Good Care Makes Good Sense
It's natural to wonder whether compassion might cause a leader to be seen as weak, soft, or a "push-over." Will others use my compassionate leadership style as an excuse to slack off? Or as reason to take advantage of kindness and sink further into under-performance? What if kindness erodes employee accountability and decreases respect for leaders?
These are understandable concerns. Certainly, a leadership style that embraces caring and empathy while refusing to hold boundaries and accountability risks undermining employee respect and performance. But, as Hougaard and Carter point out, that sort of leadership style is better described as "caring avoidance" rather than "wise compassion."
Authentic leader compassion is strong and effective--especially during times of organizational stress, hardship, or change. Dr. Jane Dutton, an organizational scholar at the University of Michigan, summarizes her years of research on compassionate leadership with the following statement:
“We’ve found that a leader’s ability to enable a compassionate response throughout a company directly affects the organization’s ability to maintain high performance in difficult times. It fosters a company’s capacity to heal, to learn, to adapt, and to excel.”
Other researchers agree with the overall picture Dutton paints. While researching for the Roffey Park Institute, leadership development specialist Meysam Poorkavoos found that high levels of compassionate leadership in organizations are linked to the following:
Additionally, recent research by Hougaard and Carter reveals the following benefits of compassionate leadership in organizations:
Compassion does not undermine a leader's effectiveness. Rather, compassion enables leaders to "do hard things in a human way," supercharging their ability to develop, support, inspire, and guide--especially in difficult times.
These are understandable concerns. Certainly, a leadership style that embraces caring and empathy while refusing to hold boundaries and accountability risks undermining employee respect and performance. But, as Hougaard and Carter point out, that sort of leadership style is better described as "caring avoidance" rather than "wise compassion."
Authentic leader compassion is strong and effective--especially during times of organizational stress, hardship, or change. Dr. Jane Dutton, an organizational scholar at the University of Michigan, summarizes her years of research on compassionate leadership with the following statement:
“We’ve found that a leader’s ability to enable a compassionate response throughout a company directly affects the organization’s ability to maintain high performance in difficult times. It fosters a company’s capacity to heal, to learn, to adapt, and to excel.”
Other researchers agree with the overall picture Dutton paints. While researching for the Roffey Park Institute, leadership development specialist Meysam Poorkavoos found that high levels of compassionate leadership in organizations are linked to the following:
- Stronger employee/collegial bonds
- Increased affective commitment
- Supervisors who actively show support to those they manage
- A healthier and happier work environment
- Improved customer service
- Heightened employee satisfaction and commitment
- Strengthened relationships in the organization
- Reduced turnover
- Boosted employee engagement
- Heightened sense of organizational citizenship
- Greater levels of overall health and wellbeing amongst employees
- Faster, more full-orbed recovery in employees suffering from grief and trauma
Additionally, recent research by Hougaard and Carter reveals the following benefits of compassionate leadership in organizations:
- Leaders who rate themselves high on compassion have 66 percent lower stress than their less compassionate counterparts, 200% lower intention to resign, and 14% higher efficacy.
- Employees who experience their leader or manager as compassionate have 34% higher job satisfaction and 36% higher organizational commitment. They are also 54% happier with their leader, and experience 22% less burn out.
Compassion does not undermine a leader's effectiveness. Rather, compassion enables leaders to "do hard things in a human way," supercharging their ability to develop, support, inspire, and guide--especially in difficult times.
Compassion and Self-Compassion in Organizations:
Select Sources
Arch, Joanna J., Kirk Warren Brown, Derek J. Dean, Lauren N. Landy, Kimberly D. Brown, and Mark L. Laudenslager. “Self-Compassion Training Modulates Alpha-Amylase, Heart Rate Variability, and Subjective Responses to Social Evaluative Threat in Women.” Psychoneuroendocrinology 42 (2014): 49-58.
Banker, Darshna V. and Kanika T. Bhal. “Understanding Compassion from Practicing Managers’ Perspective: Vicious and Virtuous Forces in Business Organizations.” Global Business Review 21, no. 1 (2018): 1-21.
Brown, Brené. Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone. New York: Random House, 2017.
Burch, Vidyamala and Danny Penman. Mindfulness for Health: A Practical Guide to Relieving Pain, Reducing Stress and Restoring Wellbeing. London: Piatkus, 2013.
Butz, Sebastian and Dagmar Stahlberg. “The Relationship Between Self-Compassion and Sleep Quality: An Overview of a Seven-Year German Research Program.” Behavioral Sciences 10, no. 3 (2020): 64-76.
Cozolino, Louis. The Neuroscience of Human Relationships: Attachment and the Developing Social Brain. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006.
Dietze, Pia, and Eric D. Knowles. “Social Class Predicts Emotion Perception and Perspective-Taking Performance in Adults.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 47, no. 1 (January 2021): 42–56.
Dundas, Ingrid, Per-Einar Binder, Tia G.B. Hansen, and Signe Hjelen Stige. “Does a Short Self-Compassion Intervention for Students Increase Healthy Self-Regulation?” Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 58, no. 5 (2017): 443-450.
Dutton, Jane E., Kristina M. Workman, and Ashley E. Hardin. “Compassion at Work.” Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior 1, no. 1 (2014): 277-304.
Dutton, Jane E., Peter J. Frost, Monica C. Worline, Jacoba M. Lilius, and Jason M. Kanov. “Leading in times of Trauma.” Harvard Business Review 80, no. 1 (2002): 54-61.
Ewert, Christina, Benjamin Gaube, Fay Caroline, and Mary Geisler. “Dispositional Self-Compassion Impacts Immediate and Delayed Reactions to Social Evaluation.” Personality and Individual Differences 125, no. 15 (April 2018): 91-96.
Forester, J. and G. McKibbon. "Beyond Blame: Leadership, Collaboration and Compassion in the Time of COVID-19." Socio-Ecological Practical Research 2 (2020): 205–216.
Frost, Peter J., Jane E. Dutton, Monica C. Worline, and Annette Wilson. “Narratives of Compassion in Organizations.” In Emotion in Organizations, 2nd edition, edited by Stephen Fineman, 25-45. Thousand Oakes, CA: Sage Publications, 2000.
Fulton, Cheryl L. “Self-Compassion as a Mediator of Mindfulness and Compassion for Others.” Counseling & Values 63, no. 1 (2018): 45-56.
Fuochi, Giulia, Chiara A. Veneziani, and Alberto Voci. “Exploring the Social Side of Self-Compassion: Relations With Empathy and Outgroup Attitudes.” European Journal of Social Psychology 48, no. 6 (2018): 769-783.
Gilbert, Paul. “Compassion: From Its Evolution to a Psychotherapy.” Frontiers in Psychology 9 (December 2020): 1-31.
Goodwin, Bryan. “Wanted: Compassion: When Empathy Wanes, the Best Response Might Be to Strengthen Compassion.” Educational Leadership 75, no. 3 (2017): 81-81.
Haque, Omar Sultan and Adam Waytz. “Why Doctors Should be More Empathic—But Not Too Much More.” Scientific American (April 26, 2011): https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/doctors-and-dehumanization-effect/
Hollingsworth, Andrea. “Implications of Interpersonal Neurobiology for a Spirituality of Compassion.” Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science 43, no. 4 (2008): 837-860.
________. “The Architecture of Apophasis: Exploring Options for a Cognitive Scientific Interpretation of the Via Negativa.” Religion, Brain, and Behavior 6, no. 4 (2016): 290-306.
Hougaard, Rasmus and Jacqueline Carter. Compassionate Leadership: How to Do Hard Things in a Human Way. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press, 2022.
Homan, Kristin. “Secure Attachment and Eudaimonic Well-being in Late Adulthood: The Mediating Role of Self-Compassion.” Aging and Mental Health 22, no. 3 (2018): 363-370.
Karol M. Wasylyshyn and F. Masterpasqua. “Developing Self-Compassion in Leadership Development Coaching: A Practice Model and Case Study Analysis.” International Coaching Psychology Review 13, no. 1 (2018): 21–34.
Kanov, Jason M., Sally Maitlis, Monica C. Worline, Jane E. Dutton, Peter J. Frost, and Jacoba M. Lilius. “Compassion in Organizational Life.” American Behavioral Scientist 47, no. 6 (Feb. 2004): 808-827.
Klimecki, Olga M., Susanne Leiberg, Claus Lamm, and Tania Singer. “Functional Neural Plasticity and Associated Changes in Positive Affect After Compassion Training.” Cerebral Cortex 23, no. 7 (2013): 1552-1561.
Ko, Sung-Hoon, Jongsung Kim, and Yongjun Choi. “Compassion and Workplace Incivility: Implications for Open Innovation.” Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity 7, no. 95 (2021): 1-12.
Kraus, Michael W., Stéphane Côté, and Dacher Keltner. “Social Class, Contextualism, and Empathic Accuracy.” Psychological Science 21, no. 11 (November 2010): 1716–23.
Lefebvre, Jade-Isis, Francesco Montani, and François Courcy. “Self-Compassion and Resilience at Work: A Practice-Oriented Review.” Advances in Developing Human Resources 22, no. 4 (November 2020): 437–52.
Lefebvre, Jade-Isis, Francesco Montani, and François Courcy. “Self-Compassion and Resilience at Work: A Practice-Oriented Review.” Advances in Developing Human Resources 22, no. 4 (November 2020): 437–52.
Mayer, Kathryn. “HRE’s Number of the Day: Mental Health Help.” Human Resource Executive (January 19, 2021): https://hrexecutive.com/hres-number-of-the-day-mental-health-help/
Moore, Adam and Peter Malinowski. “Meditation, Mindfulness and Cognitive Flexibility.” Consciousness and Cognition 18 (2019): 176-186.
Neff, Kristin. Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself. New York: HarperCollins, 2011.
________, and Christopher Germer. The mindful Self-Compassion Workbook: A Proven Way to Accept Yourself, Build Inner Strength, and Thrive. New York: The Guilford Press, 2018.
________, Stephanie S. Rude, and Kristin L. Kirkpatrick. “An Examination of Self-Compassion in Relation to Positive Psychological Functioning and Personality Traits.” Journal of Research in Personality 41 (2007): 908-916.
Oliner, Samuel P. and Pearl M. The Altruistic Personality: Rescuers of Jews in Nazi Europe. New York: Free Press, 1988.
Papadopoulos, Irena, et al. ”Obstacles to Compassion-giving Among Nursing and Midwifery Managers: An International Study. International Nursing Review 67 (2020): 453– 465.
Peng, Jian, Yushuai Chen, Ying Xia, and Yaxuan Ran. “Workplace Loneliness, Leader-Member Exchange and Creativity: The Cross-Level Moderating Role of Leader Compassion.” Personality & Individual Differences 104 (2017): 510-515.
Poorkavoos, Meysam. “Compassionate Leadership: What is it and Why do Organizations Need More of it?” Roffey Park Institute, 2016.
Rao, Amra S. “Developing a Culture of Compassion: Can’t or Won’t.” Clinical Psychology Forum 263 (November, 2014): 49-54.
Saab, M. et al. “Impact of a Compassionate Care Leadership Programme.” British Journal of Nursing 28, no. 11 (2019), 708–714.
Santomero, Angela C. Radical Kindness: The Life-Changing Power of Giving and Receiving. New York: HarperCollins, 2019.
Seco, Monteiro, Victor Manuel, and Miguel Pereira Lopes. “Between Compassionateness and Assertiveness: A Trust Matrix for Leaders.” Journal of Industrial Engineering & Management 7, no. 3 (2014): 622-644.
Smart, Colette M. and Sidney Segalowitz. “Respond, Don’t React: The Influence of Mindfulness Training on Performance Monitoring in Older Adults.” Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience 17 (2017): 1151-1163.
Temper, Rimma and Michael Inzlicht. “Meditation, Mindfulness and Executive Control: The Importance of Emotional Acceptance and Brain-Based Performance Monitoring.” Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience 8, no. 1 (2013): 85-92.
Van Dam, Nicholas T., Sean C. Sheppard, John P. Forsyth, and Mitch Earleywine. “Self-Compassion is a Better Predictor than Mindfulness of Symptom Severity and Quality of Life in Mixed Anxiety and Depression.” Journal of Anxiety Disorders 25 (2011): 123-130.
Vogel, Sarah, and Beth Flint. “Compassionate Leadership: How to Support Your Team When Fixing the Problem Seems Impossible.” Nursing Management – UK (January 2021): 1-10.
Wasylyshyn, Karol M. and Frank Masterpasqua. “Developing Self-Compassion in Leadership Development Coaching: A Practice Model and Case Study Analysis.” International Coaching Psychology Review 13, no. 1 (2018): 21-34.
Weng, Helen Y., et al. “Compassion Training Alters Altruism and Neural Responses to Suffering.” Psychological Science 24, no. 7 (July 2013): 1171–80.
Whomsley, Stuart. “Compassion, Organisations and Leadership.” Clinical Psychology Forum, no. 263 (November, 2014): 46–48.
Xavier, Ana, José Pinto Gouveia, and Marina Cunha. “Non-suicidal Self-Injury in Adolescence: The Role of Shame, Self-Criticism and Fear of Self-Compassion.” Child & Youth Care Forum 45 (2016): 571-586.
Young, Robin. “How Power Erodes Empathy, and the Steps We Can Take to Rebuild It.” Wbur.org (July 9, 2020): https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/07/09/jamil-zaki-empathy-power.
Banker, Darshna V. and Kanika T. Bhal. “Understanding Compassion from Practicing Managers’ Perspective: Vicious and Virtuous Forces in Business Organizations.” Global Business Review 21, no. 1 (2018): 1-21.
Brown, Brené. Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone. New York: Random House, 2017.
Burch, Vidyamala and Danny Penman. Mindfulness for Health: A Practical Guide to Relieving Pain, Reducing Stress and Restoring Wellbeing. London: Piatkus, 2013.
Butz, Sebastian and Dagmar Stahlberg. “The Relationship Between Self-Compassion and Sleep Quality: An Overview of a Seven-Year German Research Program.” Behavioral Sciences 10, no. 3 (2020): 64-76.
Cozolino, Louis. The Neuroscience of Human Relationships: Attachment and the Developing Social Brain. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006.
Dietze, Pia, and Eric D. Knowles. “Social Class Predicts Emotion Perception and Perspective-Taking Performance in Adults.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 47, no. 1 (January 2021): 42–56.
Dundas, Ingrid, Per-Einar Binder, Tia G.B. Hansen, and Signe Hjelen Stige. “Does a Short Self-Compassion Intervention for Students Increase Healthy Self-Regulation?” Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 58, no. 5 (2017): 443-450.
Dutton, Jane E., Kristina M. Workman, and Ashley E. Hardin. “Compassion at Work.” Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior 1, no. 1 (2014): 277-304.
Dutton, Jane E., Peter J. Frost, Monica C. Worline, Jacoba M. Lilius, and Jason M. Kanov. “Leading in times of Trauma.” Harvard Business Review 80, no. 1 (2002): 54-61.
Ewert, Christina, Benjamin Gaube, Fay Caroline, and Mary Geisler. “Dispositional Self-Compassion Impacts Immediate and Delayed Reactions to Social Evaluation.” Personality and Individual Differences 125, no. 15 (April 2018): 91-96.
Forester, J. and G. McKibbon. "Beyond Blame: Leadership, Collaboration and Compassion in the Time of COVID-19." Socio-Ecological Practical Research 2 (2020): 205–216.
Frost, Peter J., Jane E. Dutton, Monica C. Worline, and Annette Wilson. “Narratives of Compassion in Organizations.” In Emotion in Organizations, 2nd edition, edited by Stephen Fineman, 25-45. Thousand Oakes, CA: Sage Publications, 2000.
Fulton, Cheryl L. “Self-Compassion as a Mediator of Mindfulness and Compassion for Others.” Counseling & Values 63, no. 1 (2018): 45-56.
Fuochi, Giulia, Chiara A. Veneziani, and Alberto Voci. “Exploring the Social Side of Self-Compassion: Relations With Empathy and Outgroup Attitudes.” European Journal of Social Psychology 48, no. 6 (2018): 769-783.
Gilbert, Paul. “Compassion: From Its Evolution to a Psychotherapy.” Frontiers in Psychology 9 (December 2020): 1-31.
Goodwin, Bryan. “Wanted: Compassion: When Empathy Wanes, the Best Response Might Be to Strengthen Compassion.” Educational Leadership 75, no. 3 (2017): 81-81.
Haque, Omar Sultan and Adam Waytz. “Why Doctors Should be More Empathic—But Not Too Much More.” Scientific American (April 26, 2011): https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/doctors-and-dehumanization-effect/
Hollingsworth, Andrea. “Implications of Interpersonal Neurobiology for a Spirituality of Compassion.” Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science 43, no. 4 (2008): 837-860.
________. “The Architecture of Apophasis: Exploring Options for a Cognitive Scientific Interpretation of the Via Negativa.” Religion, Brain, and Behavior 6, no. 4 (2016): 290-306.
Hougaard, Rasmus and Jacqueline Carter. Compassionate Leadership: How to Do Hard Things in a Human Way. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press, 2022.
Homan, Kristin. “Secure Attachment and Eudaimonic Well-being in Late Adulthood: The Mediating Role of Self-Compassion.” Aging and Mental Health 22, no. 3 (2018): 363-370.
Karol M. Wasylyshyn and F. Masterpasqua. “Developing Self-Compassion in Leadership Development Coaching: A Practice Model and Case Study Analysis.” International Coaching Psychology Review 13, no. 1 (2018): 21–34.
Kanov, Jason M., Sally Maitlis, Monica C. Worline, Jane E. Dutton, Peter J. Frost, and Jacoba M. Lilius. “Compassion in Organizational Life.” American Behavioral Scientist 47, no. 6 (Feb. 2004): 808-827.
Klimecki, Olga M., Susanne Leiberg, Claus Lamm, and Tania Singer. “Functional Neural Plasticity and Associated Changes in Positive Affect After Compassion Training.” Cerebral Cortex 23, no. 7 (2013): 1552-1561.
Ko, Sung-Hoon, Jongsung Kim, and Yongjun Choi. “Compassion and Workplace Incivility: Implications for Open Innovation.” Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity 7, no. 95 (2021): 1-12.
Kraus, Michael W., Stéphane Côté, and Dacher Keltner. “Social Class, Contextualism, and Empathic Accuracy.” Psychological Science 21, no. 11 (November 2010): 1716–23.
Lefebvre, Jade-Isis, Francesco Montani, and François Courcy. “Self-Compassion and Resilience at Work: A Practice-Oriented Review.” Advances in Developing Human Resources 22, no. 4 (November 2020): 437–52.
Lefebvre, Jade-Isis, Francesco Montani, and François Courcy. “Self-Compassion and Resilience at Work: A Practice-Oriented Review.” Advances in Developing Human Resources 22, no. 4 (November 2020): 437–52.
Mayer, Kathryn. “HRE’s Number of the Day: Mental Health Help.” Human Resource Executive (January 19, 2021): https://hrexecutive.com/hres-number-of-the-day-mental-health-help/
Moore, Adam and Peter Malinowski. “Meditation, Mindfulness and Cognitive Flexibility.” Consciousness and Cognition 18 (2019): 176-186.
Neff, Kristin. Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself. New York: HarperCollins, 2011.
________, and Christopher Germer. The mindful Self-Compassion Workbook: A Proven Way to Accept Yourself, Build Inner Strength, and Thrive. New York: The Guilford Press, 2018.
________, Stephanie S. Rude, and Kristin L. Kirkpatrick. “An Examination of Self-Compassion in Relation to Positive Psychological Functioning and Personality Traits.” Journal of Research in Personality 41 (2007): 908-916.
Oliner, Samuel P. and Pearl M. The Altruistic Personality: Rescuers of Jews in Nazi Europe. New York: Free Press, 1988.
Papadopoulos, Irena, et al. ”Obstacles to Compassion-giving Among Nursing and Midwifery Managers: An International Study. International Nursing Review 67 (2020): 453– 465.
Peng, Jian, Yushuai Chen, Ying Xia, and Yaxuan Ran. “Workplace Loneliness, Leader-Member Exchange and Creativity: The Cross-Level Moderating Role of Leader Compassion.” Personality & Individual Differences 104 (2017): 510-515.
Poorkavoos, Meysam. “Compassionate Leadership: What is it and Why do Organizations Need More of it?” Roffey Park Institute, 2016.
Rao, Amra S. “Developing a Culture of Compassion: Can’t or Won’t.” Clinical Psychology Forum 263 (November, 2014): 49-54.
Saab, M. et al. “Impact of a Compassionate Care Leadership Programme.” British Journal of Nursing 28, no. 11 (2019), 708–714.
Santomero, Angela C. Radical Kindness: The Life-Changing Power of Giving and Receiving. New York: HarperCollins, 2019.
Seco, Monteiro, Victor Manuel, and Miguel Pereira Lopes. “Between Compassionateness and Assertiveness: A Trust Matrix for Leaders.” Journal of Industrial Engineering & Management 7, no. 3 (2014): 622-644.
Smart, Colette M. and Sidney Segalowitz. “Respond, Don’t React: The Influence of Mindfulness Training on Performance Monitoring in Older Adults.” Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience 17 (2017): 1151-1163.
Temper, Rimma and Michael Inzlicht. “Meditation, Mindfulness and Executive Control: The Importance of Emotional Acceptance and Brain-Based Performance Monitoring.” Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience 8, no. 1 (2013): 85-92.
Van Dam, Nicholas T., Sean C. Sheppard, John P. Forsyth, and Mitch Earleywine. “Self-Compassion is a Better Predictor than Mindfulness of Symptom Severity and Quality of Life in Mixed Anxiety and Depression.” Journal of Anxiety Disorders 25 (2011): 123-130.
Vogel, Sarah, and Beth Flint. “Compassionate Leadership: How to Support Your Team When Fixing the Problem Seems Impossible.” Nursing Management – UK (January 2021): 1-10.
Wasylyshyn, Karol M. and Frank Masterpasqua. “Developing Self-Compassion in Leadership Development Coaching: A Practice Model and Case Study Analysis.” International Coaching Psychology Review 13, no. 1 (2018): 21-34.
Weng, Helen Y., et al. “Compassion Training Alters Altruism and Neural Responses to Suffering.” Psychological Science 24, no. 7 (July 2013): 1171–80.
Whomsley, Stuart. “Compassion, Organisations and Leadership.” Clinical Psychology Forum, no. 263 (November, 2014): 46–48.
Xavier, Ana, José Pinto Gouveia, and Marina Cunha. “Non-suicidal Self-Injury in Adolescence: The Role of Shame, Self-Criticism and Fear of Self-Compassion.” Child & Youth Care Forum 45 (2016): 571-586.
Young, Robin. “How Power Erodes Empathy, and the Steps We Can Take to Rebuild It.” Wbur.org (July 9, 2020): https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/07/09/jamil-zaki-empathy-power.