*5.2.3 Value of social capital is unclear*

The pitfall is that all of the six frameworks on sustainable leadership are silent on the value of social capital. For instance, Avery and Bergsteiner [17] underline caring for and developing people in an organisation and protecting the planet but fails to pinpoint the role and value of social capital for sustainable leadership. Davies [20] recognise the significance of building capacity for sustainability, but this is unclear whether it is limited to human capital or includes social capital. Traditional leadership uses social networks, norms of reciprocity and social trust for mutual benefit and access to different types of resources (e.g. financial, information, human and physical resources) [48]. However, it is not explicit how sustainable leaders nurture and develop their social capital to build networks and relationships for sustainability. There is a need for sustainable leadership frameworks to support leaders in using different types of social capital to ensure individual and organisational sustainable performance. Bonding, bridging and linking social capital are fundamental for sustainable leaders to build a network of support and resources to balance the triple bottom line. First, bonding social capital is the relations of trust, cooperation and networks of people who are similar or homogeneous in some critical way and typically associate together [48]. Bonding social capital is inward-looking, exclusive, within people who are alike or homogeneous and suitable for 'getting by' [48].

### *The Nature of Sustainable Leadership: Pitfalls, Insights and New Model DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108833*

This type of social capital exists between 'people who are' in it together and who typically have strong and close relationships and networks with a high density of connections.

Second, bridging social capital refers to connections, interrelationships and networks of mutuality between people who are not similar or heterogeneous with respect to socioeconomic and other characteristics. Bridging social capital is inclusive between different people and is critical for 'getting ahead' [48]. Lastly, linking social capital is defined as the norm of relations between individuals and groups in different social strata in a hierarchy where power, social status and wealth are accessed by other groups [48]. Linking social capital is characterised by the collaboration of sustainable leaders when they relate with powerful people or institutions at different levels of societal and power hierarchy. Creating new trusting ties across power relationships and identifying and collaborating with power brokers are essential to sustainable leadership [48]. The sustainable leader is a node where multiple relationships intersect as people are relational beings. The node is crucial to pursue a shared sustainability vision, collective accountability and collaboration across subsystems. Sustainable leaders are the weavers of value networks and relationships with stakeholders and bridge builders to overcome systemic inertia, path dependencies and other barriers to reaching envisioned outcomes.

### *5.2.4 Stakeholder centricity of sustainable leadership*

The insight is that stakeholder-centric leadership balances and integrates multiple relationships and objectives and promotes shared interests in an ever-changing VUCA in pursuit of the triple bottom line. Notably, the frameworks of sustainable leadership by Casserley and Critchley [19], Avery and Bergsteiner [17], Hargreaves and Fink [29], Davies [20], Lambert [21] and Šimanskienė and Župerkienė [40] are clear on the collective dimension as a critical part of sustainable leadership but also necessitate of stakeholder centricity. Building stakeholder trust and engaging with a broader range of stakeholders present an opportunity to achieve strategic objectives and minimise adverse impacts. Davies [20] assert that stakeholder centricity is vital for sustainable leadership to embed sustainability throughout the organisation. First, a stakeholderbased approach to sustainable leadership relies on collective or inclusive sense-making and collective intelligence to solve sustainable challenges. Collective understanding of the system and distributed leadership are salient in debating the system boundaries, mapping its elements and dynamics and considering the environment around the system that enables or impedes it. The lack of collective intelligence is evident in organisations, which tend to discount or insufficiently consider stakeholder perspectives when making decisions.

Second, sustainable leadership is not only limited to stakeholder inclusion and engagement but also the building of capacity. The frameworks by Lambart [21] hinge on the development of capacity for sustainability at all organisational levels. The framework by Davies [20] is aware of building capacity and leadership culture, which promotes sustainability in a school setting. The capability to create an inclusive and collaborative environment where diverse people have empathy, a voice and a sense of belonging are critical for sustainable leadership. Sustainable leaders unlock commitment and creativity for sustainability by being genuinely human and showing compassion and openness in their stakeholder engagement. Sustainable leadership advocates a more consultative and moral perspective rather than a skewed and

hierarchical view of stakeholders [17]. Lastly, the interactions with stakeholders impact the direction and execution of decisions, such as what knowledge is used, whose interests are recognised and what actions are prioritised by sustainable leadership. It is imperative to fathom how sustainable leadership drives decision-making with diverse stakeholders and, where possible, actively involve these stakeholders in jointly developing sustainable solutions and sharing sustainability benefits [17]. A vital part of the 'challenge' for sustainable leadership is that many stakeholders hold them more accountable.
