Darcy Winslow on Setting the Stage for Nike's Long-Range Sustainability Initiatives, Values-Driven Leadership, and Systems Change

How I Hire

Darcy Winslow is an inspiring leader whose decades of experience at Nike and sustainability-focused nonprofits have cemented her legacy as a forward-thinking, values-driven executive. In her time at Nike, Darcy focused on how the company could employ sustainable practices in footwear and apparel manufacturing. As a part of this process, she created Nike’s groundbreaking Sustainable Business Strategies Division and set her sights on sweeping systems transformation within the company. Darcy was able to marry Nike’s distinct approach to design and creation with the innovative spirit inherent to sustainability work. Darcy left the company in 2008 to further pursue these goals, founding the Academy for Systems Change and the Magnolia Moonshot 2030 project. She and her collaborators empower current and emerging leaders with the skills, networks, and values needed to tackle the climate crisis via global systems change.

Darcy joins Roy to discuss her foundational experiences at Nike, the necessity for authenticity in effective leadership, her vision for building networks of future leaders and system thinkers, her unique perspective on assembling teams that can collectively work towards widespread, positive change, and much more.

Highlights from our conversation include:

• Darcy’s career journey and sustainability achievements (1:50)
• Experiences that influenced her leadership approach (7:25)
• How Darcy was able to put sustainability on the radar at Nike (9:30)
• Contemplating and incorporating values as part of her leadership (12:46)
• The inner and outer journey of a leader (14:06)
• How Darcy’s experience influenced her approach to hiring (15:02)
• Examples of hiring successes and challenges (16:46)
• How she inspired leaders to integrate and scale sustainability (18:37)
• Her connection and work with MIT’s Peter Senge (21:04)
• The vision and accomplishments of the ASC (22:36)
• How leaders and businesses can affect positive change in the climate crisis (23:47)
• The Magnolia Moonshot 2030 Project (26:23)
  • The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
• Advice for current and emerging leaders (28:22)

Visit HowIHire.com for transcripts and more on this episode.

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