I remember the moment, a number of years ago, when a headteacher said to me 'I want my school to be a place fit to house the human spirit'. That really struck a chord with me; 'that's a school I would love to work in', I thought 'and that's a school I would want my grandchildren to go to'. When I asked her to say more about what that school might look and feel like she talked about compassion. She spoke about the way in which everyone in the school is seen as a unique human being with gifts and potential, and the impact this is having.
Since I engaged in this conversation, I've noticed the growth of research into the power of compassionate leadership, in particular in Health and Social Care and the positive impact this is having. This includes; a greater sense of belonging and core purpose, decreased staff absence and sickness, lower levels of stress and burnout and a stronger sense of psychological safety leading to greater innovation and improvement.1
Perhaps it's time to explore the role of compassionate leadership in education settings?
The recent Headrest Report2 certainly gives us some stark insights into the most frequent challenges headteachers are facing that a more compassionate approach might help address:
Moral injury: being faced with having to make decisions that go against deeply held beliefs and principles due to budget limitations, staffing shortages and/or other constraints.
Anxiety, burnout, and stress; school leadership is physically and emotionally draining.
Ignoring their own needs: headteachers do not attend to their own physical and mental health, go to the doctor, or take time off when they need it citing they 'do not want to let the school down'.
In addition, the most recent Teacher Wellbeing Index3 reported that 89% of school leaders and 78% of teachers report being stressed at work.
If the results we see from the Kings Fund research were translated to our schools what might the impact be on our education system?
A group of us got together to explore this question and enquire into what compassionate leadership means to us. We talked about how we aim to practice it on a daily basis and the impact this might have not just on our school but for the education system as a whole.
What have we learned?
· Being compassionate as leaders is not easy. As Professor Paul Gilbert4 says 'it's active, it's warrior like, and it's not for the faint hearted.'
· Cultivating a compassionate culture starts with us – and that's the hardest place of all. Unless as leaders we can be kind and compassionate to ourselves, particularly when we are stretched and stressed then we will have little chance of growing it in our schools.
· Being compassionate doesn't mean we avoid the tough stuff. In fact, they co – exist. Bedfordshire Schools Trust (BEST) lives by the value of 'we have the courage to be compassionate', stating 'we will be tough on issues, and kind on people including ourselves.'
Compassionate leadership is not soft and fluffy and kind leaders are not a 'push over' – far from it.
· It shows up in how we speak to people, in our warmth, our professional generosity, our ability to listen well and in how we express gratitude, vulnerability and show up as our best and most authentic selves.
· Expressing and practicing compassion is a 'learn as you go' process. It's also cumulative. We can strengthen our ability to be compassionate by repeatedly expressing compassion, modelling it and encouraging others to do likewise – we normalise it.
· Compassion requires us to be curious. To see the world not only from our perspective but from the perspective of others. To be aware of how quickly our assumptions about others can mean a rush to judgement and to stay open to learning more about ourselves and those we lead.
We're keen to explore how we develop ourselves and others as leaders who commit to a 'relationships first' and compassionate approach to our life and work. As part of this we've joined the Big Education 'Rethinking Leadership' conversation intrigued by the question the groups' question of 'what does it mean to be a fully resourced leader?', and excited by their mission to develop a more holistic approach to leadership development.
We are now on a mission to find out more about compassionate leadership in education and other sectors and the role it might play in creating the kind of education system we all want to be a part of. We agreed that our profession deserves greater respect, recognition and investment. But maybe part of the answer to our current system challenges lies in our own hands? Could we start to adopt and develop a more compassionate approach to our leadership and thus reap some of the benefits indicated by the Kings Fund research?
Definitions of compassionate leadership can limit and blunt our understanding, so we've steered clear of them. But we do know when we are in the presence of a compassionate leader and perhaps that gets us closer to not just knowing about it but feeling it also.
Compassionate leaders are wise. They lead from both the heart and the head. They balance attending to the task and the relationship, building trust and connection between people. They show kindness and compassion to themselves, knowing they are showing up every day always learning, at ease with who they are. They support others to show up similarly. They know the deepest truth of leadership – that kindness is strength and anything less is weakness. Compassionate leadership is not style, it's a practice. It can't always be described but it will be felt. It can't be mandated but it can be cultivated. It might just be what our system needs to transform it into one we can all be proud to be part of.
We feel galvanised by our conversations so far. Who would not want to work for a system that was more compassionate and humane we asked ourselves?
We do – do you?
If you want to join us on this journey then please get in touch; [email protected]
We are hosting an event on 22nd November at the Malmaison hotel in Birmingham where we will be joined by leaders from other sectors. Please consider coming along and helping to build our shared understanding and call to action in strengthening compassionate leadership in education.
Find out more about the Compassionate Leadership Event here
- Caring to change: Compassionate Leadership, Innovation and Improvement: The Kings Fund 2017
- Headrest Annual Report 2023
- Teacher wellbeing index 2023; Education Support
- Professor Paul Gilbert: The Compassionate Mind, Constable 2010
Maggie Farrar, Director, Empowering Leadership & Steve Elliott, Director, Inspiring Leadership Events
