As you think about your career, there are many reasons why you shouldn’t be a sustainability leader. It’s hard, it involves extra work, and it goes against the grain of the cultural reality we are living in. So what’s the difference between strolling along with the crowd vs. being a sustainability champion poised and focused at the start line?

A champion has a fierce passion, a clear vision, and never considers failure. Have you ever let ‘failure thinking’ stop you from getting what you want? Most people have at some point. Here are some examples of rational reasons to not even try to move your company toward sustainability:

• It’s all about a good price for the customer. That’s how it works.
• If we don’t make a profit, people will lose their jobs.
• If something ‘green’ costs us money, we won’t do it.
• My bosses only care about the bottom line.
• The shareholders only care about money.
• They won’t change their thinking.
• My hands are tied. I don’t want to rock the boat.

What all these thoughts have in common is that they are thinking short-term, focusing on barriers, and making assumptions about other people. The way to get over these dead-end thoughts is a mental leap to think bigger, ask people for their honest values, and flip the thought to a positive question. 

Let’s look at those barriers again, but this time, thinking like a champion…

• Our business is all about a service for people. What new needs could we satisfy?
• When we think bigger and more innovatively, we are energized and make our competition irrelevant. Where could we innovate our business?
• If we look at the big picture, we can save a lot of money by thinking green. How can we work with people we don’t normally talk to and create savings? 
• My bosses are people too. If I talk to them at a personal level, how are their core values similar to mine?
• The shareholders want the business to be successful. I bet if I showed them a good plan and business case for sustainability, they would like to be the leaders in our field.
•  I wonder what they value in life. Maybe I should ask them.
•  I believe in this, and that makes me powerful. If I take the lead on this issue by being proactive and professional, I will gain credibility. What’s a simple thing I can do to get started?

This kind of thinking will energize you to take positive action. You may be even more successful than you thought!  Like a sports athlete, sustainability champions need a personal commitment to learn and work hard, and the confidence to step up to the challenge.

As the Emerging Leaders Coordinator at The Natural Step Canada, my job is to help university/college students and recent graduates learn how to get over these limiting thought hurdles, to connect you with learning resources, to create opportunities for real life practice, and to inspire you to dream big.

Learn more about our Emerging Leaders Program and keep your eye out for some lots of great news, resources, and opportunities to get involved in the coming months!