Huntsville, AL Leadership Roundtable

In collaboration with fellow B-Corp, Imperative and Ascendant Global Leadership (AGL), SHERPA Sustainability Institute expands its 2017 Research Study on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). SHERPA Founding Partner Andrea Hoffmeier explains, “This collaboration adds a new dimension to our study, focused on understanding how to better align frontline workers with the values and purpose of their employer.”  

Imperative’s 2016 Workforce Purpose Index, conducted in collaboration with LinkedIn, helps illustrate how companies that lead with purpose are more likely to be profitable.  By joining forces, the research team aims to make important discoveries related to non-management employees.  Arthur Woods, Imperative co-founder shares, "We are thrilled to have SHERPA as part of the Imperative community, advancing work on Purpose. Their work uncovering the link between CSR and Sustainability will play a key role in the advancement of this important movement."

AGL’s Dr. Greg Allen, another valuable contributor to the study, offers insights on the frontline employee, an under-studied population, compared to management.  His research indicates that “an employee’s perception of their organization’s social responsibility performance can positively influence their identification with, and commitment to, the organization.”

Building upon the work of the E.Y. Beacon Institute and Harvard Business School, SHERPA, AGL, and Imperative aim to reach beyond CSR’s link to profitability to explore how aligning organizational and employee purpose can mitigate organizational risk. The research team seeks  to connect with as many frontline employees as possible and offers participating organizations access to the research findings, along with suggestions on aligning employees with the company’s purpose. To participate, organizational leaders are encouraged to visit www.SherpaSustainabilityInstitute.com.

Dr. Holly Duckworth, co-author of A Six Sigma Approach to Sustainability, explains the added dimension of the research collaboration.  “While the evidence is growing that having purpose matters, there are many headlines demonstrating that a lack of purpose can have devastating results.  Unethical and irresponsible decisions in the trenches can cause negative impacts in the billions of dollars, and even result in loss of life.” Duckworth points to the recent Takata airbag fiasco as a one stunning example.

“Takata’s business purpose is saving lives.  Frontline decisions were made in complete misalignment with that purpose, resulting in injuries and loss of life. We are seeking to understand that disconnect, which is happening in companies across the globe, in every industry,” Duckworth explains.

The research team’s hypothesis is that there is a disconnect in behavioral expectations, from the C-Suite, to management, to the frontlines. They aim to uncover when, how, and why this disconnect occurs, and what organizational leaders can do to bridge the gap.

Gaining access to frontline employees, across a broad range of industries, is critical to understanding the precursors to employees becoming, sometimes tragically, detached from the organization’s purpose.  Hoffmeier, also co-author of A Six Sigma Approach to Sustainability, explains. “Given the potential damage when workers in the trenches do not align with behavior expected from leadership, we are seeking to engage as many organizations as possible.”  

SHERPA has been discussing their hypothesis at Leadership Roundtables from Phoenix, to Charlotte and Cambridge, where international thought leaders have gathered to share insights that inform the content of the CSR research study.  The recent roundtable, in aerospace and technology mecca, Huntsville, Alabama, was attended by professionals from organizations including Sanmina, Steelcase, and ADTRAN, a global provider of communications equipment. Kaushik Mallik, a Reliability Engineer with ADTRAN, shares, “We talked about frontline employee empowerment (letting them succeed and fail) and business practices, from manufacturing to local city governance.  I walked out with a better perspective on what CSR could mean to this community and country.”  Upcoming events from DC to Las Vegas and other cities welcome culturally, geographically, and professionally diverse groups of professionals.  

About SHERPA Sustainability Institute
SHERPA is a benefit company, dedicated to the improvement of Social Responsibility performance through research, education, and collaboration. For information about upcoming Leadership Roundtables, and how to get involved in this important research, please visit: SherpaSustainabilityInstitute.com  

About Imperative
Imperative is a benefit company whose Purpose Lab led the largest global research study on purpose in the workplace.  Bringing these insights into the workforce enables everyone to uncover and apply their purpose drivers and realize both their professional and societal potential. Learn more at imperative.com

About Ascendant Global Leadership, LLC
AGL utilizes research-based tools to develop next-generation leaders capable of overcoming organizational challenges and achieving their personal best. Learn more at leadershipAGL.com  

To learn more about the CSR research study, SHERPA Sustainability Institute, and its research partners, contact: information@SherpaSustainabilityInstitute.com or visit SherpaSustainabilityInstitute.com

Sherpa Sustainability Institute

Sherpa Sustainability Institute

Sherpa Sustainability Institute (SSI) is dedicated to improving Social Responsibility Performance Improvement, through research, education, publishing and collaboration.

SSI is powered by SHERPA, a benefit company, and as our name implies, we guide organizations on their Sustainability journey. This is YOUR journey, and it cannot be undertaken by simply bringing in “experts” from the outside. As a B-Corp, we sit at the intersection of a for-profit and not-for profit organization, measuring our success by the contribution we make to society.

Our Founding Partners are co-authors of a seminal text in the field of CSR. A Six Sigma Approach to Sustainability explains and demonstrates the meaning of CISR® Continual Improvement for Social Responsibility.

CISR® (sounds like scissor) is a rigorous method for improving social responsibility performance, similar to Six Sigma being a method for improving quality. A six-step methodology is introduced for achieving sustainability through social responsibility. But the goal is not simply the completion of an ongoing series of projects.

The goal is to achieve a CULTURE of Responsibility. It is only when everyone in the organization thinks and behaves with a long-term view, that a socially responsible culture has taken place.

And without LEADERSHIP, this CULTURE CHANGE is impossible.

The Institute’s research, education and collaboration supports, connect and inform organizational leaders in their culture change efforts.

CISR® is a registered trademark of Sherpa, a Colorado Benefit Company USPTO reg. 4182636, 2012, The purpose of registering the trademark is to ensure it is used correctly ad that use is aligned with the mission and values of the Sherpa Sustainability Institute. Visit www.Sherpabcorp.com for permissions to use.

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