Compassionate Leadership During COVID-19

This post was written by Felicia B. Connor, Psy.D. (ABPP-RP), and Robert Gordon, Psy.D.

COVID-19 has caused unprecedented challenges for leaders across all industries during the past
two years. Our prolonged experience of uncertainty, unpredictability, and threat has led to
physical and psychological exhaustion, which we might feel for years to come.

Leaders who are committed to successfully navigating their team through this uncharted terrain
will need certain qualities, habits, and mindsets, and to first and foremost have compassion.

Compassion

Compassion involves treating yourself and others with genuine care and concern when faced with challenging situations (Terry et al., 2011). To develop a sense of compassion for what your team is feeling, leaders should first ask themselves “How and why am I feeling this way?” Allowing yourself the space to feel vulnerable can be anxiety-provoking, but it also provides an opportunity to be more attuned to the present and have the courage to take risks (Brown, 2018). Compassion is particularly essential during the COVID-19, a crisis in which personal fears and anxieties are heightened.

Self-Development

A leader must first lead themselves by engaging in their own daily self-care habits that can include exercise, reading, writing, and developing a focused skill. These activities allow leaders to be more attuned to their own emotions arising from uncertainties in the pandemic.

The challenge is finding time to engage in these activities. If this is not a part of your daily routine, take small steps by initially engaging in these habits for 10 to 15 minutes per day without holding yourself to perfectionistic standards.

Darren Hardy (2012) recommends that the morning and evening when we are not at work are times when we are able to control these self-development behaviors. He also emphasizes the “power” of engaging in one difficult task, skill, or goal on a daily basis for a few minutes to build confidence.

Source: Matteo Vistocco/Unsplash

Qualities of Effective Leadership

Kouzes and Posner (2017) provide a comprehensive model of effective leadership consisting of five practices:

• Modeling the way by establishing principles of how others should be treated and pursuing goals.
• Inspiring a shared vision by envisioning an image of what the organization can become in the future.
• Challenging the process by seeking opportunities to move away from the status quo; taking risks; setting small, achievable goals for team members to experience a sense of accomplishment; and viewing failures as opportunities for growth.
• Enabling others by fostering collaboration and building a culture of trust, dignity, and mutual respect.
• Encouraging the heart by sharing the accomplishments and contributions of each team member and highlighting something a team member did above and beyond in the midst of the pandemic. Taking time to connect, engage, and celebrate encourages the heart to build community and achieve results.

These practices can be developed by having a growth and flexibility mindset.

Growth Mindset

Carol Dweck (2016) has studied growth and fixed mindsets for 30 years. She defines growth mindset as the belief that basic personal qualities can be cultivated through effort, intentional strategies, and help from others. A leader with a growth mindset is focused on improving their leadership skills, seeks out honest feedback from others, and invests time in getting to know others and learn what is important to them, including their personal goals. Effective leaders invest time in mentorship, consultation, and life-long learning to enhance their skills.

Flexibility Mindset

A flexibility mindset assumes that leadership and interpersonal skills can be developed and cultivated. This type of mindset encourages learning from disappointments and changing direction if the situation calls for it (Dweck, 2016).

George Bonanno (2021), a leading researcher on resilience, states that a flexibility mindset involves optimism about the future, conviction in our ability to cope and adapt, and the willingness to embrace stressors as challenges.

Tangible Tips for Becoming a Compassionate Leader

1. Communication Skills

• Strive to be a proactive and honest communicator, which earns respect from others. You may not always have the answer, but timely, consistent, and honest communication about what you do know can build trust, and inspire confidence in the leader. Share what you can as early as you can with a sense of urgency.
• Practice active listening and resist the urge to plan your response while your team member is speaking.
• Consistently check in with team members on how they are dealing with changes surrounding the pandemic.
• Prioritize connection over correction—make it a priority to get to know your colleagues/staff by asking questions unrelated to work: “How is your family doing?” and “What are you looking forward to this week?” Schedule a team-building event outside of your work setting.
• Ask for regular feedback about your leadership skills, staff concerns, and opportunities for growth. These conversations may initially feel uncomfortable but can be a catalyst to increase motivation, team cohesion, and productivity (Nielson et al., 2020).

2. Team and Personal Development

• Monitor how your words and actions align with your core values.
• Ask yourself if you have an intentional plan for personal growth.
• Allow yourself to be vulnerable and take risks that may result in failure, as it is an opportunity to stretch and grow.
• Use self-statements including “I have the abilities and determination to do whatever is necessary to get the job done” (Bonanno, 2021).
• Seek out and embrace ideas and perspectives different from your own.
• Enlist a mentor to encourage you to “think outside the box.”
• Identify, empower, and invest in potential leaders on your team.

3. Appreciation

• Show regular appreciation to your team/staff publicly for the work they do.

• Send a card or gift by mail to share accomplishments with family members.

Concluding Thoughts

Leadership skills are malleable and can be cultivated through modeling compassion, leading with your core values, and viewing stressors such as COVID-19 as challenges. Having a growth and flexible mindset provides a path to resilience by motivating us to engage with stressors (Bonanno, 2021).

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Jim Collins (2001), a Socratic advisor to business leaders, found that effective leaders were modest, frequently asked difficult questions, acknowledged and learned from their own failures, and maintained the conviction they would succeed in the future.

Felicia B. Connor, Psy.D. (ABPP-RP) is the director of intern training at NYU
Langone Health–Rusk Rehabilitation. She is board certified by the American Board of
Professional Psychology in Rehabilitation Psychology. Dr. Connor is a member of the
American Psychological Association’s Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology Signature Program and the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine.

Robert M. Gordon, Psy.D. is a clinical associate professor at NYU Grossman School of
Medicine. He is a member of the Medicine & Addictions workgroup (established. by 14
divisions of the American Psychological Association) that sponsors this blog.