Compassionate Leadership: For Individual and Organisational Change (De Gruyter Transformative Thinking and Practice of Leadership and Its Development Book 4)

Experts increasingly recognise that our volatile, complex, and fragile world requires a new type of leadership. More than ever, we need leaders who understand how compassion connects them with their employees, stakeholders and wider communities. Yet compassion in organisations is often misunderstood, with many leaders reluctant to embrace it lest they appear weak. __Compassionate Leadership__ draws on new and established research in psychology, behavioural science, neuropsychology and leadership theory to show that compassion, when correctly understood and applied is, in fact, a formidable and sustainable force for positive leadership. This book explores the common myths, pitfalls, and concerns about leading with a compassionate approach. It discusses the leadership, organisational and individual benefits of compassion and shows how leaders can design an organisation which establishes, then reinforces, a compassionate culture. A practical guide, this book provides evidence-based tools, appraisals, and frameworks which emphasise everyday applications that leaders, managers, and business students can adopt both individually and for their organisations. __Compassionate Leadership__ presents a new model of compassion, an approach based on multidisciplinary research in a variety of organisational settings. It gives leaders a theoretical and practical underpinning they can use for deeper reflection and personal growth to turn their new-found knowledge into action. Provides strong basis in research, with practitioner application. Offers a revised model of compassion and tangible results and practices. Includes leadership and organisational case studies. Shortlisted in the Leadership category at the Business Book Awards in partnership with Pathway Group 2024 Finalist in the Leadership - Think Differently category of the Goody Business Book Awards 2023 Experts increasingly recognise that our volatile, complex, and fragile world requires a new type of leadership. More than ever, we need leaders who understand how compassion connects them with their employees, stakeholders and wider communities. Yet compassion in organisations is often misunderstood, with many leaders reluctant to embrace it lest they appear weak. Compassionate Leadership draws on new and established research in psychology, behavioural science, neuropsychology and leadership theory to show that compassion, when correctly understood and applied is, in fact, a formidable and sustainable force for positive leadership. This book explores the common myths, pitfalls, and concerns about leading with a compassionate approach. It discusses the leadership, organisational and individual benefits of compassion and shows how leaders can design an organisation which establishes, then reinforces, a compassionate culture. A practical guide, this book provides evidence-based tools, appraisals, and frameworks which emphasise everyday applications that leaders, managers, and business students can adopt both individually and for their organisations. Compassionate Leadership presents a new model of compassion, an approach based on multidisciplinary research in a variety of organisational settings. It gives leaders a theoretical and practical underpinning they can use for deeper reflection and personal growth to turn their new-found knowledge into action. Advance Praise for Compassionate Leadership 5 Acknowledgements 11 Foreword 13 Contents 15 Chapter 1 The case for compassionate leadership 19 Chapter 2 A new construct of compassion 27 Chapter 3 Mistaken identity: What compassion is and is not, and why this matters 48 Chapter 4 Compassion: Dubious reputation and accusation 69 Chapter 5 Research & reality: benefits of compassion 85 Chapter 6 Compassion and cognitive bias 102 Chapter 7 Self-compassion for leaders 124 Chapter 8 Developing compassionate leadership 147 Chapter 9 Designing a compassionate organisation 170 Chapter 10 The future of compassionate leadership 191 Further resources 197 References 199 List of figures 209 List of tables 211 About the author 213 About the series editor 215 Index 217