Corporate Compassion: one of the last untapped frontiers of authentic Leadership?

"It's hard to practice compassion when we're struggling with our authenticity or when our own worthiness is     off-balance."

Brené Brown

 

Leaders are subsumed by 'Thought Leadership' (and we use the term advisedly!) that extols the almost super-human list of virtues, skills and competencies that are required to achieve Corporate success.

In the real world of perfectly imperfect human beings, the Leaders we work with champion a very simple formula: you need to connect vision, values and results in a way that inspires and engages all those who are the stakeholders in your success.

The individuals who achieve this most effectively are those who are quite brilliant at reaching beyond cognitive and technical skills to intuitively make people feel visible, cherished and valued.

The beauty of this is that ALL those in leadership roles are equipped with a powerful toolkit of natural assets to achieve this exemplary level of success. But very few are skilled using them.

Are you?

 

Compassion: the new frontier of authentic Leadership?

Showing compassion in a person's moment of anguish is one of the most powerful portals to reinforcing a Leader's genuinely held belief that people matter. Compassion resonates with people in such an emotionally intimate way that, when used effectively, this simple human instinct has the potential to transform the depth and quality of relationship between a Leader and their employees. 

"Let us not underestimate how hard it is to be compassionate. Compassion is hard because it requires the inner disposition to go with others to places where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely and broken..." Henri J.M. Nouwen

Whilst the art of compassion is intrinsic to mankind throughout the world, however, exercising Corporate Compassion remains a dark art and may be one of the last untapped frontiers of authentic Leadership.

 

 

What gets in the way?

Compassion can be perceived as being emotionally indulgent at best and highly risky at worst.

For years, a Leader's strength and capability has been quantified by hard-edged measures. That is undoubtedly changing as greater emphasis on 'leading with feeling' brings long-overdue value to a Leader's soft skills and natural character. These traits are increasingly assessed alongside competencies, capacity and ability to deliver robust bottom-line results.

However, many Leaders remain conditioned to putting business before benevolence and restrict compassion to superficial platitudes. For those who embrace their responsbility to bring genuine compassion forward to people experiencing suffering and pain, this can be uncertain ground:

• How do you show compassion without becoming unduly sentimental and potentially making a bad situation worse?
• Does showing your softer side expose your own vulnerabilities to such an extent that your leadership credibility is put at risk?
• How do you handle being compassionate when you, yourself, may be the architect of their pain: a dilemma Leaders who have had to communicate redundancies know only too well?
• How can you be compassionate to another when you feel drained by dealing with constant crises, making tough decisions or are simply jetlagged?

Quick wins that bring configuration to compassion

These simple steps draw on core human qualities and coaching-based techniques to help you master the art of Corporate Compassion.

Simply notice

We know that the act of asking for support or help and openly receiving it is one of the hardest life skills to embrace. The majority of people strive to suffer in silence inhibited by a sense of shame, fear and a host of other toxic emotions. By keeping your intuition and leadership instincts on 'high alert' you will be amongst the first and perhaps even the only person to see their anguish. Simply notice. Then listen. Just talking about how they are feeling and knowing that someone is listening with genuine compassion lifts a person's burden sufficiently to let their own more positive emotions emerge. As David Oxberg is widely regarded to have said, "Being listened to is so close to being loved that most people cannot tell the difference." 

  Be clear on the difference beween empathy and sympathy

Compassion in the workplace requires Leaders to master the difference between empathy and sympathy. Yet even distinguishing between the two can be challenging. Sympathy is relatively easy to define: you feel sorry for someone, you share in their emotional turmoil, you comfort them and want to do whatever you can to take their pain away. Empathy is more subtle: you show that you recognise and relate to their anguish. You validate that what this person is feeling is perfectly understandable. You connect emotionally for sure, without judging them or their situation, but you engage from a predominantly cognitive level. Crucially, you share with them, you care with them but you do not step into the domain held by family and friends.

 

Handle the hurt 

To the extent that you can, take action to handle the hurt. This can be tricky. How far do you go to address the source of a person's pain? As every Leader knows, they invariably make decisions that create pain - it goes with the territory.

If the source of a person's anguish lies outside what is within the Leader's gift to influence or control, then the greatest value lies in simple kindnesses.

If the angst has arisen within the work environment, then the Leader is duty bound to address the source, wherever possible, and the consequences of it in any event. In his book 'Handling the Hurt', Peter Frost states..."Leaders are most effective when they use their emotions as a guide to respond to what has transpired and to its effect on others. They have a positive impact on the situation when they act with 'professional intimacy', showing care and concern without clouding their judgement by over-identifying with the sufferer.' This clearly requires keen judgement, meaningful action and no small measure of Leadership experience.

 

Next steps…

• Think about your own attitudes towards compassion

When have you been touched by the compassion of others within a professional setting? How did that show up for you? What could you carry forward into your own approach?  

• ‘Daring Greatly’ 

Read the review of this book by Anna Ellis here, our resident book reviewer! Anna highlights how the author of this amazing book brings new insight to how we can embrace vulnerability to help us deal with uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure. 

• eMasterclass (By Invitation only)

Sign up for the series of eMasterclass that commence on 6th Nov, 2014 at 1300 GMT:0800 EST when we will be exploring practical ways in which you can capitalise on your compassion to be a more effective Leader.

 

 

Register your interest

Please note: This complimentary eMasterclass is a peer forum for Senior LifeSciences Leaders only and does, therefore, have restrictions associated with it. In the event that this is not the right forum for you, there are many other ways in which we can help you to be a more effective Leader. So, please do get in touch with us and we will explore alternative options with you that may serve you better.