Compassion is not weakness, it is a mark of a true leader

Some people believe that compassion and especially compassion in the workplace is a form of weakness. Perhaps they think survival of the fittest in the corporate jungle leaves no room for something like concern for other people and their feelings. March ahead, take no prisoners!

Yet report after report shows that us that those who have a high degree of emotional intelligence come out ahead at work. Empathy is an important part of emotional intelligence. To relate to others, you need to be able to see things from their perspective. That means acknowledging that some of your actions could be causing them distress.

Consider active listening for a minute. To have successful communications with others we should employ active listening. This involves really understanding what the other person is telling you, again trying to put yourself in their shoes.

It is difficult to successfully show empathy and active listening without caring component, you the part where you truely care what this person is experiencing?

Of course compassion is more than just understanding or acknowledging the feelings of others. It is going beyond & wishing to alleviate their suffering. If you continue to interact with others and as a leader or influencer do not try to improve their situation(where possible & appropriate), then quite frankly - you suck as a leader.

It is easy to bury your head in the sand and ignore when others are having a difficult time, it is easier to make their difficulties their fault, to feel anger at them, to blame them for bringing difficulty onto themselves. It takes much more courage to step in and take action, to actively work to improve their situations.

Compassion in workplace and on your projects takes strength & courage. Bring that to your project management style and trust me, the results are phenomenal.