Sustainability

To deliver both quick wins and long-term success, sustainability leaders need the backing of strong, cohesive teams with the right competencies. Based on our research at Egon Zehnder International, six key competencies govern the success of sustainability teams: balance, alignment, resilience, energy, openness and efficiency. But the relative significance of these team skills shifts as companies move through the various phases of implementing sustainability initiatives.

The optimal composition and focus of sustainability teams thus varies significantly depending on the challenges faced by the company. Group dynamics play a key role in a team’s success: it is not enough to bring together professionals with the relevant individual skills, they also need to complement each other to maximize collective impact. Based on our extensive experience of working with senior management teams across industries, the Global Sustainability Practice at Egon Zehnder International has developed a model of team effectiveness in the context or corporate sustainability.