Nudge 7: Greta urges leaders to take responsibility
“What can I do about this problem? I’m just one person.” Perhaps Greta Thunberg said it to herself, but I doubt it. In 2019, she stepped onto the world stage with a message she felt the world needed to hear: that leaders of every nation need to act, to declare a climate emergency and that we are all responsible for doing something about it.
While many thousands have felt this way, and talk of climate change has been the topic of summits for decades now, this teenager managed to rally young and old around the world to take to the streets and bring attention to what seems like an insurmountable problem.
Climate change protests. iStock.com/shaunl.
I’d venture that many in ‘power’ forget that the youth of today are the future leaders of the world. They are coming for your job, perhaps sooner than you think. Many leaders discount the opinions of the young as being ‘uninformed’ or elders as being ‘over the hill’. We must remind ourselves of the power of all voices and realise the benefits of an intergenerational workforce.
Ignore the next generation at your peril. While some see climate strikes as a chance to skip school, and declaring a climate emergency as being overly dramatic, I can foresee that businesses who act in ways counter to the incoming working generation’s values will struggle in the coming years.
The best and brightest are finishing school and heading to university right now, and they are going to be very picky about the businesses for which they work. It’s important that your organisation knows and can articulate what you stand for, especially in matters of the environment and Corporate Social Responsibility.
The leaders of tomorrow will see straight through token efforts. What are you genuinely doing for the next generation?
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