Compassion and Empathy: A guide to passionate leadership communication reform
An academic review of how empathetic and compassionate leadership is the path to effective leadership.
Empathy in Leadership. A problem or an opportunity?
Leaders generally do not see the profitability of compassionate and empathetic leadership. The idea of leadership limits the capabilities of providing a strong moral compass for their followers. The opportunity here is to showcase that leadership can be just as effective when conducted through compassionate and empathetic communication skills.
Describe your image
Describe your image
Describe your image
Describe your image
What is empathy? Dictionary.com defines empathy as the psychological identification with or vicarious experiencing of the emotions, thoughts, or attitudes of another. So what does empathy have to do with leadership? In the servant style of leadership, understanding and the application of influence are more persuasive than a simplified power structure. Everyone has their own unique leadership style, and in this whitepaper, I will implore you to explore the fascinating implications that empathy and compassion can have on your leadership style.
When you think about leadership, what are your first thoughts? Are they that a person is powerful, intimidating, or stern? That there are regiments and a strict personality type someone is born with?
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Leadership does not have to be a stern practice. Leadership does not have to be strict. Understanding that we are all humans with emotions leads to more effective leadership communication. Studies have suggested that empathy is the foundation for building compassionate leadership.
“Compassionate leaders are expected to take actions to protect, maintain, or restore wellbeing. physical, mental health and wellbeing of employees especially for stressful occupational conditions.”(Ramachandran et al., 2023).
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Mental health and stress have been hot buzzwords in the workplace for the past few years, with many leadership teams creating ways to tackle the problem. But what if it were simpler? What if simply recognizing the emotions of your team could affect their mental health and emotional wellbeing?
So, how do we achieve empathy in leadership? The answer is through the servant leadership style. “The emphasis in servant leadership theory is on leaders whose primary aim is to serve their followers while developing employees to their fullest potential in different areas such as task effectiveness, community stewardship, self-motivation, and also the development of their leadership capabilities.” (van Dierendonck & Patterson, 2014).
That’s all fine, but how can a leader be empathetic? A leader achieves this by showing gratitude and resilience. Before they can enact these ideals onto others, they must first achieve this within themselves. According to Dr. Jeff Thompson’s article with Psychology Today, Resilience and the Practice of Gratitude, the practice of gratitude helps you manage tough feelings and reminds you to pause and make time for yourself.
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As Jeff Thompson, PhD, suggests, reflect on the day with very specific goals in mind.
1. Write down one thing that made you happy.
2. Write down one thing that someone else did nice for you.
3. Write down one thing that you did nice for someone else.
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Cultivating gratitude is not just about feeling good, it is about changing the way your brain functions. “But the effects of gratitude go deeper. Research from the University of California, Berkeley, suggests that gratitude shifts brain function, engaging the prefrontal cortex—an area critical for decision-making, emotional regulation and complex problem-solving. This part of the brain helps leaders manage stress, think more clearly under pressure and make better, more thoughtful decisions.” (Gomes, 2024). The ability to make more thoughtful decisions in both your personal and professional life, while simultaneously honing your problem-solving skills, will only serve to bolster your credibility in the eyes of your peers and colleagues.
Four Practical Ways to Cultivate Gratitude
1. Gratitude Journaling
2. Mindful Reflections
3. Express Gratitude in Your Team
4. Gratitude in Leadership
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(Gomes 2024)
Once you know yourself, you can create a culture of openness, which will promote the idea of compassion in the workplace. “Constant and open communications from leaders was found to helped alleviate the negative feelings developed at workplace.” (Ramachandran et al., 2023). When you embrace the idea of compassionate leadership, you will achieve a stronger connection and more engagement with those who follow you.
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Empathy is not something that is exclusive to the leader’s mind; it is more widespread. Instead of just a basic mind-based exchange of information, empathy leadership practices have now developed into a constructive process.
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We can understand developing a compassionate leadership style in four components.
“1. Attending—paying attention to others and noticing their suffering;
2. Understanding—understanding what is causing others' distress by making an appraisal of the cause, ideally through a dialogue;
3. Empathizing—having a felt empathic response, to some extent mirroring others' distress;
4. Helping or serving—taking thoughtful, skilled, and appropriate action to help relieve others' suffering or help them cope more effectively.” (Benevene et al., 2022).
Embracing effective, compassionate leadership communication can achieve high levels of loyalty from employees, which in turn increases profitability, work-life balance and the employee’s mental health. “Compassionate leaders have a crucial role in promoting and delivering compassionate cultures at work. They embody both a sensitivity to the challenges that those they lead face and a commitment to help them respond effectively to those challenges and thrive in their work process.” (Benevene et al., 2022).