Unleash the compassion within to make a bigger impact as a leader.
When it comes to successful leadership, being compassionate is increasingly being considered a huge strength, and is not anymore seen as being soft or weak. It is certainly something we can work to bring out more of, and become even better as leaders.
Perhaps, the most basic ingredient for becoming a more compassionate leader is having the Intention to be helpful. If the basic intentionality is there, then, it is simply a question of turning up the volume. Getting inspired by the lives of great leaders like Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., is a nice way to ignite the spark within. We can then embrace techniques from the ancient wisdom traditions that recommend inner-work practices like Metta, Mindfulness, etc., to enhance the basic traits within. In recent years, advances in neuroscience, have developed many cognitive techniques too.
Another valuable quality that we need is fortitude. It takes real fortitude to be compassionate in all possible situations that can could come up and test our resolve as a leader. Like for example, Mother Terresa was on the streets of Kolkata - the way she relentlessly nursed the acutely sick was simply stupendous, and nothing short of superhuman.
Yet another attribute when it comes to compassion is selflessness. To be as deeply compassionate as Mother Terresa, again, one must be completely selfless. Now, being like her of course is a very tall order, and most of us may not get up to that level. Yet, the lesson we can draw from her example is to strive for maximum selflessness. As a leader we are often called upon to go above & beyond our personal challenges, in the overall interest.
Taking Initiative is another key consideration. Often we feel that we should have that conversation with our team member, who is seemingly upset, or under stress, or something like that, yet we don't. Well we won't know until we make an attempt to find out. To be able to really help, we must take action as needed and that calls for initiative.
In summary, the the four main qualities we need to be attain compassionate leadership mastery, are:
Compassionate leaders no doubt make better leaders, and of course become more sought-after as a consequence. If you have been thinking about it, then no better time than now to water the seeds of compassion within. Like with anything transformational, one must stay the course, and work thru the challenges.
What challenges do you see coming up in trying to take your level of compassion a few notches higher?
Excited that you are with me on this journey of becoming an even more sought-after leader through this "Leadership Impact Insights" Newsletter.
WORK TOGETHER:
.
Well-Being, Stress Resiliency, & Peak Performance ~ NKB Consultancy ~ Lecturer in Law at USC Law School
3 个月Wonderful guidance on the power of compassionate leadership.
Spiritual Mentor to Leaders || Equipping leaders to excel in spite of modern day work stresses and derailing midlife adversities || Inner Shift Facilitator
4 个月As we all know, the business environment these days is typically about revenues & profits, and so even leaders who are genuinely compassionate often find it quite challenging to be so. Would love to what's your experience about this?