Compassionate Leadership

PAULO MORALES
EDUC 614 – Leadership and Professional Development
Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Management

LEORISYL D. SIAROT, PhD

Professor
1. Cite 3 instances where compassionate leadership is practiced in your
workplace. Discuss further how to sustain these acts of compassion in your
workstation.

We see compassionate leadership before our eyes when we have school leaders
who are willing listen, understand, and support their teachers. These school leaders will
make sure that their teachers are appreciated and respected as much as they are also
given the opportunity to be the best version of themselves while completing the tasks
assigned to them.

The school’s preparation for the limited face-to-face was the first situation where
we witnessed our school head’s compassionate leadership. From forming committees
to providing resources, our school head utilized her warmth charisma, and not her
authority to give us the order to finish the task. While accomplishing the tasks despite
the school’s limited resources, she was encouraging, not demanding, us to beat the
deadline. She was able to guide us and acknowledged the contributions of the different
teams working for the said task.

Further, our school head provided another ‘compassionate leadership’ example

by owning up to her mistakes and taking responsibility over mishandled school issues.
Instead of pointing the blame to her teachers, our school head is much more interested
to respond to the problems objectively and assuring her teachers that the school that
any failure is a learning experience for everyone to use as a life lesson.

Of course, our teachers in school are the living testaments of everyday

‘compassionate leadership’, especially during the New Normal. Our teachers have
sincerely cared for our students, empathizing with their situations during the pandemic.
These acts of kindness include asking their students and parents how they are doing,
listening to them, thanking them for what they have done, and showing interest in their
lives beyond school.
 These acts of compassionate leadership will always start with compassionate
school leaders, and the rest will follow the lead.

In the end, creating a culture of compassion before our own schools is still
possible despite our personal biases and doubts. We have to start learning to admit that
we do not know everything and we can also commit mistakes and be willing to accept
those mistakes in front of everyone without fear of being judged. After all, we have to
remember that before compassionate leadership can be taught, it must be caught and
modelled by everyone: from followers to school leaders.