The Sustainability Mindset Indicator®: A tool to assess and develop the Inner Development Goals

This chapter presents the complementarity of the Inner Development Goals (IDGs) and their respective skills with the sustainability mindset, a research-based, personal development and change management framework. The sustainability mindset consists of 12 principles, encompassing four content areas (ecological worldview, systems perspective, emotional and spiritual intelligence) that represent paths to develop this mindset for sustainability, addressing key aspects of our thinking, doing, and being. These sustainability mindset principles (SMPs) and their cognitive, behavioral, and affective dimensions are introduced and then mapped against the five IDG dimensions and the IDG skills, illustrating how the two frameworks are mutually supportive in the development of inner dimensions. The SMI®, an online questionnaire- based tool of personal growth and change management rooted in the SMPs, is presented. Through a three-phased developmental process consisting of the experience of choosing from opposing statements that question underlying values and paradigms, a detailed personal report that encourages reflection and purposeful change, as well as a comprehensive toolkit for coaches or trainers, the SMI® supports and enables the concurrent development of IDG skills and SMPs due to their symbiotic relationships. A case study in higher education offers insights into the practical implementation of this joint learning. The chapter concludes with encouragements of reflection on the two frameworks and the personal path one may choose to further their development.