The age of digitalization broke the boundaries of the perceived normalcy of every business. This era requires new sets of skills, and the mastery of such would determine your success or failure in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
As business practices continuously evolve, coupled with the day-to-day crisis that our society needs to deal with, leaders must be effective and, at the same time, be able to radiate and maintain compassion and empathy in the digital workspace.
But, how does this work?
As businesses slowly adapt to working remotely, it can slowly create a chasm between leaders and the workforce. This becomes a barricade in making connections and personal relationships.
But our main focus here is to see the bigger picture and use that to our advantage. So, in this three-part blog series, we will delve deeper as to how, as leaders, can we still make a positive impact in this age of digital disruption.
What is Wise Compassionate Leadership?
According to Rasmus Hougaard, four quadrants describe how a leader operates. The said quadrant is indicative of the leader’s mindset or particular mood. However, it does not presuppose that these characteristics are hardwired and permanent.
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On the top left, leaders in quadrant one care about people, which is admirable, but they tend to avoid the problematic aspects of leading, such as offering difficult feedback.
Leaders in quadrant three, bottom left, are ineffectual and disinterested, functioning in the opposite mode of mindfulness. These leaders often view their followers as careless and unprofessional because they lack both compassion and wisdom. Leaders in quadrant 4, on the bottom right, are effective at achieving their corporate goals but lack compassion.
Finally, quadrant two leaders, categorized as wise compassion at the top right, offer the best results. These leaders strike a balance between accountability and compassion. When tough action is required, they take it with genuine concern for the sentiments and well-being of all involved.
Therefore, wise compassionate leadership should be a balance between wisdom and effectiveness.
Therefore, wise compassionate leadership should be a balance between wisdom and effectiveness.
How to Cultivate Wise Compassion in Leadership through the Mind
Be Mindful.
One of the critical elements of a wise, compassionate leader is having self-awareness.
Self-awareness starts with becoming aware of your emotions and being in touch with your feelings. It normalizes felt responses and getting comfortable with sharing how and what you think about a situation.
Getting in touch with your emotions allows you to assimilate your feelings, developing both emotional competence and authentic communication that form part of your foundation in connecting with others. Adopting a daily mindfulness practice demonstrates that mindfulness leads to increased wisdom and leadership ability.
Be Intentional.
Make it a habit to check your intention before meeting your subordinates.
Be empathetic. Put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself: “What is the message I would like them to take away from our interaction?” “How does it account for their effort and ideas?” “Does it give clear and honest feedback and instructions?”
Be purpose-driven.
The Executive Shine is a company offering on-the-go shoeshine services to travelers of any kind. Its CEO, Jill Wright, has three, often, overlooked practices on how to run the best shoeshine organization:
Own your vision and values.
When she started the business, it was always about what she thought her clients wanted. But it became radical. Since then, it has been all about honoring their clients by offering what they need at the moment. It boiled down to creating a safe space to talk.
This approach focused more on creating an excellent shoeshine experience as their customers are in the chair.
Create values and purpose-driven culture with your team.
Wright is not only responsible for contract acquisition, implementation, and execution. She also supervises sales, customer service, and communication training to ensure that the right culture is instilled in her company.
Lastly, inspire and enable others.
Nothing compares to being able to uplift and motivate others to be at their best. According to Wright, it’s like shoes, “you have to see beyond the dirt.” Inspire others by taking note of their potential, giving them opportunities, and allowing them to hone that.
Final Thoughts
As a leader, cultivating your mind towards mindfulness is the first step to becoming a wise, compassionate leader. Having self-awareness, intentionality, and purpose are the key ingredients towards emotional competence and cognitive maturity. Being a leader in this era where the probability of artificial intelligence replacing humanity may be daunting and horrifying. Still, one thing is for sure, human warmth and connection are irreplaceable.
PS: I have a waiting list at the moment. Make sure to book your call to begin your journey as soon as possible.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of this blog next week.
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