How to be a vulnerable and formidable sustainability communicator
A change-maker is an empathetic and authentic leader.
Does that mean that you have to wear your emotions on your sleeves and cry?
Absolutely not.
But it is a reality that even though things are changing rapidly, the business world is still soaked with the toxic idea that leadership means absolute, alpha-male power, or Power Over others (as author and researcher Brené Brown puts it).
Inflexible rules and behaviours seem to be the way to go, and showing any uncertainty or doubt at work is a cardinal sin that can cost you your reputation and your career.
And while we are all generally more aware of mental health and perhaps secretly abhor these views, it’s still hard not to feel that we have to be seen as infallible in our everyday endeavours.
Brené Brown says that this type of Power Over is driven by fear of losing something.
But leadership and power should be the “ability to achieve purpose and effect change” instead, as Martin Luther King Jr. defined it and what Brown calls Power With/To/Within.
But how can we be vulnerable and safe in conversation with others then?
I love the BRAVING framework Brown has devised for leaders - let’s adapt it for the sustainability communication scenarios:
Boundaries:
Setting healthy boundaries, and inviting others to do the same, to make clear what’s acceptable and what’s not at an individual level. This can be about what to share and what not, or what we consider personal space. Some ground rules might be helpful, especially in sensitive conversations or in conversations with people from different cultures we don’t know much about.
Reliability:
Everyone in the conversation should do what they commit to doing, which means being aware of personal competencies and limitations, but also being realistic about the time that it takes to do the tasks at hand. Don’t overpromise.
Accountability:
Be brave enough to apologise and make amends if you say or do something wrong.
Vault:
Do not share information that is not yours to share. Confidentiality is paramount when talking with others, so at the very least ask permission to share.
Integrity:
Practise your values, even if it isn’t comfortable or easy. Don’t pretend to be someone else. Choose to do and say the right thing over the convenient one. Obviously, don’t lie! If you don’t know something, admit it but offer to look it up or ask someone else - it’s all in the teamwork!
Non-judgement:
It’s important to listen without judging, as much as humanly possible. Only by feeling not judged other people will open up to us.
Generosity:
Offer to help generously, and assume others have the best intentions unless proven wrong.
This article was originally written for the Green Gorilla weekly newsletter. If you liked it, subscribe to receive more articles like this and learn how to communicate sustainability better, how to be more productive without selling your soul to the work devil, and how to make an impact in the world. Here is the link: https://newsletter.thegreengorilla.co.uk/