Corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a concept has been around for many years – since the 1970s – however we think it’s fair to say that for many corporations it remains a challenge. While we may have moved past the stage where CSR initiatives were largely tokenistic, it can still be difficult to properly integrate these initiatives with the overall business direction.
To us, building social responsibility in an organisation goes hand in hand with increasing the emotional health of the leaders in the organisation. Just as the emotionally healthy leader learns to understand the effect of his or her actions on their team, and beyond that on the wider world, so the socially responsible organisation collectively reflects on the impact it is having on the society around it.
But the trick is in meshing these two things together so CSR becomes more than just ‘something we do on the side’. Which is why we are very pleased to be involved with a new initiative alongside The 3BL Group and World Expeditions. The initiative combines a focus on social responsibility with leadership development in remote locations – incorporating treks in some very inspiring locations.
Next month we will be involved in the first of these challenges. After each participant raises a suggested $2,000 (participants nominate their own fundraising target) for the Australian Cancer Research Foundation, they will come together and travel to Central Australia to trek the renowned Larapinta Trail. The walk will cover 80 kilometres over six days, taking in the grandeur of the Central Australian desert and the West MacDonnell Range.
Malcolm and I will take part in the walk in the role of facilitators. Our job on the trek will be to challenge participants to use the time and space of the walk – and input from other participants – as a journey of self-reflection. This will start on the first day, when each trekker will be asked, in conversation with us, to identify a current challenge or opportunity facing them in their role as a leader; they will then share that challenge or opportunity with the whole group, setting up a process of exploration over the following days.
As with our own Leadership Experiences, the nature of this sort of journey is that it needs to be flexible. While we will draw on various theories and models as the situation calls for them, overall we will allow the experience to develop with the needs of the individual participants and the group. The challenge here is not just about getting to the end: it is about learning from each other and the surrounding environment all along the way. Whenever possible, we will link the experience of the walk, including its challenges and rewards, with the practice of leadership.
This challenge, and a number of others which are planned in the future, will have all the benefits of leadership development in remote locations that I have discussed before. And because of its authentic social responsibility component, even those who do not take the trek can get involved in the challenge by contributing to fund raising efforts.
Gayle
Full details of the Leadership Development Challenge on the Larapinta Trail are available on The 3BL Group website, here.
