Compassionate leadership: a powerful resource to boost a team

Warren Bennis once said that a good leader is one who is able to convey a personal vision to a group. Today, we know that this definition falls short, very short. In fact, Nothing is as complex as managing a group of people and influencing them so that they can give their best.. In the midst of this context, compassionate leadership perhaps stands out as one of the most interesting approaches.

Something that publishers know well is that this topic is always current.. Who most and who least has had an unsuccessful boss, one of those who orbit between authoritarianism and narcissism. Understanding why they are like this is interesting.

Daniel Goleman explains to us in his book How to be a leader that One way to improve business performance and innovation is by applying emotional intelligence throughout the organization.. Strategies such as good communication, correct management of emotions and a successful exercise of empathy, significantly improve the atmosphere and management of every leader with his human team.

However, the truth is that Most of the time we stick to good intentions and none (or very little) of this is actually applied effectively..

Not by taking a course and not by working a few hours with an expert in mentoring The bad leader is going to become a good leader. It is a complex process, because there are personality factors, genetic components and acquired habits that make change difficult.

However, it is something that should be worked on. Let’s delve into the topic.

What is compassionate leadership?

Compassion can basically be defined as the desire to be kind to others.. We could say that it is a practice that is not abundant, but something that we know well from the field of psychology and neuroscience is that few dimensions have such an influence on human beings.

Compassion is the opposite of aggression, submission, authoritarianism and even indifference.. Compassionate leadership is a person’s ability to be close and understanding to the team they lead. Even more, etymologically, compassion derives from two words: “suffer with”.

The person who allows themselves to share the daily concerns of their loved ones and connects with their emotional realities will have a greater impact on their loved ones.

Let’s get to know the dimensions that define compassionate leadership.

The key is empathy

Great leaders are not those with the best abilities to control, order, or transmit their ideas to others. Actually, The great leader is the one who manages to inspire. It is that person who understands the personal experience of others and awakens their strengths through motivation and trust. Something like this is only achieved through an exceptional psychic tendon: empathy.

This dimension is capable of eliminating confusion, opening doors and enhancing the best in each person.

The compassionate leader guides his team and learns from them

Leadership needs feedback. It is a continuous exercise where you guide, inspire and guide others and, in turn, learn from those around you.. Because nothing is as complex and rich at the same time as a work team, where differences arise, where innovative and risky ideas flourish and where, of course, mistakes are also made.

Compassion allows leaders to use a flexible mindset to know how to manage and learn from all these situations.. It is being receptive every day to every experience with openness and generosity.

Compassionate leadership, therefore, recognizes in turn that each member of the group is not only an important someone, they are also a decisive piece of the project and that thread that holds the fabric of an entire organization.

An approach based on abundance and growth

Another fundamental piece of compassionate leadership is the mental, emotional and behavioral approach of the figure who heads a company. The person who maintains an attitude based on the sense of abundance, growth and improvement, progresses.

On the other hand, those who insist on inflexibility, traditionalism and ensuring that nothing changes stagnate and rarely know how to face challenges.

Compassion is knowing how to connect from optimism. It is seeing ten solutions to each problem and not ten problems to each situation. The person who exercises this dimension daily inspires others and creates a comfortable and satisfying work environment.

Is it possible to move from authoritarian leadership to compassionate leadership?

We pointed out at the beginning: it is not easy to achieve change in a leader and more so, if he is accustomed to developing vertical leadership, if he is basically an autocratic boss who exercises power from the top down. How then can we get him to orient himself towards a more compassionate perspective through a more horizontal scheme?

The answer is complicated. And it is not because When we talk about leadership, what is behind it in many cases is a personality style. One communicates, works, and manages challenges and difficulties based on one’s experience, needs, attitudes, and personality variables. The narcissistic leader will hardly become a compassionate leader.

Beyond this reality, there is an undeniable fact. The leadership style affects the organization and marks its success and survival in the market.

A bad leader is like a virus that infects and weakens everything. Hence, each person who is in charge of a team, whether business, sports or any other type, must reflect on themselves. The impact he generates on others is the most decisive.

Choosing compassionate leadership can change everything.

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