Compassion
Our last blog, by the excellent John Scott, focused on the use of empathy in the context of disputes.
A close relation of empathy, compassion, is what concerns us in this article. Both are key in any effort to achieve positive outcomes in organisational life.
In fact one might say that they go hand in hand: empathy allows us to understand someone and their feelings and compassion enables us to act with respect and kindness and to take responsibility for allaying their concerns, for solving their problems or grievances.
Action is key. Doing something. Creating a shift. Ultimately all our coaching work has this aim. And compassion without action might even be a failure of leadership.
Creating a positive shift can be, and is, the role of compassionate leaders and we’d definitely like to see greater compassion in leadership in the business world and in society in general.
Compassion can be seen, by some, as “weak” or as “soft”; we’ve long noticed, however, that those who are prone to talking about “the soft stuff” can be those who actually find the “stuff’ really rather hard.
And we disagree in any case: it is neither weak nor soft for any leader to be in touch with their and others’ emotions, to be human, to be authentic, to care. It comes with the territory.
At least it should.
We’re always going to be ‘task oriented’ in business, aren’t we? So let’s push for a greater balance. Let’s strive for greater empathy and compassion in business leadership.
It makes immense sense: we see (or I certainly do) around us that those who are successful leaders in many key sectors increasingly include those who have high IQ and high EQ, who combine commercialism & business nous with values & compassionate behaviours.
But how?
Well, people…your people…want to know that you really understand how they feel about their challenges. That you feel it yourself. And that in this context you are working for their success.
Compassionate leaders show unconditional care and concern for others. They work to create deep connections with other people, to treat everyone fairly, to foster inclusion in their organisation, to embrace innovation and those who think differently.
You, therefore, can build your compassionate leadership by focusing your mind on these key challenges:
What can you do to anticipate the needs of your team? If you are CEO that means the needs of everyone in your business as well as the needs of those with a direct reporting line to you.
How will you “walk in the shoes” of people around you?
How will you really listen?
What will you do to show that you genuinely care and don’t simply “play nicely because it makes good commercial sense”?
Can people in your team(s) really talk to you? That’s really talk to you.
And, of course, ensure that you are being compassionate to yourself. It may be that which must come first. How adept are you at that?
““Give compassion: every day the average person fights epic battles never told just to survive.””
““In compassion, when we feel with the other, we dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and we put another person there.” ”