3 Challenges Leaders Face When Creating A More Compassionate Workplace

In a world where employee engagement is at an all-time low, employee churn is at an all-time high, and the economic climate is complex and uncertain, companies need to make drastic changes to adapt to drastic times. This article looks at how Leaders can adapt their leadership style to be more compassionate.

“​​If you are tuned out of your own emotions, you will be poor at reading them in other people.” – Daniel Goleman

Let’s remember the background of how we got here. The entire planet was locked down at home on and off for over 2 years, living in fear and deprived of human social contact. This resulted in people getting lots of time back from no commute and no social distractions, to reflect on their lives.

After so many of us living in auto-pilot mode, all this time allowed us to stop and question our daily habits, the way we spend our time, who we spend our time with, and of course, what we do for a living. So when it comes to going back to resuming “normal” work life, things were always going to be hard. Things were never going to be the same. So how does this impact Leadership?

This recovery phase requires Leaders to find more compassion to support their teams. Many doctors and scientists describe lockdown as psychological trauma, so like all trauma recovery is necessary. Equally, how do you find a balance between giving space to your team, who needs to adjust to feel seen, heard, reassured and motivated, while at the same time clarifying what is expected from them and when they need to dig deep and perform like never before?

Challenge number 1

Finding compassion for ourselves, to find compassion for others

Our relationship with ourselves sets the tone for how we relate to others, as leaders and as human beings. We cannot give to others, what we cannot give to ourselves. Finding patience to slow down, to listen, to seek to understand, and to be supportive, takes energy and compassion. The extent to which we can hold space for someone else will depend on how good we are at being patient with ourselves, slowing down, listening to our needs, and finding a way to support ourselves with or without the assistance of others.

For example, if you are used to not asking for help, and doing everything yourself; you will project that onto others and expect the same from them. This may make you less compassionate towards others. If you take time for yourself to identify your needs and find ways to meet them, you will be more understanding of helping someone else with that process because it is familiar to you.

Challenge number 2

Understanding the impact of diverse personality types

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