Sara Parkin’s extensive experience positions her as both activist and ambassador when it comes to sustainable leadership. Her work as Founding Director and Trustee of Forum for the Future, Chair of the Richard Sandbrook Trust and expertise on science in society, education and sustainability issues contribute to this well earned and much deserved reputation as a leader in this integral field. Sara is also a well-published author, with her latest works, The Positive Deviant: Sustainability Leadership in a Perverse World, published in 2010 (Earthscan). The book is somewhat of a ‘how to’ guide, providing advise and instructions to modern leaders on how to achieve sustainability in an uncooperative environment.

Sara has been kind enough to lend us her time, ideas and expertise by providing a keynote address on the topic of ‘Occupation or action: more or less than the sum of their parts?’ at the Necessary Transition 2012 conference in September. Sara spoke with us briefly on the book, responsible management and the focus of her keynote address.

Q. Your keynote address is on the topic of ‘Occupation or action: more or less than the sum of their parts?’ Can you give us a brief overview of the points and ideas you’ll raise in your presentation?

A. In essence I want to look at what will have to happen if there is to be a transition from the way things are now to the sort of society that, in a nutshell, is based on growing natural, human and social capital, with a financial system that follows those goals and stops treating money (and debt) as if it was a commodity. When I was co-secretary of the European Greens (political parties), I was involved with some of the dissident movements in east Europe, so witnessed the 1989 ‘velvet’ revolutions close to hand. I plan to reflect on them and on recent events like the Arab Spring and the Occupy movement to see whether this will be where change happens. I would also like to reflect on the ‘green movement’ post-Rio and in the deepening economic/political crisis gripping Europe and the US, including its party political ‘wing’ and ask if it is ready to succeed?    

Q. The Positive Deviant has strong self-empowerment and self-guided responsibility messages. Are these targeted at the leaders of today AND tomorrow? What are the key take home messages from The Positive Deviant?

A. I wrote The Positive Deviant in response to the reluctance of leadership and management education to take sustainability seriously. And to help the soaring number of people wanting to find a course, either pre or post graduate, that would enable them to give the sort of sustainability-oriented leadership they could see was needed.

I designed and set up Forum for the Future’s Leadership for Sustainable Development Masters in 1996 to offer an exemplar, but have been disappointed at how few universities have followed suit. So the book is designed as a DIY course for all the frustrated potential sustainability leaders so they can just get on with it. Learning as you go – through careful reflection – is at the heart of the way we run the Forum’s course. 

Also, a lot of people are put off by worrying that they will never know enough – sustainability seems to be about everything! When I designed the Forum’s masters, I created extra knowledge themes (apart from leadership and sustainability) which drew on the areas of ethics and values, people and community, science, economics. You will note there is no ‘environment’ in there – that is because the challenge of sustainability is a people one. It is about what we do, how we do it and how it has to change if we want to stop undermining the capacity of the environment to support life.  

So, while my book has a lot in it, its key messages are that: everyone has the potential to be a Positive Deviant; there is no blueprint but lots of tips on how to develop your unique ‘persona’; with sufficient information and supporting ideas (the book is just a starting point) you should just get on and give it a go. Our students report a growing number of Positive Deviants in the organisations that host them on placement, so you are sure to find soul-mates quite quickly!

Q. The Positive Deviant has gained much support from both corporate readers and academics responsible for educating the next generation of business leaders. The Necessary Transition 2012 conference includes a day focused on management education (Management Education for the 21st Century: Australia New Zealand Annual PRME Network Forum). Can you share your thoughts on the importance of integrated sustainability messages within management education?

A. Well, first of all, it is hard to imagine what anyone would lead for, except for a sustainability-oriented world! If your organisation or business is not working with that in mind, it is not going to be around for long.  So, whether you treat it in a mission-led way, as a good business opportunity or even as just good risk management, there is no other game in town, really. Whatever you do – sell processes, services or products, run a local council or even a timber concession – you will be out of business quite quickly if sustainability is not at the heart of how you do it. Therefore, business and management schools that teach anything less are failing their graduates.

After all, there is plenty of evidence from the last 20 years that tacking sustainability onto business as usual – as an elective module – just hasn’t worked. No serious trend (in terms of the environment, poverty and so on) has been sufficiently slowed, never mind halted and reversed. The leadership with the knowledge and skills to do it just isn’t there. And, presuming the leadership we do have has had its eye on the ball of growing the financial sector (where the majority of business school graduates go) just where has that strategy got us? 

For me sustainability is about attaining our environmental, social and economic goals at the same time. Only by working out the systemic barriers to achieving the at-the-same-timeness will we be able to deal with today’s problems and design a sustainable future effectively. This is what management education should be equipping graduates to do.