The Big Green -project partners met in beautiful Slovenia to experience, think, learn and co-create what sustainable and creative leadership really is about. We spent 4,5 days together as a group, exploring, appreciating and enjoying the beautiful local nature and environment in Slovenian I’Julian Alps, on the edge of Triglav National Park in Bohinjska Bistrica. We built our way to the theme by discussing practical, theoretical and experience-based ways to understand what sustainable leadership means to us as individuals, members of different communities, projects or other consortia as well as citizens of Europe, and the world.

Perhaps at the core of it all is to be reminded, that it all starts from within ourselves. This is true for leadership as well as incorporating sustainable actions in our lives, be it personal, professional, or something in between. Becoming increasingly aware of our values, and the things that provide us with a sense of meaning in life are at the core of what life happiness is. And not to paint a too naïve or rosy picture – this journey wouldn’t be worth it, if it did not entail differences of opinion, negative encounters or other “discrepancies” in relation to an ideal world. Maybe enjoying the journey itself, together is the most important part anyway?

Furthermore, we don’t need to have a PhD in organizational management or leadership, nor understand all the scientific bases of environmental issues to make sustainable or humane choices for a more beautiful tomorrow.

Let’s start simple. With just some discoveries, discussions and points of excitement (or disappointments) in our discussions on creative and sustainable leadership that we want to share. A few “tasters”, to inspire You to continue the thoughts in your own life:

“One of the many precious notions that came up in the training, the one which inspires me a lot, is the “common instinct”. The way I understand it, this is an ethical stanza which emerges as an outcome of the dedicated efforts of a group of artists, artivists, activists… This instinct, shared with others, works for me as a real leader – of a person and of a collective. It leads the way in creation processes, social interactions and in particular in any situation of an ethical choice. If we foster shared ethics – understanding of right and wrong, no individual needs to determine our paths. With shared esthetics – how we choose to communicate ethical categories in our societies, the changes that we strive for become sustainable. Education for “common instinct” should therefore happen through collective exploration, emerging every time anew from shared experiences. Just as we did in the Creative Leadership training.”

“Being a leader can be lonely. It’s more about listening and trying to see the world from multiple perspectives, than pushing your own ideas on everyone.”

“Sustainable choices are always subject to the choices available – and we need to re-think the values presently dominating our society.”

“Think of the school teacher who made learning easiest for you. Were they leaders? We tend to stereotype leaders as individuals who make others act according to their singular vision and bend the world to their will. During this workshop, it dawned on me how much good leadership and good teaching have in common because they both strive to enable others.”

“The training highlighted a lot of things, but most importantly that we don’t become good leaders if we want to solve a problem, a situation or a task immediately. If we are able to put them aside from time to time, the questions will still be there, but we will have the opportunity to “mature” the answers, together with the impulses we receive in the meantime, and to find more creative and relevant solutions.”

“We often think of communication as something external: words spoken, messages exchanged, conversations held. Yet, before we speak, we have already engaged in a process of internal negotiation. The way we interpret situations, the emotions we attach to experiences, and the biases we carry – all of these are shaped by our self-communication. And these internal dialogues do not remain confined within us, they manifest in our interactions, shaping how we engage with others. This interplay between internal and external communication is especially evident in moments of ethical decision-making: when faced with complex social situations, we like to believe that we act consistently according to our values. However, reality proves otherwise. Our positions are fluid: we can be perfectly ethical and empathetic in one context while, in another – particularly in situations that trigger us – we might find ourselves either in the role of the oppressor or the oppressed. There are no fixed positions, all our behavioral patterns are contextual. Recognizing this fluidity can be both unsettling and liberating. It challenges the illusion of a stable moral identity but also opens the door to self-awareness and growth. When we explore the different contexts that shape our actions, we become more reflective, more conscious in our presence. We learn to identify the forces at play in our reactions, making us more intentional in how we communicate, both internally and externally. Because communication is, in itself, an action. Just as silence is.”

“The five-day Sustainable Leadership training was both a breath of fresh air and an accelerator for me. Lately, I had been lacking motivation and felt a bit lost. The training not only gave me a fresh perspective on being a leader but also provided an opportunity to engage in conversations with people from other organizations and different parts of Europe. Through this exchange of thoughts and experiences, I began to realize that we face similar challenges across many areas. I’m glad the program included segments like “future scenario”, methods for improving communication, and time to reflect on a “personal project”, as there’s never enough time for that. Additionally, during discussions at the training, it turned out that my idea might find supportive partners in other countries as well. The overall atmosphere of the training was certainly enhanced by the fact that it took place in picturesque Slovenia, surrounded by mountains, streams, and lakes.”

Whether we are in in formal leadership positions or not, we are all responsible for leading ourselves, and in smaller or bigger issues, always affect people around us. The question is – are we able to see the forest for the trees, practice decision-making about our own life, support and cherish others in what they do and be aware where and how we want to go and what kind of world we want to be part of building. We are not alone on this planet, and what we do, how we behave and what we say has the potential for positive impact much beyond our own life. Leadership starts from within.