Operations in the upper echelons: leading sustainability through stewardship

Purpose Top-level operations leaders can drive organizational performance across a broad range of pro-environmental objectives. The authors’ focus is on understanding which specific leadership competencies are most conducive to green performance outcomes. The authors further consider the influence of Lean thinking on the importance of these competencies. Design/methodology/approach In study 1, of a multi-method investigation, the authors interview executive search professionals, on how green objectives impact top-level operations leadership searches. In study 2, the authors adopt a multi-attribute choice task to examine how Lean thinking impacts competency preferences. Finally, in study 3, the authors merge secondary data on corporate environmental performance with a survey of top-level operations managers’ assessments. This triangulating multi-method approach provides an integrated and holistic view into these dynamics. Findings Results show particularly strong associations between resource and energy management outcomes and the specific leadership competencies of stewardship. This set of leadership competencies play the greatest role when Lean thinking is deficient. Research limitations/implications While the authors’ focus is on top-level operations managers, and their under-explored impact on environmental performance, such an impact represents only one dimension of corporate social responsibility (CSR) that these managers may be critically influencing. Practical implications The associations uncovered in this research suggest critical leadership characteristics to consider in developing and recruiting top-level operations managers, when specific environmental objectives exist. Social implications The study’s findings draw attention to the importance of leadership characteristics among influential corporate decision-makers, instrumental in the environmental progress of firms. Originality/value This work fills a critical gap in the authors’ understanding of how top-level operations managers influence green corporate objective, and how their contributions are valued across settings.