Compassionate Leadership

Sympathy vs Empathy vs Compassion

Sympathy means you can understand what the person is feeling. 

Empathy means that you feel what a person is feeling (using cognitive skills &
emotional intelligence)
 
Empathy is a gateway to compassion

Compassion is the willingness to relieve the suffering of another

Compassion: It takes empathy and sympathy a step further. When you are
compassionate, you recognize that the person is in pain (i.e., sympathy) or you feel
the pain of another (i.e. empathy) and then you do your best to alleviate the
person’s suffering from that situation.
Compassionate people often have other
positive traits like generosity, kindness, and
understanding. People who are compassionate
feel the need to impact the world around them
in positive ways
Generally compassion is a four step process:

1. Awareness of suffering.
2. Sympathetic concern related to being
emotionally moved by suffering.
3. Wish to see the relief of that suffering.
4. Responsiveness or readiness to help relieve that suffering.

Tips to Cultivate Compassion

Limit exposure to negativity:  

We have a perceptual bias to pay more attention to negative, potentially
threatening information. It’s good to be aware of possible threats and
problems. But without some perspective-taking, it can lead us to believe that
the negative outweighs the positive.
Practice Loving-Kindness Meditation:
By deliberately imagining yourself, your loved ones, people you feel neutral
about, and even people you dislike, experiencing happiness and freedom –
you make the world a kinder place. Research in loving-kindness meditation
shows it builds emotional resilience and meaningful social connections which
can help you respond to challenges with compassion. 
 What is Compassionate Leadership
• The concept of compassionate leadership was initiated in the mindfulness
propositions of Jon Kabat-Zinn. In his works, Zinn indicated compassionate
leadership as a way to reduce work stress and increase peace among professionals.
• His studies further suggested that compassionate leadership is a learned
phenomenon, and anyone is capable of building himself as a compassionate
professional if he wants to.
• A compassionate leader is interested not only in motivating his employees to gain
profits for the company, but also helping them grow on a personal level. Such
leaders have the far-sighted vision to hold genuine talents for long-term and think
about the greater good of the organization.
• Time and again, studies have proved that compassionate leaders are preferred
more among employees, more popular among clients, more comfortable to talk to,
and more positive in giving honest feedback. They are sure shot resources for
guaranteeing the development and success of the organization.
Compassionate leadership:
compassionate leaders flex into the Social attribute or the part of your brain that is
relational and considers others. Compassionate leadership recognizes that every
team member is not only a significant individual but also an essential thread in the
fabric of an entire organization. They strive to enhance the happiness and well-being
of their people by supporting them and giving them what they need to excel.
Compassionate leadership is not focused on the short-term or instant gratification;
rather, it is focused on what’s best for the individual, the team, the organization and
it considers other factors that may influence or impact the situation at hand.

What do compassionate leaders do?

1. Promote equality, value diversity, challenge power imbalances

2. Foster intelligent kindness
3. Pay attention
 Who is a Compassionate Leader?
A compassionate leader is someone who:

• Is self-motivated and able to influence his employees positively.

• Builds long-term trusting relationships and collaborations for his company.
• Is morally strong and has an ethical code of conduct.
• Takes responsibility for low employee productivity and aims to rebuild it.
• Has the ability to make his team feel secure and comfortable at work.

Dalai Lama said, “When we are motivated by compassion and wisdom, the
results of our actions benefit everyone, not just ourselves or some immediate
convenience.” Compassionate leadership has an in-built aspect of being a
compassionate individual.
 The Compassionate Leadership Model
The Compassion Workplace Model of Roffey Park stated that there
are five aspects of compassionate leadership and management:

• Being aware of the needs of others.

• Being non-judgmental to the viewpoints of others.
• Being resilient and tolerant toward personal distress.
• Feeling and showing empathy at all levels of a professional life.
• Being accountable and responsible for all good and bad outcomes of the
team.

The compassionate leadership model emphasizes the here and now aspect of
leadership. That compassionate leader should be mindful of the present situation,
and the current requirements of the organizations is a vital requisite here
3 Pillars of Compassionate Leadership
1. The Cognitive Pillar
Jinpa said that to succeed as a compassionate leader, one must open your cognizance to
understanding the problems and situations of your employees. A compassionate leader
should have facts checked at all times, and be ready to connect and support the team to
flourish. The cognitive pillar indicates clarity of thoughts, the absence of prejudices and
thought blocks, and the openness to accept the viewpoints of others.
2. The Affective Pillar
The affective or the emotional pillar touches base with how the leader truly feels about
people she works with. Compassionate leaders should have the power to identify the
emotional distress of their subordinates and acknowledge their feelings. They should be
insightful and understanding about why their team is underperforming and how they can
help the team to bounce back from it.
People who work for an emotionally aware leader accept that merely knowing about how
much their leader cares, motivates them to enhance their performance, and they feel more
respected as a part of the company.
3. The Motivational Pillar
The professional and personal development of each member of the organization should be a
personal agenda for a compassionate leader. The motivational pillar is all about building a
strong connection with the employees and letting positive energy flow in both directions. As
mentioned earlier, the main idea is to follow the shift of focus from ‘I’ to ‘we’.
 Traits Of A Compassionate Leader
A compassionate leader shows the following traits typically:
• Compassionate leaders are always open to learning and accepting their limitations. They
accept feedbacks and are self-driven to improve their skills.
• Compassionate leaders are approachable. They are comfortable to talk to, and employees
find it easy to access them for any difficulties they face at the workplace.
• They are aware of the requirements of the team and the organization.
• Compassionate leaders have a robust ethical code; they respect values and implement moral
ethics as a part of the performance culture, which helps in fostering loyalty and dedication in
workers at all levels.
• Compassionate leaders are solution-focused. They try to explore the causes of personal
underachievements or failures of his team as a whole, and rely more on employing resources
to solve the issue rather than criticizing or tormenting the individuals for their mistakes.
• The prime focus of a compassionate leader is to influence, and not to dictate.
• Compassionate leaders are passionate and dedicated to their work and their team. They
genuinely love what they do and are equally committed to the people who work for them.
• Compassionate leaders are always there to support and guide to their team. Irrespective of
how hard the situation may be, they proactively plunge in to help the team and share their
part of the responsibility for each success or failure.
 How To Best Demonstrate Compassion As A
Leader
• 1. Slow down when you need to
• 2. Never stop asking
• 3. Empathize every day
• 4. Be open to change

If your goal is to complement your pragmatic leadership with heart-based

qualities like compassion, remember that your heart is a muscle, and muscles
require exercise. Therefore, if you want to become more compassionate, you
must practice. It may not seem natural, but the more you work on your
compassion, the more it will become second nature to you.
Compassionate Leadership Impact On
Leadership
• A successful workplace compassionate leadership program comes with the following
outcomes:
• It draws attention to compassion and its benefits at the workplace.
• It destroys any conflicts that existed within the team members and leaders.
• It allows people to understand the positive correlation of workplace compassion and
success.
• It helps participants to recover from their mental blocks and focus more on their
well-being.
• At the end of the program, participants become more proactive and agree with
helping each other whenever required. Compassion programs restore the team spirit
in the employees.
• Such programs teach the participants how to use pure relaxation and breathing
techniques to reduce their work stress every day.
• Training programs promote gratitude among employees and leaders and motivate
them to build mutual respect.
 Jeff Weiner On The Topic

• Jeff Weiner, the CEO of LinkedIn since 2008, has his unique take on compassionate
leadership. After serving several well-reputed organizations in leading positions, Jeff
revealed that the secret to his success in maintaining and running this incredibly rewarding
company is compassionate leadership. Weiner refers to compassionate leadership to have
‘an incredible competitive advantage’ over all other forms of professional strategies.
• Jeff Weiner’s discussions on workplace compassion reveal that kindness and empathy
brought a spiritual aspect to his professional life.
• Compassion taught him the true meaning of success, and that was when he began
implementing his core values into work.
• According to him, to be a compassionate leader, we have to feel and show compassion in all
other aspects of our lives as well. Weiner, in his musings, dedicated a share of his
leadership success to his loving partner and their fruitful marriage.
• Weiner’s revelations indicated that compassion could be learned and improved over time. If
we have the will to imbibe it into our working strategy, there is plenty of help available out
there. Jeff Weiner is a reassuring and lively example to us of the fruits compassionate
leadership can bear.
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