Compassionate Leadership Case Study
Pinuccia Contino – Deputy Director for Consumers
– European Commission
It started with a shaky yes. Back in 2021, Pinuccia Contino was asked to fill in and lead monthly compassion breaks while her colleague had to step away. Pinuccia had never led a meditation in her life, still she said yes. The sessions were well received. And, later, when her department’s human resource section heard about the success of these efforts, they, too, asked her to provide sessions on compassion and meditation to support the staff. Pinuccia said yes again, and she shares, “From that time on, one of my mottos has become: never say no to compassion.”
Over the last 33 years, Pinuccia has worked in numerous roles for the European Commission and currently serves as the Deputy Director for Consumers. The European Commission has 33,000 employees – each with their own stories, triumphs and struggles. In this vibrant community, Pinuccia holds a vision for what can be possible. She shares, “the institution has a historic mission in the sense that we are trying to bring peace and uphold fundamental rights and humanistic values for the continent. For this reason, I do believe that getting it right as an organization is fundamental, not only for Europe, but for humankind. Because the way we're doing this shows that everybody else can do it too. I believe in the value of this endeavour for the whole of humankind.”
After two successful attempts at building new sessions designed to bring compassion to the workplace, she boldly crafted an email to the Director General of Human Resources suggesting ideas about the power of compassion. This became her first lesson in humility along this journey. Pinuccia shares, “I was telling her about the power of compassion. And maybe she'd listen to me, right? And no, she didn't. What was the chance that one random email from one of 33,000 staff members would get the attention of the Director-General of Human Resources of the whole institution?”
Rather than be discouraged, Pinuccia persisted and changed course. As circumstances would have it, her own department was facing a reorganization process, and the staff was presented with an opportunity to propose new project groups. She knew she didn’t want to make the same mistakes as she did the first time. Pinuccia zoomed out, looking at the organization as a whole.
She shares, “I started exploring the foundation of the European Union. Our treaty says that the aim of the union is to promote peace, our values, and the well-being of our peoples (Article 3.1 of Treaty on European Union). So I thought, okay, let's bring well-being to the table because of course, compassion is inside that. This is something that I would like to highlight here: compassion can tie in with many existing hooks at work, because there are hooks in every organization: hooks on purpose, hooks on mission, hooks on what you really want to bring to the world. And then you can attach compassion, because it will decrease suffering in the world.”
Two years had passed since she’d run her first compassion session as a volunteer, and now her work was starting to gain the attention of other colleagues. She was able to link the power of well-being and compassion to the pillars of her department’s work, aligning with both the values and purpose of the organization.
Creating change requires permission from both participants and leaders; it requires change at the culture level and at the individual level. With the support of the colleague responsible for human resources in her department, they began drafting project proposals and plans that actively involved 70 of the 550 department employees. Their enthusiasm and traction were not for naught. Her department now boasts a well-being strategy including a charter, representative Board, and rolling action plan.
All this, of course, requires commitment and investment. Over the last three years, Pinuccia has facilitated more than 130 sessions, sharing with more than 3,000 people what compassion is, how they can bring compassion into their lives, and into the organization. And there have been other elements like posts on LinkedIn, podcasts, articles and more to encourage community building, sharing of success stories, and inspiration leading others to see places they might start.
She says, “I continue widening the possibilities of offering sessions and explanations and meditations on compassion and on experiencing compassion and self-compassion to peers, to senior managers, potentially to any colleague in my department, and beyond.”
Key Takeaways
In an organization the size of the EC, it would be easy for Pinuccia’s journey to feel daunting. Yet, in her words below she shares the following key elements of success for her journey so far:
Establish Legitimacy
“Studying the research, knowing the latest results, new neurological and psychological studies was vital to getting heard in the first place.”She achieved this by studying, first to become an Ambassador of Applied Compassion certified by Stanford, and then learning more about organizational compassion with additional certification through CFCL’s Compassionate Leadership Certification Training.
“Everyone could find a reason why we should not do this work. So, having the scientific basis, the evidence, and being able to reference it was really a fundamental element.”
Humility and Self-compassion
“We cannot afford to be blinded by our own enthusiasm and our own vision of things. Sometimes life just comes around and says, maybe it’s better to go the other way. And when we are humble, we can see that and we will learn by doing. Find your own space and resources as well."
Bringing change requires the change agent to stay resourced. Compassionate leadership flows from the inside out. You have to develop self-compassion first.
Vulnerability and Courage
“When I said yes to my friend, without even knowing how to lead a meditation, well, you could think I was more reckless than anything else. But courage, I realized, is not something that we're born with. It's just a choice. Because when we show that we are vulnerable, we are courageous, and we are happy to learn from our mistakes: then new ways of thinking, and new ways of doing open up for us, for our team, for our allies, for everybody around us.”
Find Your Hook
“This work ties directly to the type of culture the institution is striving to create – a place with a compassion-based culture, sustainable performance ensuring work-life balance, and quality of relationships. Once you get some momentum, then build on it by offering solutions that are aligned with existing organizational values.”
Pinuccia stayed focused on the expressed values of well-being as the “raison d'etre” of bringing compassion, and this resonated both with staff and top management. Connect your efforts to the values and purpose of where you are working. Look for programs and initiatives that are already in motion and that are aligned with compassion. There are hooks within every organization, and the path will be much smoother when you bring your energy in support of these existing efforts.
Set Intentions Firmly – Without Being Attached to the Results
“I do what I can, but in the end, I have no idea what will come out of it. Three years ago, if somebody had told me, you know, your department will set up a well-being strategy with a well-being board and a rolling action plan, and compassion will be among its pillars, I would have thought ‘you're mad!’. But this is what's happening.”
Thank Your Allies
“This is not work we can do alone. Sometimes it's really challenging. And there are days where I can't do that. Four years ago, I was not aware of the community support this would call for. Yet, my colleagues, but also my loved ones, my teachers, my fellow students, my friends, and all the many other people who have supported me all along the journey with their encouragement, suggestions, requests, help, gratitude, have offered me the resources and led me to discover the power of gratitude, which is actually another manifestation of love.”
In Closing…
So, as you set out on your journeys, remember “Inevitably, we all want to do our best and we all make mistakes.” Pinuccia encourages us all when she invites us to remember, “Okay, I will do my best today. Anyway, it doesn't happen in one day. You just repeat, repeat, repeat. And you go on, exploring who you are, and your purpose and how you can be more compassionate. And you will see the seeds of compassion grow and expand in unexpected ways.”
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