Why We Need More Compassionate Leaders

Put people first with 6 simple steps

Employees working from home enjoy the reprieve from stressful commutes. Many of them even say they work more efficiently away from crowded offices, but if the past few years have taught us anything, it is to value human connection and balance in our lives. While it's true that finding balance is easier when you can choose where to work, the same can't always be said about connection.

A few years on from the pandemic, hybrid has become the optimal way people work, but there is a drawback. While balancing work and family is more manageable, collaboration with colleagues is limited and working alone can leave people feeling isolated. To exacerbate the problem, managers don't always notice struggling remote workers until it is too late.

To foster a healthy social culture in hybrid workplaces, leaders should become more human-centred. This means that they must create an environment which pays attention to individual needs of employees and always puts people first. 

Leading a human-centred organisation

Spotify recently announced the return of 'Wellness Week' -  a paid week where employees can focus on their wellness away from the office. Some people travel during this time, while others visit their family, tend their gardens, or catch up on a long-awaited Netflix series. 

Spotify says that the initiative, "...is not a magic potion that fixes underlying mental health issues". However, they explain that "...looking after our people and giving them the space to take this kind of break is what being a true people-first organisation is all about."

Of course, this bold approach is impractical for most organisations, so how can smaller businesses become more people-focused? Spotify says: "not every business in the world can shut down their offices for an entire week, but every organisation and HR team should be doing what they can to focus on the health, safety and wellbeing of their workforce." 

Some companies offer yoga classes, massage vouchers, or organise social events. While these health and social benefits are appreciated, small changes that improve daily work life play a bigger role in improving wellness. Employees who feel seen and heard and whose work is valued have better general wellbeing, so it's important to start there. When leaders interact with their team and get to know their employees on a personal level, they will cultivate a compassionate, people-focused environment.

What is a compassionate leader, and why do we need them?

Compassionate leadership puts people first: this means that it makes decisions based on the needs and requirements of individuals. Anybody who has worked for a discontented leader knows that productivity and morale suffer, whereas contented leaders create a positive work environment where employees grow and thrive. For some people, empathy is a natural skill, but for most of us it is learned over time. Therefore, to positively influence others, leaders must learn to model empathy and practise compassion towards themselves first. Whether learned or taught, empathy is essential for human-centred teams.

With our ever expanding networks, companies must balance the organisation's needs with those of its leaders, employees, customers, and even the wider community. While this might seem like an impossible task, in reality it simply requires leaders to adopt a more mindful approach.

What do compassionate leaders do differently?

Gone are the days of bosses sitting behind large desks in closed offices. Instead, people-focused leaders play an active role in the teams they manage, which can be even more challenging to attain in a hybrid office. Essential tips to improve your compassionate leadership skills in the workplace include:

How do you become a compassionate leader?

Do you want to be more people-focused? Follow these 6 steps:

1. Increase your self-awareness. Emotional intelligence helps us manage stress and make critical decisions. Harvard suggests asking your team for feedback to reveal any weaknesses or blind spots. Not only does reflecting on constructive criticism help you grow personally, but it creates a safe space to deliver feedback to your employees.
   
   
2. Find your purpose. Engagement improves when employees feel connected and know their work matters. To be a good manager, you must find value in your own professional and private goals before you can support team members with theirs.
   
   
3. Be a coach. Successful leaders are invested in their team. Like a sports coach, they lead by example; encouraging and empowering their employees to develop and grow. Sometimes this means modelling your expectations, and other times it means stepping back and watching from the sidelines. The conversations that happen before and after critical moments are where the power of coaching lies. If you want to develop your skills in this area, taking a coaching course is an ideal way to support your team.
   
   
4. Reward your team. Let people know when they do something well. Saying thank you publicly and privately increases motivation and boosts productivity. Open up the meeting floor for employees to share each other's achievements; this works especially well for bringing small, easily missed actions to your attention.
   
   
5. Practise humility. Accept that you are not always right. Sometimes your team knows more than you, but that’s why you brought them together, right? When you harness the strength of your team, you allow them to compensate for any weaknesses and build each other up. 
   
   
6. Combine compassion with wisdom. Don't confuse being compassionate with being soft. Sometimes, leaders have to make tough decisions, and you will have to deliver difficult feedback or bad news to your employees. Approach these conversations with empathy and kindness.

The behaviour of the leader sets employee expectations and influences company culture. Therefore, leaders must strive to implement practices that put people first and build strong, productive teams.