he modern world is moving from an industrial society towards a knowledge-based economy. In such a society, there is a need for inventive leaders, i.e. the leaders who will become the key comparative advantage of modern organizations. Therefore, in today's business conditions, more attention is paid to leadership. As a specialized management discipline, leadership is becoming the inevitable factor that has an impact on the business performance of organizations. Leadership can be seen as a process in which an individual influences the other members of the group in order to achieve common goals. Leadership should not be focused on one single position or one single individual, but on certain characteristics that have to be developed by all the members of the organization. Bearing in mind the fact that sustainable development is an important issue for mankind, as well as for organizations, the paper is aimed at determining the role that a leader has in empowering and supporting employees towards sustainable development.

Leadership becomes an important topic of research in the organizational theory as it is an essential factor for success of organizations. Leadership can be understood as a process of influencing followers based on clear values and beliefs. Leaders, based on their own power, create trust in the organization and desire for followers to achieve the goals of both the group and organization. Bearing in mind that the natural resources are a factor necessary for functioning the societies in the modern world, the main goal of this paper is to determine the leadership styles in organizations that apply the concept of preservation the natural resources in their operations.

Leadership becomes an important topic of research in the organizational theory as it is an essential factor for the success of organizations. Leadership can be understood as a process of influencing followers based on the clear values and beliefs. Organizational culture is largely evolving under the influence of leadership, and the culture of an organization in some segment can also affect the leadership. The efficient organizations in order to survive in increasingly competitive business conditions require a tactical and strategic thinking as well as the creation of a culture by the leader. Vision and mission of the organization can be realized only if the leader creates a culture dedicated to the support of this vision. Bearing in mind that the natural resources are a factor necessary for the functioning of societies in the modern world, the aim of the manuscript was to determine the role that a leader has in creating an organizational culture that fosters the concept of preserving the natural resources.