How do you show up as a conscious business leader in your organization and in your community?
To help you best show up as a conscious business leader in your organization and community, we asked business owners, CEOs, and conscious business leaders this question for their best insights. From embedding CSR into your business strategy to holding yourself accountable always, there are several ways to be effective in your organization and your community as a committed conscious business leader.
Here are eight ways these conscious business leaders show up for their organizations and communities:
● Embed Corporate Social Responsibility into Your Business Strategy
● Be Attuned to Current Affairs in Your Community to Lend Support
● Communicate Your Expectations Clearly
● Organize and Lead Volunteers Teams
● Develop Personal Values and Model Your Behavior to Show Your Authentic Commitment
● Take Accountability For Wins and Losses
● Make Purpose Your Core Focus
● Hold Yourself Accountable Always
Embed Corporate Social Responsibility into Your Business Strategy
I demonstrate my conscious leadership in my organization by embedding corporate social responsibility (CSR) into my business strategy. “Corporate social responsibility” is a type of business self-regulation that has as its primary goals social accountability and a commitment to positively impacting society. You can adopt a CSR that shows that you are eco-friendly, encourage equity, diversity, and inclusion at work, give back to the community, and treat your staff with respect. However, make sure to launch and support a CSR program that aligns with the mission, vision, and goals of your business and make sure they are included in your business strategy and workplace culture. A disjointed CSR is likely to damage your brand by sending the message to your community and staff that you might only be acting this way for the show.
— Shaun Connell, Founder, Writing Tips Institute
Be Attuned to Current Affairs in Your Community to Lend Support
Keep your finger on the pulse of your community. If you want to appear as a conscious business leader, you need to know what’s going on around you. Your knowledge needs to extend beyond simply, what is good or bad in the world of business. You want to be able to understand what’s happening around you and your business. Local politics, charities and events your business might support are all things you should keep tabs on if you want to show yourself as a conscious business leader. Look for ways your business can impact your community and be open to invitations to support causes. Being in the know when it comes to your local on-goings and how your business can impact your community shows a commitment to conscious business ownership that will be clearly seen by others.
— Soji James, 1AND1 Life Expert Certified Personal Trainer, 1AND1 Life
Communicate Your Expectations Clearly
Efficient and clear communication is the cornerstone of good leadership. Regardless of how skilled and proficient your team may be, they simply can’t follow in your footsteps if you aren’t making your needs and expectations understood. Rather than letting your workforce “figure things out as they go,” it’s important to step up as a good communicator and equip your employees with all the information they need to be successful in their job roles. It’s all about taking ownership and understanding that your teams can only get as far as you equip them to go.
— Brian Casel, Founder, ZipMessage
Organize and Lead Volunteers Teams
Operating as a conscientious leader is essential in today’s world. Business leaders are by default community leaders, providing them with opportunities to lead initiatives to improve their community. Leaders have a variety of skills that lend themselves to philanthropy, including organizing and leading teams of volunteers. Becoming active as a volunteer team leader is a great way to showcase your leadership and team-building skills. Volunteer teams can quickly feel overworked, undervalued, and stressed. A good leader can revitalize and reenergize them with their enthusiasm to do a great job. These opportunities will most certainly benefit the teams they are leading professionally.
— Melissa Mohr, Owner/ Founder, Mohr Coaching and Development
Develop Personal Values and Model Your Behavior to Show Your Authentic Commitment
A conscious business leader is someone who is aware of the impact their business has on the world. They are also aware of their own personal values and how they can align with the values of their organization. As a result, they are able to make decisions that benefit both their company and the world at large. There are many ways to show up as a conscious business leader. Some leaders choose to be vocal about their values and their commitment to making a difference. Others model their behavior after conscious leaders they admire. And still others take a more hands-on approach, working directly with employees or customers to help them make more conscious choices. The most important thing is that conscious business leaders are authentic. They live their values and they walk their talk. When you show up as a conscious business leader in your organization or community, people will take notice – and they will be inspired to make positive changes in their own lives.
— Martin Seeley, CEO, Mattress Next Day
Take Accountability For Wins and Losses
Being a conscious leader is all about accountability. As a leader, you can’t just congratulate yourself for your wins. You also need to take responsibility for your — and the broader company’s — failings. To be a conscious leader, you need to be acutely aware of what is happening in your business, and you need to address it head-on. If you hold yourself ultimately responsible for everything that happens, whether good or bad, then you are demonstrating true leadership.
— Chris Vaughn, CEO, Emjay
Make Purpose Your Core Focus
As a conscious business leader, your core focus will always be on purpose. You’ll want to ensure that your organization has a clear and meaningful purpose that goes beyond making money. And you articulate this purpose in a way that everyone can understand and connect with. It all comes down to making sure that your actions as an organization are aligned with this purpose. As a result, you create opportunities for employees, customers, and other stakeholders to experience and express the purpose in their own lives. The result is a sense of meaning and fulfillment that goes beyond what any paycheck could ever provide.
— Neil Platt, Director, Emerald Home Improvements
Hold Yourself Accountable Always
Make everyone know that every buck stops with you. You make all the decisions, but also make people understand that you’re responsible for the company’s success and failure. That sense of accountability is important for team members and community members to see. They like to see leaders being willing to take the heat when things don’t go as planned. Players like to see that from their coaches and employees like to see that from their bosses. Always be self-aware. Understand that all eyes are on you, so your decision-making needs to be sound. Be visible in the community. Take part in social events, pay for sponsorships and be a person of the people. Spending all your days and nights going back and forth from the office and your fancy house is not the look that employees and people in the community want from their leaders.
— Emily Saunders, Chief Revenue Officer, eLuxury
