Organizations used to get away with throwing around a few phrases that never felt quite right. “Work-life balance,” “flexibility in the workplace,” “prioritizing self-care”: Even though individual contributors, leaders and learning and development professionals knew from experience that these goals were rarely achievable, particularly in a vacuum, they generally accepted them as nice-to-haves.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the truth became undeniable. As people actually lived at work because they were working from home — and were forced to integrate work and life at almost every turn — L&D professionals realized their organizations had to rethink the definition of good leadership. Flexibility was no longer an ideal, it became a necessity.
This continues to be true in 2023. Organizations now grapple with factors like burnout, declining retention and generational and societal pressures. Most C-suite L&D professionals have discovered it is no longer enough to help their people develop the same, traditional leadership skills.
Because meeting today’s challenges means ushering in a new type of leadership, nonprofit Center for Creative Leadership® created the (Better) Leadership Project. We are motivated by our mission-driven commitment to advance the understanding, practice and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide. This, combined with our research and decades of experience as the leading force in leadership development, made us uniquely positioned to identify three focus areas critical to effective leadership in today’s world: Compassion, wellbeing and belonging. We believe these areas to be fundamental in building better teams, stronger organizations and healthier communities. Here’s how your organization can enhance all three.
Leading with compassion
Compassion is an awareness of another person’s condition, coupled with genuine concern for that person and an orientation toward taking action to address the situation. Compassionate leadership lies at the heart of relationship-building, and it’s usually best expressed in consistent, day-to-day interactions.
Expanding one’s understanding of others is an important facet of compassionate leadership, and this requires a curious mindset in which leaders notice the challenges their direct reports are facing and then ask questions to expand their scope of understanding. Listening and asking open-ended questions gives leaders deeper insight into why people on the team may not be aligned, committed or able to focus.
Keep in mind, the goal of compassionate leaders is not to solve the problems of their direct reports. However, the goal is to move beyond simply lending a sympathetic ear to supporting team members as they work through challenges.
Ask yourself if leaders within your organization feel empowered to use their influence and power to provide support. Sometimes that involves looking for systemic ways to reduce friction. Other times, it means creating a more even playing field.
In order for leaders to express genuine compassion in a way that has a meaningful impact on culture, they need the space. It’s the job of L&D professionals to consider how organizations can create a culture that allows leaders to be proactive about acting on empathy and then help establish a culture that rewards compassionate leadership. For many years, people thought about leadership as an individual endeavor. Leaders felt that in order to be promoted, they had to be laser-focused on driving results. All too often, they viewed actions like compassion and vulnerability as a weakness.
We have found, however, that the more loyal employees feel to their leaders — the more leaders see employees as human beings that have complex lives — the more engaged employees are with the organization. Taking this a step further, when employees who embody compassionate leadership qualities are rewarded, organizations help solidify compassion as part of their culture.
Wellbeing for the whole
Wellbeing is an important pillar in the “Better Leadership” trifecta because when employees have a sense of wellbeing, they’re more engaged, creative and productive. They also have higher job satisfaction.
At CCL, we think of wellness as feeling good and functioning well — not just individually, but also as a community. During COVID, many organizations focused on self-care to help alleviate stress and burnout. While important, self-care alone is not enough. True wellbeing and leadership depend on a broader focus of connection. Why? Because strong and healthy relationships lead to acceptance of others and a culture of respect.
Employee Resource Groups are one outlet for people to connect with others across certain commonalities, such as shared experiences and social identities. Whether people are being supported or are supporting others, they come away with a feeling of connection and belonging.
Employee wellbeing is also enhanced when people feel they’re growing and learning within a culture that prioritizes a growth mindset. When employees — senior leaders included — are encouraged to accept mistakes as opportunities to reflect on what was learned, they tend to be more innovative and creative.
Across the organization, meetings or other gatherings can be an opportunity to celebrate wins and losses. This creates space for people to share what they learned from things that didn’t go as planned and contributes to a psychologically safe workplace where people feel comfortable revealing mistakes, allowing for greater growth.
Space for belonging
The third pillar in our (Better) Leadership Project prioritizes the basic human need of belonging. Belonging in the workplace is a critical component of creating cultures of equity, diversity and inclusion. In conjunction with compassion and wellbeing, belonging paves the way for greater performance, satisfaction and persistence through challenges.
When employees lack a sense of security that their perspectives are valued — often because they feel different from their colleagues and peers, either in appearance or lived experiences and identity — they experience “belonging uncertainty.” Belonging uncertainty is especially common if employees are from historically underestimated groups and worry about being treated negatively based on a stereotype. Sometimes, the feeling of belonging uncertainty leads people to hide aspects of themselves.
Creating conditions that allow people to show up as their authentic selves, having confidence that their experiences and perspectives are valued, starts at the top with executives and senior leaders serving as role models.
L&D professionals can train leaders to notice when key indicators are missing, like if someone seems hesitant to participate during meetings. Also, during group settings, leaders should keep in mind common power dynamics. For example, those who hold more senior positions or privileged social identities often take up most “airtime” in meetings. Leaders should strive to create space for everyone to contribute and to share openly and honestly, leading to a greater sense of belonging and more opportunities for innovation and creativity.
Leading into the future
An organization’s culture can make or break its future, and talent development professionals know more than anyone that leaders shape culture. Because today’s challenges are different from those leaders have faced in the past, the same long-held ideas of what constitutes “good” leadership must evolve, too.
Leaders go from good to great when they expand their scope beyond developing individual skills to uplifting individuals, building teams and reimagining culture. After all, leadership is most effective when it’s a collective effort. By taking compassionate actions, prioritizing wellbeing and nurturing a sense of belonging for every individual, cultures are transformed and organizations are prepared for the future of work.
