EP 32: Committing to Sustainable Change and Giving a Sh*t Abou…

The Unburdened Leader

EP 32: Committing to Sustainable Change and Giving a Sh*t About the Planet with Ashlee Piper

July 30, 2021

We love to be right. So much so, that we often trade being right for being in relationship.

Without relationships, we cannot experience meaningful change because the change we desire is rooted in relationships, not the certainty of being right.

But dang, the expediency and certainty of being right sure are seductive.

Pursuing being right cultivates the tunnel vision of perfectionism which runs rampant over our curiosity and creativity–the very ingredients needed for us to have a sustained impact.

When we focus more on creating change instead of criticizing ourselves or others, we are freed up to get creative about our sustainability practices and modeling this for others too.

But too often, perfectionism has a party. We want to get it right from the start and fear making mistakes.

Or we worry about sustaining the work we are already doing, so we don't bother starting, counting ourselves out, believing our small actions do not make a difference.

But they do.

Climate solutions require collective action.

Most solutions that are sustainable require collective action and leaders focused on being right end up cultivating conflict and criticism instead.

Leaders who are committed to relationships end up cultivating creativity, community and the collective action we need to create sustainable solutions. We can all start or continue our sustainability journey with this in mind.

My guest today leads many on the imperfect journey of sustainability.

Ashlee Piper is a political strategist turned vegan and eco-lifestyle expert and author of the bestselling–and very funny–book, Give a Sh*t: Do Good. Live Better. Save the Planet. Her work has been featured in/on Washington Post, Real Simple, BuzzFeed, GLAMOUR, NBC, CBS, and ABC, to name a few.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

How Ashlee remains committed to her values while evolving her approach past rigidity and toward connection
Why we need openness, curiosity and tolerance along with accountability in our movements
How her background in politics and policy work informs Ashlee’s approach to sustainability
How Ashlee moved through a major setback to accepting the failure, revising her approach and trying again
How perfectionism creates inaction and why it’s okay to embrace imperfection, flexibility, and accessibility in our sustainability strategies