Competence, in its political-societal sense, is becoming part of the agenda of development of people within organizations in the category of sustainability. This article investigates whether there is a relevant content behind these educational proposals or whether they simply use of the term sustainability for the corporate system, without making any substantial changes. More specifically, the objective of this paper is ground on two axis: first a discussion about the concept of societal competence and second an analysis of a managers' development experience in issues related to sustainability: the Leadership Development Program (LDP) for Sustainability. The study, of qualitative nature, was conducted in a financial institution which gained media coverage as a prominent social actor for its work in inserting sustainability into the business practice. The outcomes reveal a robust program which trained managers but on the other hand, action did not always reach the same level of excellence. The participating managers acquired knowledge and critical insight, but they still struggled to harmonize business objective with the principles of sustainability. Even with advanced training, the paradoxes of action remain.
Sustainability; Societal competence; Organizations; Corporate education; Managers
