Stephanie Udler on The Role of Fractional Executives, Unconventional Paths to Sustainability Work, and Public vs. Private Sustainability Consulting

Hey there,

How about another Sustainability Skill Set podcast episode?

Episode 12. Stephanie Udler on The Role of Fractional Executives, Unconventional Paths to Sustainability Work, and Public vs. Private Sustainability Consulting

In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Stephanie Udler a fractional sustainability executive with years of public and private sustainability consulting under her belt.

What is a fractional sustainability executive you might ask? I had the same question.

Stephanie and I discussed how fractional executives jump into a company’s leadership team on a part-time basis to help them stand up programs, and reach goals, without the commitment of hiring a full-time employee.

This new type of role is particularly relevant to the sustainability space, as so many small to mid-size companies need guidance on sustainability but are not ready to take the dive into hiring a full sustainability department.

Stephanie describes how her history and job experiences led to where she is now, as well as other great networking and sustainability career advice.

If you are overwhelmed by where to start with sustainability work, her story will inspire you.

I really enjoyed my conversation with Stephanie, and I think you will too.

Here’s what I found most interesting:

#1 - Fractional executives could be the perfect solution for small to mid-sized companies who want to focus on sustainability but cannot commit to hiring a full sustainability team.

Similar to consultants, fractional sustainability executives help companies build tailored sustainability programs. However, they are hired as part-time employees and embedded directly in the leadership team.

Fractional executives present a strategic solution for companies that are not ready for a full-time Chief Sustainability Officer but want to embrace sustainability as a core driver of success. They can help companies to articulate and drive impact, respond to regulations, prioritize issues, realize savings, and educate stakeholders.

Since they are usually brought in for a short contract period, they are more cost-effective, flexible, and agile than full-time executives. They also bring best practices and lessons learned from other organizations.

Stephanie describes her recent jump into the fractional executive space and what led her to that point. I am excited about the potential for fractional sustainability executives to make sustainability more accessible to companies of all sizes.

#2 - Your first ‘sustainability’ job might not focus on the type of work you want to do, but it can lead you exactly where you want to go.

Stephanie described her bold approach to getting her first job, which involved literally walking around Capitol Hill, with her resume in-hand, knocking on the doors of legislative offices.

She landed a position answering phones in a senator’s office.

This was not the position she imagined for herself, having recently graduated from college with degrees in environment and political science. So, she gave herself 6 months to see what she could turn the opportunity into.

She found that she got to learn about critical environmental issues firsthand as she fielded phone calls and communicated messages back to the office. She volunteered to write letters to constituents and made it clear that she was ready for more work.

Exactly 6 months later, the environmental legislative aid happened to leave, and Stephanie was promoted into that position.

I was inspired by this story because it really demonstrates the power of getting your foot in the door of an organization, however you can, and then turning your situation into an opportunity through volunteering and savvy networking.

As long as you keep yourself oriented towards learning useful skills and making connections, you won't be wasting your time.

#3 - The core work of sustainability professionals is getting a diverse set of stakeholders from across the organization on-board.

At first approach, stakeholders may ask ‘What do you want us to do? Why do we have to do this? Who's funding it? How are we going to collect the data? What's the value driver here? What happens if we don't do it?’

Sustainability professionals must show what’s in it for them, why they should care, and how it contributes to their goals.

This is the work.

Through effective messaging and influence, we can help organizations realize their mission by embedding sustainability into everything they do, instead of just seeing it as an add-on.

#4 - You don’t have to have your entire career planned out. Take it one step at a time.

Stephanie believes that there has never been a better time to transition into sustainability. I agree. We need the help!

It might feel overwhelming to chart out your sustainability career path… but you don't have to have everything planned out. You don’t have to know what your next step is. What you do will lead you there.

Nowadays, people will have many jobs throughout their career.

I came across a great concept in the book The First 90 Days that describes a career as a series of assignments. If you view a job as just one assignment you’ll receive throughout your career, you remove the pressure to find a ‘dream job’.

Instead, each job can offer certain opportunities to develop skills and build connections that will help you in the future.

Stephanie says, "Just start in one place, see where it takes you, and keep pursuing your interests. Whether that's in your current job, adjacent to your current job, or outside your current job, those are all ways that you could then eventually get to where you want to be."

Read or listen to the full episode to learn more.

Wishing you the best,

Louis DeMaso

P.S. Feel free to hit that reply button anytime. I would love to hear from you.