously, yet the Triple Bottom Line gap continues to grow indicating an urgent need to identify relevant leadership approaches for sustainability. The purpose of this study was to contribute to existing leadership literature by exploring and gaining a deeper understanding of the influence of care in relational leadership for sustainability. The study followed an exploratory qualitative of semi-structured interviews of 12 participants, including two experts across different sustainability focused organisations in a variety of sectors within South Africa. The findings of the study delivered key insights on the benefits of adding ethical values such as caring into relational leadership. It also highlighted potential areas for further exploration, in support of growing efforts towards a better understanding of sustainability leadership. These findings were then translated into a conceptual framework as a potential reference tool for business, practitioners and society at large, as they journey forward towards a sustainable future for all generations.