Take Responsibility
Conscious leaders consider the impact of their entire enterprise
Siddharth Kara is on a mission. He’s exposing modern-day slavery in some of the poorest and most exploited regions of the earth. Over the holidays I heard an interview where Kara discussed his soon-to-be-released book, Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers our Lives. It was a deeply disturbing discussion during which Kara described the appalling conditions in which workers—often children—dig for the cobalt that helps power our electronic devices, such as smart phones and electric vehicles.
When asked whether the leaders of the corporations that make these devices are aware of the exploitation at the bottom of the supply chain, Kara grimly admitted that he does believe they know and yet they don’t take action. He pleaded with these leaders to take responsibility. Instead of maximizing profit for shareholders, take some of those profits and help the poor children working in ghastly, unimaginable, and dangerous conditions.
This idea of considering every aspect of a company’s impact is intrinsic to conscious leadership. Whether it’s the employees in a gleaming corporate headquarters in California or children digging in squalor in the Congo, everything a company touches should be examined to see if it adheres to the values espoused by leadership.
We don’t always know where our products come from. Or where each individual piece of a product originates. But international corporations have the ability to investigate their global suppliers and ensure no one is exploited in the process. It may mean profits decrease or consumers pay a slightly higher price. But knowing that your company produced products or services that help not just the end user, but the people who helped make them, is a conscious leadership principle.
As we enter the era of more conscious leadership in the business world, we can help lift workers around the globe out of poverty and do it in an ethical way. You and I are part of this shift. It means we don’t just do business as usual. We establish an entirely new way of doing business based on conscious leadership. We must take responsibility and consider everyone impacted by our enterprises.
As we enter 2023, let’s commit to increasing our conscious leadership by engaging in 360 thinking. This is a global perspective that considers every angle of a situation before a decision is made. How will it impact you, your employees, your customers, your community, and the workers who provide necessary supplies to your company? Once you have a clear understanding of the impact, you then consider the conscious leadership value of how to create a win-win-win for all involved.
This year let’s create as many win-win-win scenarios as possible. Not only will it increase the positive impact on those closest to us, it will help those suffering around the globe.
Work happy. Live happy. BE happy.
Meredith
The way we work and build teams is rapidly changing. Leaders often feel unprepared to navigate the transition. As a conscious leadership coach, consultant and communicator, Meredith helps leaders and their teams create new ways of working and relating so they can prepare for the future by consciously co-creating it.
Contact her to develop your conscious leadership and transform your organization into the workplace of the future.
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