Compassionate and inclusive leadership

Compassionate workplaces require leaders who are able to demonstrate compassionate behaviours such as listening and responding to staff needs. 

Compassionate leadership training can help support leaders to hold conversations with staff and build a culture where compassion and care are valued. The right support from managers can help staff feel a greater sense of belonging and allows their personal welfare to be valued and recognised.  

Research demonstrates the positive impact compassionate workplaces have on staff morale, retention and sickness levels. 

Behaviours of compassion leaders

The four key behaviours that the King’s Fund model of compassionate leadership seek to strengthen are:  

• Attending – pay attention to staff by ‘listening with fascination’ and without judgement.  
• Understanding – arrive at an understanding of the challenges staff face through a dialogue with them.  
• Empathising – empathising with staff and the stresses and pressures they may be facing.
• Taking action – taking decisive action to enable staff to do the job that they want to do. 

"Research reveals that leadership is the most significant influence on culture. Every interaction by every leader, every day, shapes the culture of the organisation. We must develop and continually reinforce the right leadership values and behaviours – such as developing and empowering people, encouraging shared learning and continuous improvement." - Professor Michael West, 'If it's about NHS culture, it's about leadership'

"A compassionate leader encourages employees to talk about their problems and to provide support for one another." - Roffey Park, 'What is Compassionate Leadership?'

In this video below Michael West shares his thoughts on compassionate and inclusive leadership for a recent event The challenge of culture change: sharing system-wide learning to deliver the NHS long-term plan.