Citizens expect business leaders to solve societal problems – but can they live up to it?

A global study has shown that trust in business remains higher than trust in government, the media, and non-governmental organizations. The recently released 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer canvassed over 36 000 respondents in 28 countries.

“We see an even greater expectation of business to lead as trust in government continues to spiral. But this is not a job business can do on its own. Business must work with all institutions to foster innovation and drive impact,” it reports.

However, leaders can’t necessarily achieve these results alone.

At a time when distrust is a default emotion it is critical that business leaders enable change. This means shaping conversations around gender equity, diversity, inclusion, and climate change, among others.

Not all leaders are getting it right

Business leaders can no longer focus solely on the bottom-line. Truly progressive and authentic societal leadership starts on the inside, by focusing on the long-term sustainability of the business, rather than on short-term profits.

Covid-19 challenged businesses to think differently and required leaders to take on a broader scope of responsibilities as the pandemic laid bare our shared humanity. It saw leaders and their employees engage in conversations on ways of work, social challenges and well-being that were unprecedented in previous decades.

The old models of leadership are gone. We need new models of leadership. We need leaders to care about society, who show up differently, and human centric. We need to focus on people as possibilities, not as resources in order to succeed.

According to Edelman’s Trust Barometer 80% of employees expect executive leadership to be “personally visible” when discussing work that the business has done to benefit society.

Leaders must act with the same speed and agility they did during the pandemic to transform their companies to reflect societal priorities and progression. Employees will see through empty words and promises, and retention of talent will continue to be a pain point for those who do not put words into action.

These challenges are not going to go away.

Many leaders are struggling to get this right while striving to navigate the volatile and disruptive world we live in. We aim to transform leaders and organizations using education and leadership as levers for growth, innovation, and sustainability.

Over the past 15 years Duke CE has been working closely with ArcelorMittal. This has proven to be a successful case study of leadership development during an era of unmitigated change.

Vice President of Resourcing, Leadership Development and Learning at ArcelorMittal, Brian Callaghan, says, “We wanted to develop the best leaders in our industry, and that has been a continual process of leadership development.”

He adds, “Working with Duke CE we were able to continually adapt the programs to enable us to continue to develop our leadership through good times and bad, because you can't just stop and start development,”

Callaghan says diversity of leadership has never been more important.

“The challenges that leaders face today are hugely demanding, which means we have to be ahead of the curve if we are going to attract and retain the best leaders. The past couple of years, with Covid-19, and now the crisis in Ukraine, means that leadership will have to continue to adapt in the coming years to ensure the wellbeing of our employees, our organisation and our world,” he says.

Business leaders who thrive will be those who transform their teams and set them on a course to continuously improve humanity and our planet. This will be a cornerstone for growth and innovation. Those who fail to see this will struggle to retain talent as employees seek greater purpose in the work they do.