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The changing landscape of today’s business world has created unprecedented challenges for all; digital disruption, gender reporting, diversity and inclusion, employment regulations, hybrid work, the changing world of work, environmental and sustainable goals and the risk associated with leading are some of the many challenges leaders face.

Leadership is often linked to various rewards such as power, status, prestige and reputation (DeRue and Ashford 2010, Tost et al. 2013), thereby implying that it should be a highly attractive endeavour. Yet, leadership is difficult; it is demanding, risky, highly pressurised and all consuming. A comprehensive study (Sustainable leadership in a Post digital Age, Jan 2023) undertaken by KBS, UL shines a spotlight on what it is like to be a leader today; 35% categorise themselves as suffering from burn out, 77% believe they take on additional risk in stepping up to lead and 75% see leadership as a personal risk. Such findings appear to indicate that the style of leadership practiced today is unsustainable and raises the question is the emerging concept of sustainable leadership the answer to sustaining current and future leaders going forward?

This research aims to examine in more detail the emerging concept that is sustainable leadership and to investigate if a more sustainable approach to leadership will help mitigate the risks involved in stepping up to lead.