It has been a banner year for the growth of compassionate leadership, with a bounty of valuable books that amplify the urgent call to deepen our understanding of how we act as humans in a global community, how we act with compassion to connect us, and how we can cooperatively face today’s deep existential challenges. We hope they capture the attention of your mind and the intention of your heart.
While the discourse has advanced beyond the call for more than ping pong tables, we know creating spaces where people feel positive about their organizations and their role in it is complex work. Culture is subtle because it is expressed through the way we experience an organization and how the setting shapes our thoughts and actions.
After a divisive election, as compassionate citizens and leaders we can choose not to see the options, the action of others, or our own actions through a black and white dualistic lens. We each have the power to choose reconnection and reconciliation and broaden our lens of perception. Try practicing these four approaches to constructing a more cooperative, compassionate world after the election…
Too often organizations break down into functional silos that separate or frustrate one another, or worse, pit one department or individual against another.
As leaders, it’s our responsibility to craft the ways in which all the people within the organization can depend on one another as we work towards common goals. We do this through networks…
Student. Teacher. Leader. Follower. CEO. Receptionist. Parent. Change Champion. Compassion Architect. Host. Elder. Human.
What do all of these titles have in common?
While seemingly different, all of these titles represent a few of the many different roles humans can take.
Roles are one of the most important tools that leaders can utilize to create compassion competence in their organizations.
New ways of working are leading to disconnection and disengagement, leaving people wondering, “What is my role here and can I even make the impact I want to make?” And yet, we often forget, we have the power to design the environments we want to thrive within. While the challenges are all around us, we believe there is a way to course correct.
September brings reminders of limited time before the calendar year ends. How many weeks left in the year? Not many! If you are looking at a very full plate of to-dos, is there a more compassionate series of thoughts and actions that will ease the path forward? How might you reorient your personal and organizational compass and recalibrate the long-term goals you set at the start of the year?
We are all wired with the same desires – to feel safe, to be loved. These needs put us on paths to seek connection and offer opportunities for our purest expressions of our humanity. There are many things that impede our attempts at getting these needs met. When leaders strive to create cultures of safety, connection, and belonging, we are meeting those core human needs. This is no easy feat.
In this Compassionate Leadership Case Study, we explore how Pinuccia Contino, the Deputy Director for Consumers – European Commission, used a department reorganization as an opportunity 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.
