My Leadership journey in 2020 Part 2
What is a leader? The leader has a long-term vision, picks the mountain, and motivates people toward a common cause. At Patagonia, leaders also take and shoulder risks. They not only inspire change but they also instigate change. Patagonia’s Vice President of Human Resources and Shared Services, Dean Carter.
As I continue my leadership journey in this extraordinary times, I thought I would reflect on the past 6 months. New Zealand is in an enviable place on the world stage as we continue about our business as usual with the only limitation being international travel. As someone who would travel overseas 10 weeks per year, I am greatly enjoying more time at home with my family.
On a business leadership level, I am more present in the office and now have the time to devote to leading by example around sustainability. As my part-time studies at the University of Cambridge have taught me that there is great opportunity to improve an organisations approach to sustainability.
For example, my design thinking readings to date have made me think about its application in our business as board advisors but also in my role as Chairman of a few commercial companies in agriculture. Looking at regenerative agriculture where we could reduce our carbon emissions then eventually eliminate.
It has also made me rethink our current approach around recycling to encourage input from my team at monthly stand up meetings and also through my networking learning from others. Potentially, we might be able to collaborate with our current suppliers on achieving the ultimate goal of zero waste in our office. My dream would be to achieve this by 2022.
I am inspired my Yvon Chouinard’s new vision since 2018 that “Patagonia is in business to save our home planet.” I hope to contribute in my own small way from a country at the bottom of the earth.
The learnings continue and hope to reflect upon this further in my next blog.