Compassionate Leadership (a better approach for mental health?)

May 16, 2024

Compassionate Leadership (a better approach for mental health?)

I’m talking about compassionate leadership because it is mental health awareness week.

How are those linked, I hear some of you ponder?

Well, as those of you who know me well, I’m not really about initiatives or individual-level intervention without thinking about the wider context. You wouldn’t put a flourishing seedling in a dark room without water.

And, I’ve been doing quite a lot of work lately working with leadership teams to create space to stop and check in with themselves, each other and where the business is heading.

When we focus on:

psychological safety – by experiencing it
compassion – by thinking about our own limits before looking to care for others
emotional intelligence – by recognising the need to step outside our comfort zones…

We are able to:

✅ align individuals within a team

✅ provide clear direction for the business

✅ increase high performance

And that impacts on good mental health – both for the leadership team and those they lead.

Are you bolting on a quick fix or an attempting to solve mental health challenges when they’re evident? Or are you taking a preventative approach and creating the right environment for people to be happy and healthy?

Are you joining the dots?