Photo: Giulia Bertelli | Unsplash
Throughout the pandemic, "leaders have been shouldering a big emotional burden: helping teams recover from the grief and loss of the pandemic, buoying the declining mental health of their employees, and being sensitive to people's anxieties," writes "Harvard Business Review". "Sympathy", "empathy", and "compassion" are often used interchangeably, but actually lead to very different dynamics. While it may be easy to feel sympathy for an employee coping with distress, feeling compassion can spur action and a search for a solution. While empathy ensures that the leader feels 'with' the employee, it is compassion that signals I am here to help. Too much empathy can become a trap and prevent an objective evaluation of the situation. This article outlines six steps that leaders can take to lead with compassion. These include: stepping away from the emotional space, asking the person what they need, non-action (i.e. avoiding the temptation of jumping in with a solution), coaching the person to find their own solution, and practicing active self-care.
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