Responsibility as a Strategic Advantage Herbert Pratter’s Lecture in the Gellért Green Programme

Herbert Pratter is a digital marketing expert with decades of leadership experience in media companies and agencies, and a dedicated corporate ESG transformation advisor and trainer. 

In his English‑language lecture Responsible Leadership: From Heart and Attitude—moderated by Soma Kárpáti, lecturer at the Institute of Management / Department of Strategic Management—he explored how organisations can build a culture in which responsible decision‑making, long‑term value creation and human‑centred leadership reinforce one another. 

Levels of leadership responsibility in an age of polycrisis 

The demand for responsible leadership is stronger than ever: the climate crisis, social inequalities and the rise of artificial intelligence are fundamentally reshaping expectations towards leaders. Organisations today must take responsibility not only for financial performance but also for their employees, society and the environment. Addressing these complex challenges requires new leadership skills grounded in the common good, ethics and long‑term thinking. 

Responsible leadership aligns economic, social and environmental objectives and treats all three dimensions as equally important. This requires personal responsibility—self‑reflection, role‑modelling and learning from mistakes. Professional responsibility is equally essential: achieving goals and being accountable for results. Social responsibility involves fairness, supporting diversity and commitment to employees, while societal responsibility means consciously managing the organisation’s social and environmental impact. 

The three core principles of responsible leadership—authenticity, accountability and agility—help leaders remain true to their values while responding responsibly and flexibly to a rapidly changing environment. 

How does this differ from traditional leadership? 

According to Herbert Pratter, while traditional leadership often focuses solely on financial performance, responsible leadership adopts a holistic, “multiple bottom line” approach. This mindset responds to “grand challenges” such as climate change and inequality and requires leaders to think systemically. 

Increasing responsibility creates significant advantages: it strengthens trust and credibility, enhances the organisation’s reputation and builds stakeholder confidence. Responsible practices also improve risk management by enabling the early identification and prevention of compliance risks. At the same time, they boost motivation and innovation by fostering a positive corporate culture and increasing employee satisfaction. 

Best practices of responsible leadership are clearly visible in organisations where leaders consistently set an example through a strong “tone from the top”: their own behaviour signals the direction for ethical and sustainable operations. Sustainability becomes embedded in strategic decisions and everyday processes—not a separate initiative but an integral part of how the organisation functions. Regular, well‑structured stakeholder dialogue helps uncover expectations, risks and opportunities while strengthening trust and cooperation. All this is supported by a learning‑oriented, innovative organisational culture that encourages experimentation, development and learning from mistakes, making operations more resilient and responsible in the long run. 

Pratter also emphasised that putting responsible leadership into practice comes with challenges. Leaders must often balance competing objectives while managing uncertainties inherent in sustainability strategies. Avoiding “greenwashing” is a key task: organisations must demonstrate genuine, credible sustainability actions rather than superficial marketing messages. This requires long‑term commitment, continuous development of sustainability expertise and consistent action to ensure that the organisation operates as a truly responsible and trustworthy actor. 

After the lecture, most student questions focused on the extent to which responsibility is shaped by cultural value systems. We learned that responsibility is indeed a strongly culture‑dependent concept—yet cultural patterns can evolve and be influenced over time. 

Writen by: Júlia Sipos  

Photo by: György Kenéz