Sustainability of the Self – Harnessing Natural Cycles for Leadership Development

The purpose of this paper is to encourage discussion and debate around the idea that in order for deep organisational and societal change to occur, leaders need to change and heal themselves by practising sustainability of the self and paying attention to natural cycles. It presents a review of contemporary leadership models in relation to sustainability and well-being and combines these with an examination of the role of natural and biological cycles in cognition and decision making. The research suggests that there is a relationship between natural and biological cycles and leadership performance suggesting that there is a need for leaders to better understand their own cycles and any corresponding impacts. The paper contributes an understanding as to the influences that natural and biological cycles have on leaders emotions, cognition and performance and offers a model that aligns cycles of leadership with the seasons and cycles of the natural world.