Civic Engagement and Public Good: From corporate social responsibility to active citizenship

We are living in a time of complex social and environmental challenges that do not give us the luxury of defining leadership by authority or technical expertise alone. The current chapter explores how corporate social responsibility needs to be deeply rooted in relationship building, ecological awareness, and the ability to co-create meaning with others. Community psychology offers valuable concepts and tools for rethinking the kind of leadership required as a shared responsibility—focused on empowerment, a strong sense of community, and participatory, bottom-up dialogue. This is a kind of active citizenship that has many direct and indirect benefits for organizations, for their employees and their surrounding communities and societies. Whether through student-led initiatives, foundation-supported projects, or everyday acts of engagement, the path toward civic leadership is open to all. It begins by listening more deeply, acting more intentionally, and imagining leadership not as something we hold, but as something we build—together. This goes a lot further than CSR that simply boosts the popularity of a particular brand, to sell more units or products. It can turn your leadership into something much more deeply rooted in community needs, and more visionary at the same time. It will speak, in a remarkable way, about your leadership and the exceptionally positive role of the groups and organizations you lead both today and in the future.