Tips For Compassionate Leadership

No matter how skilled you are, how talented and knowledgeable you are, and how tactically you handle your team and your business; if you lack compassion, your team may not function well, your business may not reach the height it was supposed to. Because one of the major leadership skills and the cornerstone of any successful business is compassionate leadership.

In a survey conducted by Harvard, out of more than 1000 leaders to prove the importance of leadership, 91 percent thought compassion was very important for leadership. But many of them didn’t know how to develop this skill. The good thing is that building compassion as a leader is something every individual can do.

When it comes to compassionate leadership it means viewing employees both as an important asset and as an individual. People with compassionate leadership skills want to understand their team's needs and even provide the support they need to do their jobs well. In order to reach the height of success, you must inspire others to follow you, a leader is the one who can inspire others to follow them.

The hallmark of compassionate leadership is leading by example. But being compassionate doesn’t mean avoiding bad news or tolerating bad behavior just to avoid conflict because it may be an easier way but this will only lead to the failure of your team and teammates which is not what a leader does. As being a compassionate leader, you set high standards and help yourself and others to live up to them. Compassionate leaders always work for how can I make this better rather than thinking of what is beneficial only for him or them. A workplace that provides feedback, support, and professional development is a place an employee wishes to work.

When employees are more connected to each other and to the company they trust their leaders more and are even committed to the company which means employees are less likely to leave. Research shows that compassionate leadership results in lower turnover and better teamwork. Compassionate leadership is more than being nice at work, it is made up of habits we can practice every day.

Listen:

One of the keys to compassionate leadership is listening. A great leader doesn’t just wish to have listened but also wills to listen to his or her team. When you give your teammates an opportunity to speak without hesitation you not only earn their trust but can even help them feel more fulfilled at work. You earn their trust by listening to their voice. You can practice deep listening by making eye contact, using your body language affirmatively.

Communicate and understand:

A great leader is one who is a great communicator. No, we are not talking about public speaking skills or salesmanship but the art to communicate and that includes listening skills too. When you master listening skills you understand your team and their points better and you can influence them. Compassionate leadership is about using affirmative language. When you use encouraging words it causes the brain to produce the feel-good chemical, oxytocin. And when employees work feeling better they will be more productive.

Learn And Teach:

You are a leader because you know how to lead and not because you know everything and anything. Quite often, positions make people have misconceptions. Leading a team doesn’t mean you will know everything or you can, being a leader means being willing to learn and teach. The first step to compassionate leadership is to realize that you don’t know everything. Each and every person in the hierarchy has something to teach, as everyone has different experiences from which you can learn and you can teach them at the same time. Seek feedback from others around you, take your team's opinions, and ask for their suggestions because it takes self-awareness to practice compassionate leadership.

Be There:

Be there with your team by connecting with the day-to-day task of your team. Another way to be present is by seeking feedback and asking thoughtful questions and listening to the answers. Being a leader doesn’t mean you will be stuck in the corner office and hope that everything will go smoothly. Celebrating small achievements together and facing problems with your team will signify that you care for them and even respect them. Compassionate leadership means being present.

Master your emotions:

If you are having a bad day or a stressful situation is surrounding you, it may get hard to practice compassionate leadership. But it is fine because no one can feel kind and considerate all the time but great leaders know how to overpower their emotions rather than letting their emotions overpower them. Compassionate leaders don’t lash out their waves of anger at others just because they are having a bad day, instead, they trust their team members, inspire them, help them to innovate and do better, to reach the heights of success.

Express Gratitude:

Showing compassion as a leader is very important, humans want to feel important and when you give some recognition to employees for their accomplishments, they feel like they are significant. Being grateful removes your fear and in the workplace showing your gratitude and giving recognition to your team for their accomplishment can inspire them to work even harder and better.