What Is Compassionate Leadership?
Compassionate leadership is the practice of using head and heart to inspire and influence people so they can inspire and influence others. Compassionate leaders use their influence to positively affect themselves, others, and the planet.
Core idea
Compassion and love are linked. The page says leading with love and leading with compassion are intertwined.
Everyone can develop compassionate leadership. The practice is presented as a way to create positive change and give organizations an advantage.
At work
Compassionate leaders can use sympathy, empathy, and compassion as needed. They understand the definitions and distinctions between them.
They create safe environments where teams are encouraged to practice self-compassion, vulnerability, and compassion for others. This approach is said to improve productivity, employee morale, and retention.
Research highlights
- Compassion positively impacts productivity, employee retention, customer retention, profitability, and financial performance.
- Compassion supports innovation, service quality, collaboration, retention of talented people, employee and customer engagement, and adaptability to change.
- 91% of leaders surveyed say compassion is very important for leadership.
- 80% say they want to enhance their compassion but do not know how.
- Empathy can lead to fatigue, while compassion can increase resilience and improve responses to stress.
The 7 C’s of compassionate leadership
- Contemplative — pause and deeply reflect to become wiser and more self-compassionate.
- Curious — learn and listen proactively.
- Confident — believe in your vision and yourself.
- Compassionate — use influence to prevent and alleviate the suffering of others.
- Collaborative — empower stakeholders to use their strengths and lead.
- Civil — show respect when confronted with differing views and challenges.
- Courageous — advocate strongly for yourself, your values, and your stakeholders.
Suggested first steps
- Identify your natural strength from the seven attributes.
- Choose one action to take this week related to that strength.
- Identify the most challenging attribute for you.
- Take one step this week to develop compassion for yourself or others.
Contact
- Meryl Eriksen, Chief Compassion Officer
- Email: Meryl@compaassionateleaderscircle.com
- Phone: 315-217-1740
- Website: compassionateleaderscircle.com
Additional note
Laurel Donnellan is described as a compassion advocate focusing on leadership.
The post says it was originally published on Forbes.com.