How to apply responsible leadership theory in practice: A competency tool to collaborate on the sustainable development goals

Abstract

In the era of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and calls for climate action, business is challenged to respond more effectively to societal and environmental challenges. Collaboration with stakeholders requires an ability for broader collaboration competencies. These form a part of an established literature on responsible leadership (RL) competencies. Human resources managers, consultants and educators in charge of developing such competencies demand clarity on the definition and a practical measurement tool for RL. This paper addresses both by proposing a RL definition and a RL competency model, that has been operationalized into a free online tool for individuals and groups. This free Competency Assessment for Responsible Leadership (CARL) tool is used to assess stakeholder engagement, individual and group leadership development, and internal sustainable development transformation work. The CARL online tool serves to systematically analyze and develop RL competencies, both in business and educational practices, and helps advance the RL theory based on insights from practice.

Responsibility beyond the Board Room? A Systematic Review of Responsible Leadership: Operationalizations, Antecedents and Outcomes

“…The Competency Assessment for RL (CARL) by Muff et al [71] defines the responsible leader as someone who ' . .…”

Wanted: Heroic leaders to drive the transition to “business beyond usual”

“…Competence and compassion are two dimensions that shape trustworthiness and allow leaders to engage in positive deviance (Mishra and Mishra, 2012) and social entrepreneurship (Miller et al, 2012). The third dimension of trustworthiness that can be trained is reliability (Mishra and Mishra, 2012), a concept that resonates with the notion of responsibility that forms part of the "being" sub-competency of responsible leader trait dimensions (Muff et al, 2020). At an interpersonal level, heroic leaders can build their networks and relationships, and at a collective level, their negotiation skills (Meyerson, 2008).…”

“…All these skills enable positive deviance, and when individuals are trained to apply such skills, they engage in more collaboration and develop more trust in stakeholders (e.g. Dadich et al, 2018;Muff et al, 2020).…”

“…At an intrapersonal level, leaders can benefit from enhancing their resilience, for example, through "booster shots" that imbue their actions with meaning, build positive relationships, and cultivate positive emotions (Dutton, 2009). Similarly, such leaders benefit from having permission to experiment and pursue their curiosity, which lifts their courage (Mishra and Mishra, 2012;Muff et al, 2020). Leaders can be further empowered by displaying authenticity in their interpersonal relations, which enhances trustworthiness (Mishra and Mishra, 2012).…”

Assessment of corporate social responsibility by addressing sustainable development goals

“…According to the peculiarities of countries, proposed models are narrower thanGRI. In order to analyze the impacts of CSR, scholars often employ data from developing countries in their empirical studies(Muff, Liechti, & Dyllick, 2020). One possible reason for this focus is that firms in industrialized countries are subject to a wide range of envi-…”