The world is hurting. Leaders are uniquely positioned to bring about urgent change and healing. What does it mean to develop leaders based on principles of compassion? In our prior post we delved into compassion. In this post, we explore leadership. We will expand on the combination of compassion and leadership in our next post.
At the Center for Compassionate Leadership, we choose to use a straightforward definition of leadership: the ability to motivate others to a shared goal. We are all too familiar with the many pervasive, unjust, and outmoded ways to lead. In fact, research shows that leading with compassion is one of the most effective approaches to leadership and creates cultures of safety, connection and belonging.
SHARED GOALS
Motivating others is so much easier and more effective when the target of the motivation is truly shared goals. The challenge is that power disparities can lead team members to express agreement more readily than they truly feel. The absence of dissent is not the same thing as agreement.
To reach agreement around goals, start with getting as much input as can be gathered efficiently. Making a decision first and then pursuing “buy-in” after the fact is a weak substitute for seeking and using input before setting goals. This requires a strong culture of psychological safety where team members feel free to speak up without fear of retaliation or punishment. It also requires healthy emotional intelligence to read between the lines and see subtle expressions of hesitation that may feel hard to state directly. If you hear any resistance to a given goal, lean in. Be curious.
Effective goal setting requires leaders to hold the tension between polarities well, as one must balance the “need for speed” to make decisions quickly with the benefit of getting input from a wider audience. Once the decision is made, clarity around the plan itself and the path towards the goals set the stage for effectively motivating teams.
MOTIVATING OTHERS
The idea that leadership is a function of position within a hierarchy is misleading. Anyone can motivate. Anyone can be a leader. To activate your own leadership, picture the change you want to bring in the world, and consider the ways that you can work with others to catalyze that change. With that one intentional step you are firmly on the path of compassionate leadership.
Connection to a deeper purpose and to an understanding of the reason behind any given action is one of the most powerful and enduring forms of motivation. When goal setting has been clear and involved an inclusive decision-making process, motivating through purpose becomes easeful. People understand the purpose of what they are being asked to do and can keep their eyes on the prize. This approach can be contrasted with heavier handed approaches – both carrots and sticks – that are focused on compliance. Fear- or shame-based motivations distract people from the true purpose of work.
A second important leadership practice around motivation is the practice of leading by example. The fastest path to demotivation is the path of hypocrisy – doing one thing while asking others to do something different. Recognizing how your actions are received by your team requires a high degree of self-awareness. Awareness is critical for compassion. Self-awareness can be a particularly difficult form of awareness. Leading by example requires the regular practice of intentional self-awareness.
COMMUNITY
Supportive community is crucial for the creation of effective leadership. In a healthy, caring community people look out for each other and do whatever it takes to keep moving forward. There are so many competitive influences in organizational life that collaborative, supportive community can be a challenge to create. Clarity in objective, trust in each other, and a willingness to pitch in and do whatever it takes are some of the elements that will contribute to effective, efficient teamwork. These will only unfold when people feel connected to each other, feel that they belong fully to the group, and feel safe to act when needed.
IN CLOSING…
Each of us needs to envision our part as we contribute to a better world. Leading from right where we are can have enormous impact, no matter your current position or scope of influence. Leading from our hearts is what it will take to reimagine the systems and structures that are currently causing suffering around the globe. A peaceful and just world is possible when we lead through the lens of compassion.
If you are curious to discover more about how to put compassion into action in leadership and organizations, please consider joining our global learning community of compassionate leaders. We regularly offer new programs in compassionate leadership training. If you’d like to learn more about participating in these upcoming courses, click here to complete our program inquiry form. We look forward to exploring compassion together.