Corporate Citizenship for the 21st Century

The Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship in the US has released the results of a recent research project to identify what it takes to succeed in leading corporate citizenship.

The report found that while corporate citizenship and community involvement demand similar rigor and skill in strategy and problem solving from their leaders, they also require an especially high degree of ability to work collaboratively and influence others both inside and outside a company.

In two companion reports “Leadership Competencies for Corporate Citizenship” and “Leadership Competencies for Community Involvement”, the Centre for Corporate Citizenship also explored the changing roles in this field and has created competency models for practitioners and aspiring leaders.

With the ranks of corporate citizenship and community involvement leaders growing, the Center says a redefinition of these critical corporate leadership roles is required.

It says just as corporations are expected to step up their game in contributing to society and minimizing negative impacts, the leaders in these fields are expected to be more and do more for their companies.

The report says leading corporate citizenship today requires a high degree of confidence, maturity and passion, as well as a strategic mind and collaborative personality.

In the Center’s new competency models provide:
• Role descriptions that represent the new leadership roles required at today’s companies
• Detailed descriptions of eight competencies for each role that are critical to success in leadership
• Examples of competencies in action, and how to use the model to develop your own competency
• Profiles of leading professionals in these fields

Professor Sandra Waddock at Boston College Carroll School of Management says the Corporate Citizenship Leadership Competency Model offers an important advance in understanding of what it takes to do corporate responsibility, sustainability and corporate citizenship well.

Waddock says that by identifying the skills that are needed, the Center for Corporate Citizenship advances the capacity to educate such leaders effectively and help organisations negotiate the complexities that they face in dealing with their many stakeholders more effectively.

She says it is the Center’s hope that these models will guide the personal and professional development of corporate citizenship leaders of today and tomorrow.

Both reports can be downloaded from the following links. Please note that a free registration or Login is required.

www.bcccc.net/index.cfm?fuseaction=document.showDocumentByID&DocumentID=1352
www.bcccc.net/index.cfm?fuseaction=document.showDocumentByID&DocumentID=1351