Ashley Welch of Interaction Associates conducted a timely conversation with her colleague from the Interaction Institute for Social Change, Melinda Weekes (pictured below left). They discussed Strategies for Designing Social Change, exploring ways leaders in any sector can succeed when leading change.

In October's LeaderLens online conversation, Ashley spoke with Karlin Sloan: author, speaker, and CEO.

September's LeaderLens online conversation featured Brooke Deterline, Director of Corporate Programs for the Heroic Imagination Project.  Brooke has spent most of her career working with executives to create “best practices” to positively affect corporate culture and reputation. She has lately moved into the arena of corporate social responsibility, a field that combines her strategic focus with her passion for sustainability, leadership, empowerment and social and environmental justice.

I spoke with Carol Sanford, author of the recent book, The Responsible Business, about her experience working with Fortune 500 companies all over the world. Carol's own passion has led her to help businesses integrate responsibility into all aspects of a business as an engine for innovation, profitability and purpose. Carol explored a framework for a holistic approach to business, and reflected on what guides her and other leaders in an integrated approach to leadership.  

"Can you develop and lead a global expedition for our high potential leaders to study water scarcity and develop leadership capacity?" the head of corporate social responsibility of a large hotel asked me this week. And then she added, "We want to invite hotel guests, too."

Becoming and Belonging: the Underpinnings of Sustainable Change

In June, Ashley Welch spoke with Danny Martin: thought leader, environmentalist, facilitator, and inspirational speaker. Ashley and Danny discussed how to deepen and widen understanding within a group or organization so that change can take place.

Two conversations this week with leaders from large companies reminded me again about the value of context in meeting business challenges, and how social entrepreneurs address challenges with context front and center.

Ashley Welch had a rich conversation with Wilford Welch in May's LeaderLens. Wilford is an international business consultant, author of The Tactics of Hope, and an expert in the leadership excellence of social entrepreneurs. Learn about unique characteristics - like boundary riding -  that make social entrepreneurs successful. Discover how these qualities are pertinent for today’s corporate leaders, given the ambitions of the millennials, shortened waves of innovation, and global trends.

Ashley Welch recently hosted a LeaderLens web event featuring Erik Gregory.

Erik specializes in positive psychology, the scientific study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive. This field examines such healthy human traits and practices as courage, hope, optimism, and happiness. One of the goals of positive psychology is to understand and support workplaces that foster satisfaction and high productivity.

Darcy Winslow, a pioneer in sustainability, as a 20 year leader at Nike, helped steer the organization to socially-responsible corporate practices.  Darcy and Ashley discussed "Leadership and Sustainability: What Can Leaders Learn from Nature?" Learn about natural principles and frameworks that leaders can apply to solving business problems in this recorded webinar.