Partners in Learning
Learning to Lead Change: Building System Capacity

Leadership for Change Library

Sustainable Leadership
Andy Hargreaves, Dean Fink
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2006
325 pages

A great book on a crucial topic and Hargreaves and Fink go to town on it. Based on their considerable work around the world, the authors carefully make the case around seven key sustainability principles:

Principle 1: Depth (sustainable leadership matters)

Principle 2: Length (sustainable leadership lasts)

Principle 3: Breadth (sustainable leadership spreads)

Principle 4: Justice (sustainable leadership does no harm and actually improves the surrounding environment)

Principle 5: Diversity (sustainable leadership promotes cohesive diversity)

Principle 6: Resourcefulness (sustainable leadership develops and does not deplete material and human resources)

Principle 7: Conservation (sustainable leadership honors and learns from the best of the past to create an even better future)

There is a separate chapter on each principle with wonderful insights, and turns of phrases that deepen our understanding of the principles and their applications. As with all of our books, there is a press for action. Hargreaves and Fink call their seven principles “a meal not a menu.” You can't pick and choose. You need to address all seven. They offer five action principles: activism, vigilance, patience, transparency, and design.

“Sustainable leaders,” they say, “stay the course and develop other leaders as they go.”

Why We Like This Book
Written beautifully with deep insights, it makes a compelling case for different action by leaders at all levels — local, regional, state. Not for the fainthearted but a chance to think and act big.