A New Psychology for Sustainability Leadership: The Hidden Power of Ecological Worldviews - Softcover

Schein, Steve

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1783531959 ISBN 13: 9781783531950

Publisher: Routledge, 2015

Synopsis

During the last decade, the sustainability position in multinational corporations has grown in influence. Much literature has explored how corporations can play an important role in solving the environmental challenges facing the planet. However, until now, there has been little research on sustainability leadership at the individual level. In this book, Schein explores the deeper psychological motivations of sustainability leaders.

He shows how these motivations relate to overall effectiveness and capacity to lead transformational change and he explores the ways in which the complexity of sustainability is driving new approaches to leadership.Drawing on interviews with 75 leaders from over 40 multinational corporations and NGOs, Schein explores how ecological worldviews are developed and expressed in global sustainability practice. By applying key theories from developmental psychology, integral ecology and eco-psychology to sustainability practice, Schein encourages us to think about leadership in a different way.

A New Psychology for Sustainability Leadership will be of interest to an interdisciplinary audience of social scientists, educators, corporate executives, and social entrepreneurs. The insights from this book can be usefully integrated into leadership curriculum and development programs to help the next generation of leaders respond to global challenges.

About this title

About the Author

Steve Schein is a sustainability leadership educator, researcher, and executive coach. After 25 years in the corporate world and 10 in academia, he sees the evolution of business leadership and education towards ecological sustainability a global imperative. To that end, his research focuses on the development of ecological and post-conventional worldviews in the setting of multinational corporate leadership. He has been a member of the faculty at Southern Oregon University since 2005, where he founded the certificate program in sustainability leadership. Prior to joining the faculty at SOU, he was a certified public accountant (CPA) and former CEO with senior management experience in several companies. Dr. Schein’s research has been published in The Journal of Corporate Citizenship, The Journal of Management of Global Sustainability, and presented at numerous conferences on corporate social and environmental responsibility. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Net Impact (https://netimpact.org) and the GEOS Institute (http://www.geosinstitute.org). He can be reached through his website at www.steveschein.net.

Review

"There is no question that this is the most critical time in human history and what we do or dont do will make the difference as to whether we evolve or perish. Steve Schein is one of those people whose passion and commitment corresponds to the necessary turnings of our time. With warmth and originality, he shows how we are the pilgrims and parents of this emerging new era and how old formulas and stop gap solutions will no longer serve. His science with regard to sustainability is impeccable, his insights into the changing face of business management and philosophy are powerful and truth-telling. His deep exploration of the psyche and substance of 75 corporate executives displays the basis for hope in transforming leadership and thereby, in the words of the ancient myths, new ways of bringing the "greening" to the wasteland." (Dr. Jean Houston, author and Consultant 2015-06-30)

"I've been waiting for a book like this for over ten years! One of the most crucial things missing in nearly all sustainability discussions is an understanding of how to foster the growth of ecological worldviews. Schein redresses this through his study of the most advanced forms of sustainability leadership. In the process, he makes a powerful case that such an approach is essential to the future of sustainability leadership." (Sean Esbjörn-Hargens, co-author, 'Integral Ecology'; Founder & President, MetaIntegral Associates 2015-06-30)

"By focusing on the psychological dimension of sustainability leadership, Schein's book fills a vital gap in the change-makers' toolkit. Given the scale and urgency of our global challenges, we desperately need bold action from our leaders. With a skilful mix of personal narrative, theoretical insights and fresh research, Schein helps us better understand what drives sustainability leaders - and what we need to do to turn the trickle of change into a flood." (Dr. Wayne Visser, University of Cambridge, Founder & CEO 2015-06-30)

"This book is a tour de force, beautifully charting a path to planet-changing leadership. If you want to deepen your impact and cultivate the capacity to lead transformational change, Scheins done the research. He guides you through the science of a stunning new psychology that can lead us out of the labyrinth and into a future we all want. This book and the worldview it heralds will deeply unlock potential for any change agent working toward a flourishing world." (Barrett C. Brown, PhD, Co-Founder of MetaIntegral Academy 2015-06-30)

"Although academic in format, this book feels like a dinner party conversation that lasts late into an evening because it is so compelling. Evolving our core consciousness is an important quest for us and for our children and grandchildren. More immediately, besides business curriculum, this book has deep implications for HR, hiring and executive succession planning." (Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, President and CEO, Goodwill Industries of Northern New England 2015-06-30)

"By offering a fascinating new perspective about the psychology of sustainability leadership, this book opens an entirely new type of conversation. It should be required reading for corporate executives, management educators, and business students everywhere." (Joel Makower, Chairman and Executive Editor, GreenBiz Group 2015-06-30)

"In this refreshingly readable book, Steve Schein develops the basis for a psychology of successful sustainability leadership by engaging us with his own story of growing awareness of his direct interdependence with the environment, as well as with stories of the 75 corporate executives he interviewed." (Bill Torbert, PhD 2015-06-30)

"Helping people and organizations understand their relationship to, and dependency on, nature is critical to creating the lasting change and sustainable future we all want. In A New Psychology for Sustainability Leadership Steve Schein explores the important psychological connection people have to nature in hopes of sparking new conversations and research around corporate sustainability leadership." (Josh Henretig, Senior Director Energy, Environment & Cities 2015-06-30)

"In this deeply thoughtful book, Steven Schein illuminates our many ways of thinking about sustainability. He shows how some of these mental maps allow us more motivation, more commitment, and in fact, more degrees of freedom to address these critical challenges to our very survival than others. Marrying insights from psychology with an exploration of the thoughts and experiences of corporate sustainability leaders, Schein not only helps us identify the journey that is required of us all, but he provides the road map for our travels." (Mary C. Gentile, PhD 2015-06-30)

"In this well researched book, Schein shines a light on a poorly considered yet key aspect of sustainability leaders: the worldviews shaping their actions. If as one executive observed it, that in ten years there will be no "green" companies - because it will be the standard requirement to operate, we need to rapidly create new educational approaches to develop the worldviews of the new generation of leaders. The good news is that we have available the greatest tools for this task, and they are in the hidden power of the ecological worldview. Something to re-learn that can mean the difference between our civilization's breakdown and breakthrough. And it's at our fingertips." (Isabel Rimanoczy, Scholar in Residence 2015-06-30)

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1783531959
• ISBN 13: 9781783531950
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 244