Compassionate Leadership

Introduction

Compassion needs to be used in a positive way and involves
"...the practice of using your head and heart to inspire and influence people so they can, in turn, inspire and influence others..."
Laurel Donnellan, 2022.

It allows you to do the hard things in a human way.

this approach to leadership requires an understanding of the distinctions between sympathy, empathy and compassion

(source: Laurel Donnellan, 2022)

Sympathy involves thoughts; empathy involves thoughts and feelings; compassion involves thoughts, feelings and actions.

Compassionate leaders create safe environments where people are encouraged to practice self-compassion, vulnerability and compassion for others; result in improved productivity, employee morale and retention, adaptability to change, resilience, etc

The 9Cs of Compassionate Leadership

i) contemplative (take time to pause and reflect so that you emerge wiser, more knowledgeable; learn from the past, especially mistakes; become more realistic, etc)

ii) curious (learn proactively; ask questions, be creative, explore alternatives, etc)

iii) confident (be positive, encourage optimism, believe in the vision and yourselves, be professional, etc )iv) considerate (appreciate and understand others feelings, use your influence to help others, focus on stakeholders' well-being, etc)

v) collaborative (encourage all stakeholders to work together, willing to use outside expertise as realise you don't know everything or have all the answers/solutions , etc)

vi) civil (show respect and tolerance like when confronted with differing points of view and other challenges, etc)

vii) courageous (can advocate strongly for themselves, their values and their stakeholders; being prepared to be vulnerable; make the tough decisions, etc)

viii) candour/clarity (being transparent, honest, authentic, willing to have the tough/difficult conversations, etc)

ix) community (creating a group of like-minded people, eg share the same vision, etc)

(main sources: Laurel Donnellan, 2022; Giny Boer et al, 2023)