How to be a compassionate leader

In a world trying to emerge from a pandemic, with war back in Europe threatening global stability and with recession and climate change making life unbearable for billions, our shared planet does not appear to be a compassionate place. This is why compassionate leadership is needed more than ever before. But what makes a compassionate leader? 

In this interview with Stephen Conmy, Shaun Adams, the compassionate leadership consultant at the Irish Centre for Compassion Focused Therapy and founder of Compassion Connects, explains more. 

• Boards are custodians, they are there to both serve and lead
• Compassion is sensitivity toward suffering and a commitment to alleviate that suffering or prevent it from occurring
• Being kind or nice is not being a compassionate leader, they may be means of showing compassion but compassion is the ability to ‘suffer with’ people
• Attributes like emotional intelligence (EQ), self-awareness and mindfulness are essential to strong leadership … and so is compassion
• Compassion is the opposite of indifference, and it is one of the essential qualities that determine if you are a decent human being
• By the application of compassion in a measured, scientific way, leaders can optimise their team’s abilities, their decision making, and their creativity
• The ex-CEO of LinkedIn Jeff Weiner describes himself as a compassionate leader and a practitioner of compassionate management and he has studied the science of compassion, he’s not just talking about being kind or gentle
• One of Google’s recent internal studies – Project Aristotle – wanted to find out what makes a great team and the results show the importance of compassion and trust, vital human qualities
• One of the key reasons for the ‘great resignation’ is that the always-on Zoom meeting culture in many companies has generated cultures of micromanagement – which is the opposite of compassionate management 
• The ability to demonstrate trust and compassion separates great leaders from just managers 
• The current rise of ESG is hugely influenced by the emergence of compassionate leadership 

Discover more:

• The Irish Centre for Compassion Focused Therapy (ICCFT)
• Compassion Connects