Type
Workshop
CIFAL Singapore - Why Is the Mindset the New Unseen Strategic Leadership Competency?
Location
Singapore, Singapore
Date
Duration
3 Hours
Programme Area
Decentralize Cooperation Programme
Registration
Open-registration event
Mode of Delivery
Face-to-Face
Language(s)
English
Pillar
People
Partnership
NTU
Event Objectives
- To introduce mindset as a core leadership competency for sustainability and systems transformation
- To deepen understanding of how values, assumptions, and mental models shape sustainability outcomes
- To equip students and researchers with conceptual and practical tools to develop a Sustainability Mindset
- To strengthen leadership capacity for innovation, resilience, and adaptive decision-making
Background
Organisations and societies are no longer experiencing isolated or incremental change, but a profound change of time marked by rapid, unpredictable geopolitical, economic, social, cultural, and technological shifts. Traditional leadership models and ways of thinking are increasingly inadequate to respond to the scale and complexity of sustainability challenges.
This lecture introduces the concept of the Sustainability Mindset as a critical, yet often unseen, strategic leadership competency required to navigate uncertainty, foster innovation, and enable resilient and adaptive responses. Drawing on empirical research with pioneering business leaders, the programme bridges leadership theory, sustainability practice, and real-world application.
Content and Structure
- Context-setting lecture on the “change of time” and leadership implications
- Introduction to Sustainability Mindset principles and research findings
- Case insights from pioneering sustainability-oriented leaders
- Experiential and reflective exercises linking mindset principles to participants’ own contexts
- Facilitated discussion and synthesis
Methodology
- Interactive lecture
- Experiential learning activities
- Guided reflection
- Peer discussion and dialogue
- Application-oriented framing
Targeted Audience
- Students enrolled in the NTU Second Major in Sustainability
- Undergraduate and postgraduate students
- Researchers and faculty from the Asian School of the Environment
- Participants with an interest in sustainability leadership and systems change
Additional Information
The programme supports UN capacity-building priorities in education for sustainable development and leadership transformation, and contributes to SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
The session is facilitated by Isabel Rimanoczy, an internationally recognised scholar and practitioner who founded the PRME Working Group on Sustainability Mindset and whose Sustainability Mindset Indicator has received global recognition from Wharton and QS.
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