In previous entries, Bridge Partners LLC (http://www.bridgepartnersllc.com) has explored the genesis and evolution of the social responsibility leadership function and how it compares to the development of the Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) role, as well as the responsibilities that might fall under the umbrella of this function and how social responsibility leaders can be set up for success. 

Here, we conclude the series by examining the background, experience and skill-set that a successful social responsibility leader might introduce to an organization.

As we have previously discussed, the specific social responsibility challenges that each company will face in the short-term are likely to differ. And, because there is no 'one-size-fits-all' job description or profile, the skill-sets and experience required of social responsibility leaders will differ as well.

Yet, as leaders in the field continue to 'carve out' the specific task of driving enterprise-wide social responsibility initiatives, certain characteristics and skills are consistently identified as integral to their success.  In order to identify these key characteristics, Bridge Partners LLC went directly to those who would know best - we asked leading social responsibility executives from a variety of sectors. 

It was particularly interesting to hear that few of these executives believed, at this point in the evolution of the function, that a prior significant expertise in sustainability or social responsibility was a pre-requisite.  In fact, given that the field is relatively new and has yet to establish its own path to the executive suite, it seems that the first generation of social responsibility leaders are more likely to come from within the manufacturing, supply chain, finance, communications, diversity, or marketing departments.  In other words, the majority of pioneers in this field will hail from other functional backgrounds.   

Since a defined career path for social responsibility leaders has yet to be established, we asked instead which personal attributes/skills did the current social responsibility leaders consider to be key to their success.  In no order of importance, they are as follows: 

• Strategic approach with the flexibility to adapt to different situations/scenarios;
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, an ability to relate effectively to multiple levels of seniority and functions, often in multiple geographies;
• Strong influencing, persuasion and consensus-building skills;
• Sound judgment and strong level of integrity;
• Open-minded, willingness to go outside one’s comfort zone;
• Ability to build and communicate a business case;
• Experience working through complex and sensitive issues;
• Personal credibility, impact and leadership presence;
• Management style that can lead small teams across multiple sites;
• Information-seeking, data driven;
• Action-/results-orientation;
• Internal and external alliance-/relationship-builder with a consultative style;
• Innovator with a continual drive to improve and challenge status quo;
• Listening skills;
• Passion.

Our key take-away from speaking with the current generation of corporate social responsibility leaders is that, in the shorter-term at least, executives who combine these personal characteristics/skill-sets with a passion for sustainability or social responsibility have the potential be very successful. 

Just as with the diversity leadership role, the social responsibility function will continue to develop and define its focus according to the needs of the economy, consumer sentiment and corporate demands.  As individuals carve out a career and expertise in the area of social responsibility, the role will inevitably become better-defined and the level of direct functional experience will increase. So, too, will the credibility of the role and its acceptance as an integral part of the strategic decision-making team, just as we saw with the diversity function.