Today I presented to a group of college students at my Alma Mater, Western Washington University. I was invited to speak to the students about leadership, and to share a few things I had learned since graduating. I decided that this was a malleable group of tomorrow’s leaders, so I focused on three leadership traits that I think can help us all create a new economy.

1) Learn to be a translator.

According to Websters.com, a translator is able “to turn from one language into another or from a foreign language into one’s own” and “to explain in terms that can be more easily understood; interpret.”

Why is being a translator important? Creating a new economy requires social change, which requires buy-in and participation from each industry and every sector. For example: in my professional career I am constantly looking for ways to bridge the gap between the nonprofit and corporate sectors. To do this, I have to be able to speak the language of both sectors fluently, so that understanding occurs and strong partnerships can be forged.

2. Insist on a triple bottom line; people, planet and profits

“We can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders, nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it…” U.S. President Barack Obama

While it might seem scary that our old models of doing business are broken, this is a natural part of our evolution. We’ve been through it before when the industrial age moved to the information age and look at what we have been able to create. I have great optimism for our future, but I am not naive in thinking this will be easy.  It will take entirely new models of doing business and conscious choices by consumers to support those businesses. Luckily, those hybrid businesses are already popping up. 

Newman’s Own started a great trend in 1982 that integrated philanthropy directly into their sales model, involving the consumer in the activity. In other words, for every bottle of salad dressing you buy, x% goes to help nonprofits. This gave Newman’s a do-gooder reputation, and consumers responded favorably; to date they have generated over $280 million for nonprofits. In contrast, most companies think of philanthropy as an afterthought (i.e. only after great profits are made). TOMS Shoes is another great example of a social enterprise; for every pair of shoes purchased by a consumer, a pair will be donated to a child in need.  GlobalMojo, the company I am working with now, is following in TOMS footsteps. For every dollar we keep, we give away a dollar to the nonprofits and schools of our consumer’s choice. These are companies that are forging new territory that I hope other companies will follow. As tomorrow’s workforce you have a choice in where you work and what you create, and these are just some examples of businesses with a triple bottom line where the people, the planet, and profits go hand in hand.  It’s already in motion and you can keep the momentum. For more information on consumer trends in this area check out my recent blog on the Edelman goodpurpose report.

3. Identify your values gates:

“Society is like a stew. If you don’t stir it up every once in a while then a layer of scum floats to the top.” Edward Paul Abbey

I have a spiritual brother named Timber, with whom I have active dialogue about the state of the world and what we can do about it. Timber introduced me to a Sufi metaphor about how we ought to choose what we say. It goes something like this: before you speak, pretend you have three gates in your throat. The first gate asks you if the statement you are about to make is true. If it is, proceed to the second gate, which asks you if the statement you are about to make is necessary. If the statement is both true and necessary, proceed to the third gate, which asks you if the statement is kind? If what is about to come out of your mouth is true, necessary and kind, then proceed. If not, keep your mouth closed.

There are countless areas of our lives where we have to tap into our deeper values, our own personal filters or gates. Values are things that are driven from within; they are spirit-based, not ego-based. This isn’t about what you want in the moment (usually ego); it’s about what you know to be true and right deep within you. We are reinventing our economy, and it’s more important than ever that we identify and are solid in our values before entering the workforce.

Why is pre-defining your values gates important?  You will be tested and challenged personally, professionally, and ethically, no matter what industry you choose. Having established “gates” will:

• Help you distinguish who you should play with (employees, employers, vendors, business partners);
• Reduce costly indecision; and
• Reduce needless suffering.

Re-committing to your values frequently will keep the “scum” from floating to the top.

Finally, values-based leadership requires impeccable decision-making and responsibility. Timber wrote a blog about personal responsibility that I thought was fantastic. If you want to be a leader, you have to be transparent and your values don’t shut off when you leave the office. This is how you live your life, and what you “consume,” matters to those who are following your lead:

• When you shop, you are essentially voting with your wallet. What are you voting for? Local, organic or trucked-in and processed?
• What are you “consuming” with your mind? Does it align with what you care about, or are you tuning out and voting for programs that are not in alignment with your values, the values of a new economy leader?
• What have you learned that you can’t “un-learn”? I think of movies like, Food Inc., An Inconvenient Truth and The Cove. I could not be the same person after seeing these movies. I could not consume the same way knowing what I know now.

Ignorance is bliss, but true leaders don’t turn a blind eye; they develop new business models and policies that account-for or address global issues head on. They also live the same values in their personal and professional lives. They take the attitude that “If it is to be, it is up to me.” William H. Johnsen. That is how we will shape and influence a new and conscious economy.