Social Responsibility is Everyone's Business!
"Leaders in every single institution and in every single sector... have two responsibilities. They are responsible and accountable for the performance of their institution, and that requires them and their institution to be concentrated, focused, limited. They are responsible also, however, for the community as a whole." (by Frances Hesselbein, 2010 "How did Peter Drucker Feel about Corporate Social Responsibility", Harvard Business Review.) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or social responsibility should be everyone's concern and can be displayed in numerous ways. Citizens in their communities have a right to live peaceable lives and community leaders, businesses, corporations, organizations, as well as global entities all, play a role in how they demonstrate respect and care for these lives. Social responsibility is respecting human life and no one has the right to infringe on that life!
Let's look at how a group of like-minded small business owners in Charlottesville, VA made a decision on how to respond to and in light of the White Nationalists rally that took place this past weekend. (If you'd like to read more check out www.live4changellc/paper.li, 8/16/17 edition.) I applaud the unity that was expressed through their collective leadership efforts. With very little engineering, they were able to voice their beliefs and send a strong message about their opposition to what white supremacist groups stand for and that it's not welcomed in their community.
Another display of social responsibility was seen when seven (7) of Trump's Manufacturing Council's business leaders stepped down due to how Pres. Trump responded to the social injustice and social irresponsibility shown in Charlottesville, VA by the White Nationalist group. Pres. Trump's true character came to light through his resistance to condemn what the White Nationalists represent. As a result of the business leaders disassociation and disdain toward Pres. Trump's questionable behavior concerning this rally, Pres. Trump was forced to disband both the Manufacturing and Strategy & Policy Forum councils.
CSR is more than a corporation's consciousness of the planet, but an answer to how businesses are taking an active role to protect their employees and the communities where they conduct business. In addition to addressing how they are improving their impacts to the environment through setting goals to do little harm, measuring and making improvements, business leaders are more transparent, and as seen above, they are making bolder strides concerning ethical and moral issues. CSR has many labels such as, globally responsible leadership (GRL), sustainability, environmental stewardship,and is even associated with the triple bottom-line (3BL) movement, however, the common denominator is the accountability element. There are stringent accountability measures by which organizations are held to, and doing no harm to the planet and no harm to the people- the citizens of this planet- are the fundamental components of socially responsible practices.
3 KEY CSR & LEADERSHIP TAKEAWAYS from the Charlottesville White Nationalist Rally are:
1.) Good leadership involves boldly demonstrating what you believe
2.) Authentic leadership was seen through the behavior of business leaders who were willing to give up a prestigious position assigned by the President of the United States to instead hold true to their position of their values and what they believe to be morally right
3.) Corporate Social Responsibility extends beyond the borders of one business or organization. Through collaborative efforts, impactful meaning was seen by customers, communities, and across the globe, that social injustice, hatred, and ill treatment of human lives are unacceptable
Final thoughts.. social responsibility begins with us. We have to take responsibility for how we react, respond, and relate to each other. We all share this planet and we all have a right to partake of it. We have a shared responsibility to care for it and even more so, care for each other.
Live 4 Change, LLC help organizations, nonprofits, churches, small businesses, entrepreneurs,and corporations create processes, and practices that will help them run more efficiently without doing harm to the planet. Leadership training, coaching, speaking, and facilitating opportunities are available.
