"In my mid 20s I worked for Friends of the Earth, and also volunteered. I learned many of my skills by talking to various political parties about recycling, in the days it was seen as weird," he says.

Today, overseeing a staff of 11 at the not-for-profit carbon offsetter, he still involved in education, engaging 38,000 supporters and 320 plus corporates about Greenfleet's work while continually innovating.

"People think innovation [mostly] happens in the private sector, but in fact, a lot of those companies play it safe. In the not-for-profit sector there are tight resources and smart people involved - the best not-for-profits are very innovative," he says.

To get there, Wescott focuses on hiring fast learners.

"I don't care how many degrees they have, but I'm interested in people's capacity to learn quickly. We can fail once - that probably means we're trying something new, which is important. But failing twice means we haven't learned," he says.

Although he doesn't have a share price to drive Greenfleet's mission, the values at stake are often very useful as a boss.

"A lot of us want to feel we're part of something bigger: if we can feel that, it's a powerful way of motivating people. It's my job to provide that inspiration," he says.

CURRICULUM VITAE

Name: Wayne Wescott

Current position: chief exexutive, Greenfleet

Responsibilities: "Managing a non-profit carbon off-setter in the middle of significant policy change, including growing revenues, building new approaches for supporters, engaging corporates more deeply and connecting to the global debates on climate change, green infrastructure and natural capital."

Education: Bachelor of Arts, Honours, University of Melbourne.

Additional training/courses: Many, including recently, The Prince of Wales Business and Sustainability Programme, March 2014; Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Training, Certainty Compliance, March 2014; Business Planning workshop, Pitcher Partners, February 2014. "My observation is that most people who are successful in the not-for-profit arena are 'on the ground', doing the work. There aren't a lot of templates for what we do."

Professional associations: Many and varied including, Member, Community and Industry Advisory Board, University of Melbourne, 2008 to current; International Stakeholder Council for Global Reporting Initiative 2006-2009; President, Good Cycles, 2013 to current; Director, Thriving Neighbourhoods, 2012 to current.

Honourable mentions:  Litter and Recycling Research Association Green Achiever Award, 1994; Melbourne Awards for Community Organisation - Contribution to the Environment, 2008. "Awards aren't really my thing. In fact, they can be distracting from our focus and mission."

Strength: I think I'm pretty empathetic, and listen, rather than going in with a preconceived view. I also never really give up.

Weakness: I have to work really hard to drill into detail. The skill of a ceo - to know when to drill down or not - is an art form. It's very hard to teach.

Management style and tips: Being personally productive is a powerful way to get stuff done. As a manager, I aim to align that personal productivity with the organisation's objectives; then people feel good and the organisation also kicks goals.

Work motto: Our power is in alignment: we all are different, but if we can agree to align for specific outcomes, that's really important.