Modern leadership is adapting to fit work and workplace change
Work and the workplace are going through immense cultural change. There are governmental-level moves towards greater workweek flexibility.
Employees' expectations around work-life balance and meaningful employment, as well as other value-driven, rather than finance-driven, factors are ever-increasing. Employers are therefore increasingly seeking new and innovative ways to attract and retain valuable talent.
More recent approaches to leadership – placing compassion at the forefront of expected management skills – have also been making inroads in complementing workplace culture shifts. But they’ve not been universally accepted.
Some have labelled new leadership approaches as "soft" or even a “woke”, seeing such changes as an inconvenience to getting on with the rigorous demands of driving business success.
Compassionate leadership provides the building blocks
But more and more studies are proving that both are possible.
Compassionate leadership is turning out not to be just a feel-good, optional practice. It’s becoming a strategic imperative – significantly enhancing organisational performance, psychological safety, employee engagement and wellbeing, as well as overall business outcomes.
Let’s take a look at why.
Workplace culture enhances business performance
Creating and maintaining a positive workplace culture is vital to effective business performance. We know it, it’s proven through a plethora of studies which demonstrate the benefits – increased profitability and productivity, improved employee engagement, attraction and retention, and positive brand and reputational outcomes.
So much so, that it’s now become one of the top ongoing priorities for any thriving modern business that leads with meaningful purpose and competitive edge.
Yet it can be quite the task to effectively bring the theory of an organisation’s positive culture to life through measurable and relatable best practices. So what can help?
Translating workplace culture theory into practice
Much like the progressive work to increase our understanding of managing neuro, generational and gender differences in the workplace, there’s also ongoing research and best practice development into building psychological safety and compassionate leadership within businesses.
And these approaches are helpfully making headway in putting a clear emphasis on tangible behaviours, skills and organisational expectations to help underwrite positive workplace cultures and values.
They focus on building sustainable ways to nurture and enhance employee and team performance – supporting wellbeing, promoting courage, empathy and sensitivity, as well as building the vital workplace success ingredients of trust, respect and loyalty.
What do we mean by compassionate leadership?
Compassionate leadership training underpins organisational change drives to improve workplace psychological safety and wellbeing. It tackles what we mean by compassion in the workplace and aims to enhance one of the most underrated, yet increasingly demanded, skills in leadership and management today.
The focus is on improving an employee's ability to understand and relate to others’ experiences – their emotional intelligence – rather than just their technical or operational skills, which then fosters a more supportive, productive and inclusive environment.
Compassionate leadership clearly has a vital role to play in the ever-evolving world of work.
Compassionate leadership provides the building blocks and guidance on the physical, interpersonal and emotional needs of employees.
Managers, leaders and colleagues alike are then empowered to ensure everyone feels valued, supported, and secure enough to voice their insights, solutions and concerns freely, without fear of reprisal.
What are the benefits of compassionate leadership?
The benefits of compassionate behaviours cultivate a culture of trust and cooperation that drives organisational productivity and innovation, improves decision-making and increases success.
By fostering a culture of empathy, support, curiosity and wisdom, leaders can help build more resilient, engaged, and sustainable high-performing teams.
- Boosts employee engagement, productivity and profitability – According to a Gallup report, highly engaged teams show 21% greater profitability. Compassionate leaders who demonstrate genuine care and concern for their employees foster a culture of trust, respect and engagement, often because they are not afraid of effectively and fairly managing pressure and difficult situations at demanding times. Google’s Project Oxygen also found that their most effective managers were not those with the best technical skills but those who showed empathy and cared about their team members' wellbeing.
- Enhances innovation and creativity – innovation thrives in environments where employees feel safe to express their ideas without fear of ridicule or retaliation. Compassionate leaders create psychologically safe workplaces where team members can take risks and think outside the box. Amy Edmondson’s research on psychological safety has shown that teams with high levels of psychological safety are more innovative and effective. At Pixar, a culture of open communication and support has been pivotal in producing groundbreaking, creative films consistently. Leaders at Pixar encourage vulnerability and open dialogue, which has fostered a highly innovative environment.
- Reduces turnover and retention costs – compassionate leadership can significantly reduce costly turnover rates by building a supportive and inclusive workplace culture. When employees feel valued and understood, they are more likely to stay with the organisation. A study by the Center for Creative Leadership found that leaders who demonstrate compassion have teams with lower turnover rates. The cost of replacing an employee can also be up to 2.5 times their annual salary, making retention a critical financial consideration.
Compassionate leadership clearly has a vital role to play in the ever-evolving world of work. Choosing to adopt such leadership approaches is proving an undeniably helpful strategic tool for many thriving modern businesses.
How far it will be adopted into common leadership practice, only societal evolution and time will tell.
