All we have is our hearts and minds. If our hearts and minds aren’t taken care of, what kind of company are we going to be. We need to create an environment where peoples’ hearts and minds thrive. ~ Tee Green, CEO Greenway Health
Compassion. The inclusion of compassion in the workplace in companies large and small is not only setting a new tone for emotionally intelligent cultures but raising the bar for employee performance and overall job satisfaction. Companies that lead from a strong sense of compassion generate more positive emotional cultures and report overwhelming, cascading effects on employees’ attitudes and behaviors: Increased job satisfaction, lower job stress, decreased turnover and stronger feelings of well-being and psychological safety. These linkages permeate an organization, impacting its functioning on many levels and significantly increase the bottom line. The highest and most noble form of leadership in any organization is only realized when compassion is the major operating paradigm.
The most powerful energy in the universe and thus in human beings and organizations is compassion.
Most leaders are conditioned to put business before benevolence – to lead with their heads, not their hearts. The popular perception of a powerful leader is someone who is tough, strong, decisive, hard-nosed, ultra-rational and results-driven. The reality though is that powerful leaders have the conviction, confidence and courage to cultivate connectivity and compassion at all levels. Companies may be convinced that leadership holds no room for compassion and connection; however, it is becoming increasingly more relevant and imperative that organizational cultures firmly integrate compassion into emotionally healthy and positively energized workplaces. Great leaders care about connecting with the people they lead. Compassionate leaders have the courage to inspire people with purpose, optimism and energy because they resonate, empathize and connect.
There is a growing network of leaders, including CEO’s of such companies as Zappos, Amazon.com, Google, Southwest Airlines, Live Nation, Container Store, Starbucks, Trader Joe’s, Patagonia, Nordstroms and Whole Foods Market— building their companies based on a higher purpose of service to not only building wealth for stakeholders, but creating well-being for all the people businesses touch. This Maverick Leadership is based on guiding principles and best practices that cultivate trusting, authentic, innovative and caring cultures that make working there a source of both personal growth and professional fulfillment. They endeavor to create financial, intellectual, social, cultural, emotional, spiritual, physical and ecological wealth for humanity. Evidence is mounting that emotionally intelligent businesses that create harmony among purpose, strategy, goals and shared values significantly outperform traditional businesses not only in financial terms, but as socially responsible organizations that impact people and the environment in an optimally positive manner.
The current workplace finds itself struggling on organizational, team and individual levels. The impact of financial insecurity, joblessness, short-term positions, downsizing and changing standards in technology and job skills have had significant financial, psychological, and social costs for organizations and their employees. Recent studies and research have established the positive effects of compassion at work and shifts the focus to building and strengthening individuals’ abilities to not only empathize, but to be curious about those they lead, and what motivates them to bring their best selves to work. While it is difficult for individuals to control the external economic environment, giving employees tools to effectively increase their organizations psychosocial well-being is becoming increasingly more integral. People, who through their own quest for greatness can contribute to making a company truly great.
Considering the amount of time Americans work, companies must align individual character and integrity as essential elements for hiring effectively. Understanding what motivates employees, what matters to them, and how to connect the work they do to the shared purpose that defines why companies do what they do has lasting positive effects on the ability of individuals to create value from an inner higher purpose. Compassion is the interdependent collection of employees’ energy and are integral components that produce success in these key areas:
- High Employee Engagement. Recent surveys reveal that employee engagement is the second most important issue anticipated by management. In a global survey of 600 organizations with over 500 employees, 42% having more than 10,000 employees, 71% of Senior Executives affirm that high employee engagement is very important to achieving overall organizational success; however only 24% of companies of Executives believe employees in their organization are highly engaged. Employee engagement involves clarity of an organization’s purpose and objectives, mutual collaboration in pursuit of achievement with regular constructive feedback for development, contribution in the journey to be fully included as a valued member, trusted and empowered to make decisions and supported in developing new skills for continued innovation. “Employee engagement is the emotional commitment the employee has to the organization and its goals. This emotional commitment means engaged employees actually care about their work and their company. They don’t work just for a paycheck, or just for the next promotion, but work on behalf of the organization’s goals.” – Kevin Kruse.
Twenty-first leadership mandates redefining the employee perspective. Rather than treating people as hired hands, leaders must hire self-motivated, productive talent and engage them. High-engagement companies understand that employees are the essence of products and services. They develop, deliver, and support what customers experience every day.
Managers often mistakenly think that putting pressure on employees will increase performance. What it actually does is increase stress—and research has shown that high levels of stress carry a number of costs to employers and employees alike. Stress brings high health care and turnover costs. In a study of employees from various organizations, health care expenditures for employees with high levels of stress were 46 percent greater than at similar organizations without high levels of stress. Engaged Employees are more invested in the success of the company and also become more loyal and are far more likely to stay with the organization. They significantly lower the risk of turnover for the company. Retaining good employees is key to the success of every business. Coupled with retention, businesses that have a highly engaged workforce have an increased ability to attract new, high performing talent. Empowering individual leadership emphasizes employee self-motivation, self-evaluation, self-reward and self-development. This shared leadership encourages a people-first attitude that honors individuals and inspires integrity and initiative; fosters freedom of thoughts, ideas and creativity for increased innovation and value-added decision making; promotes excellence in performance and ownership of words, actions and results; ignites passion in present performance to creation of a better future; and vision that incorporates an overall sense of positive social impact through purposeful individual action.
- High Productivity Cultures. Companies with engaged employees outperform those without by 202%. Employees are most productive when they are recognized as high performers, have clear understanding of how job contributes to strategy, continually updated by senior leadership regarding performance strategy and concise communication of company-wide business goals. Environments that foster ongoing conversations for consistent development and growth ensure high productivity. Employees are recognized, engaged, developed and encouraged, know that managers care about well-being and are fully aware of expectations armed with the tools and support to perform job well. When people are viewed as functions and objects to be used and manipulated to achieve company goals rather than as human beings with hopes, dreams, fears and aspirations you create a toxic culture of oppression and coercion that leads to anger, resentment and depression. Universally, cultures of conscience that create fairness, honesty, respect and contribution open different channels for employees and give them the freedom to bring their best selves to work every day. An environment of trust encourages loyalty, reinforces commitment to the company mission and goals, and inspires leadership in people that produces continued strategic risk for growth and innovation.
People are fundamental in driving the success of a business. If you treat your staff like the smart and capable adults they are – and give them choice to make informed decisions – you will cultivate an environment in which everyone can flourish. ~ Sir Richard Branson
You can’t have deeply engaged customers without deeply engaged employees. And customers are the key to success in any business. Tony Hsieh – CEO of Zappos asserts, “Zappos is a customer service company that just happens to sell shoes. Our number one priority is company culture…Strong company culture is one of the factors that separates great companies from good, bad, or mediocre ones. The research has shown that the power comes from the alignment, by having values and a point of view and beliefs and passion for whatever it is that you stand for. Just figure out what your personal values are then just make those the corporate values.” When people are in a supportive environment that encourages creativity, that’s when the passion comes out that drives growth and innovation.
- Increased Corporate Social Responsibility. The most powerful energy in the universe – in human beings and in organizations – is caring. When businesses recognize the profound impact they have on the lives of employees, customers and all stakeholders, they collectively advance. Business is good because it creates value, it is ethical because it is based on voluntary exchange, it is noble because it can elevate our existence and it is heroic because it lifts people out of poverty and creates prosperity. “Creating a strong business and building a better world are not conflicting goals – they are both essential ingredients for long-term success,” ~ William Clay Ford Jr. Executive Chairman, Ford Motor Company. Free enterprise capitalism is the most powerful system for social cooperation and human progress ever conceived. Organizations must aspire to even more. Compassion has impact and creates strength in the company as individuals are able to draw from within the human spirit to sympathize with others and move to action. One of the greatest outcomes of compassion is that it connects, protects, and uplifts others, creating a bond that endures across time.
Successful organizations that have sustained high levels of employee retention, increasing profit margins and global respect allow leadership to set their values, structures and procedures around the well-being of their people. New fields of research suggest that when organizations recognize that emotions do matter for good work, the focus turns to promoting leaders with high levels of emotional intelligence to cultivate more compassionate cultures for happier workplaces. Compassionate organizations value social responsibility and construct mutually beneficial partnerships with people and communities to be good corporate citizens. They empower people worldwide to improve the quality of all lives and develop economies that add value to all stakeholders. In a world that is being shaped by the relentless advance of technology what stand out are acts of compassion and connection that reminds us what it means to be human.
To build and sustain brands people love and trust, one must focus—not only on today but also on tomorrow. It’s not easy…but balancing the short and long term is key to delivering sustainable, profitable growth—growth that is good for our shareholders but also good for our consumers, our employees, our business partners, the communities where we live and work, and the planet we inhabit – Irene B. Rosenfeld, CEO Kraft
