Compassion In Leadership

"[leaders] may entangle themselves in the complications of their own assumed competence and use their specialism as an excuse to avoid the much more difficult task of being compassionate." -- Henri Nouwen

Let's be honest, our job as leaders is hard. But it's not hard because of the decisions we make, or the financials we direct, or even the number of people that rely on us. It's hard because it requires of us that delicate balance of compassion and competence. As referenced above, we tend to lean into the competence piece with an "I got here because I'm good at what I do" attitude and lean out from the caring piece that let's people know we see them. Granted we sometimes have to make tough decisions, that's just life. It doesn't mean that we have to live in that tough place regularly in anticipation of those tough moments. So, what are you going to do today that will make you choose compassion as your primary mode?