Our greatest leadership capability is something we have forgotten

We all strive to be great leaders. We yearn to get things done and provide an environment where dedicated, hard working people strive to deliver outcomes like they own the business themselves.

Seem like a panacea? Well, it isn’t. I’ve seen this done in a variety of places. What’s the magic formula for making this happen? It’s something we all have and can embrace, but we have forgotten it, or it’s been ‘educated’ out of us because it isn’t considered tangible, or it’s considered ‘soft’ when we’re supposed to be tough pillars of strength. The ‘magic formula’ is compassion.

As humans, we are all connected; we need to remember this. Through our connection, we can show genuine compassion, be vulnerable, and help others to do so. We can ‘lean in’ and love the humanity of those we manage. Yes, with your employees – in fact, with whomever we contact. Do this, and amazing things happen. It drives dedication, it makes people feel whole, and outcomes soar because people WANT to help. They want to be fully present, appreciated and cared for. Show compassion, and your team will demonstrate compassion for you and the outcomes you wish to achieve.

It isn’t being soft, and focusing on nothing but ‘hugging’ your people, figuratively or literally. It’s looking into people’s eyes and seeing what they strive to do. It’s asking them if you don’t see it. It’s remembering people’s names.

It’s saying a specific thank you for something they have produced.

It’s telling them they can do better if they have disappointed you and promising they will support them to improve. It’s believing that your team CAN get jobs done and help you succeed, and engaging with them to do so.

It’s being WITH your team, not just for them. It’s sharing joy and pain. It’s making a small difference in their lives, with a comment or observation that takes…maybe, 15 seconds.

I had an employee a while ago that had a miscarriage. It was her first child. When she came back to work, I made it a point to visit her in her cubicle to share my sadness at her loss. I couldn’t even remember what I said at the time. But she did…YEARS later she told me that I said ‘the only reason I can imagine something like this happening is that your baby’s soul was just too good for this world.’ She said it meant more to her than anything, and that from that day forward she would have done anything I asked her to do at work, because I genuinely cared. I share this not because I said something brilliant…it is because she believed (correctly) that I genuinely cared. And that made a difference, and it showed with her dedication to her job, and to me.

It doesn’t take time, but it does take thought. But that isn’t hard either, if we remember we are connected.

This is why we are passionate about Compassionship – Compassion Based Leadership™. It’s the most dedicated form of leadership – as it’s based on caring about our shared humanity. It’s productive, and it generates power that, through our being taught to be so staunchly independent, we have forgotten. Next time you walk into a conference room and ‘feel’ the elation before you know what is going on or are ‘struck by tension’ in that same conference room when you didn’t know anything was wrong, you are feeling our connectedness in action.

Reconnect, be vulnerable, care about your team members. Lean in and take 30 seconds, and share deeply. If you don’t know what to say, just say what you are trying to convey, it’ll make a huge difference. And watch the magic happen!

If you want to know more about Compassionship – Compassion Based Leadership™, including workshops and coaching, contact Gwen Pinnington Consulting & Coaching at info@gwenpinnington.com.

We stand for Compassion Based Leadership™, that is in service to ourselves and others. Our commitment is to facilitate individual and collective effectiveness in others that is sustainable and based in a higher-level consciousness so that people and communities can thrive.