Sustainability boundary-work: Balancing the lines of sustainable leadership

Abstract

This study identifies and discusses the symbolic boundary between what it means to be sustainable and unsustainable, in relation to leadership through a qualitative case study at a technology consultant company in Sweden. We explore the sustainability boundary-work that managers do and identify three sub-boundaries that contribute to the larger symbolic boundary of sustainability. These sub-boundaries revolve around maintaining a healthy balance in the levels of transparency, the locus of responsibility for personal development and the perspective that is taken on short-term actions. Through this study we show that boundary-work is indeed dynamic and multifaceted by identifying the somewhat paradoxical and unpredictable nature of negotiation as a boundary-work practice. As a result, this paper shows the importance of relational aspects in downplaying boundaries has previously been underestimated. We then highlight how boundary-work has been adopted in new ways to overcome these limitations of negotiation, where boundary blurring was done on roles by actors outside the boundary interaction and how re-appropriating perspectives was done to collaborate across boundaries. Finally, this study has contributed to the field of sustainable leadership by providing insight into what challenges leaders, that consider themselves sustainable, might face in practice.