In celebration of this week’s International Day of Peace, we would like to share the article we wrote for this summer’s Peace Chronicle, the journal of the Peace and Justice Studies Association. Peace and justice require us to address the systemic issues underlying and causing suffering. Systems change is where courage and compassion come together to make a difference in our challenged world.
The journey of life and leadership is a never-ending series of cycles, requiring different optimal action depending on the circumstances. There are two constants central to the work of every compassionate leader: self-compassion and the recognition of our shared common humanity. These two provide a powerful foundation for compassionate leaders to act, and guide their choice of the approach to use.
We all recognize that compassion requires kindness. The research shows that compassion comes more easily to those who nurture instinctively. But if we stop there in our consideration of compassion, we miss out on some of the most important and powerful parts of compassion – those parts that exhibit courage and strength. In organizations in particular, courageous compassion is particularly necessary.
