Leader. Compassionate Leader.

Research shows that leading with compassion has provable benefits

Return of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt van Rijn, 1661-69 (Wikipedia - public domain)

“It is humanity bids us have compassion with the sufferings of others.” — Bernard Mandeville, 1723

The last two editions of Timeless & Timely planted lots of material for those interested in the attributes of good leaders and the communication habits of good leaders.

This week, I’d like to grant some rest to your brain and mine by giving you something a little more lighthearted.

But let’s be clear: lighthearted doesn’t mean it’s not worth spending time with. Quite the contrary.

I think you’ll find this one worth absorbing, memorizing, and then retelling (or sharing).

There seems to be a constant clamor for thought leadership. But what about thoughtful leadership?

The “Great Resignation” has led to over 19 million workers quitting their jobs in the U.S. But too many companies don’t understand the underlying reasons.

A recent report by McKinsey made an astute observation — employees can tell when they’re not treated with dignity and compassion:

“Rather than take the time to investigate the true causes of attrition, many companies are jumping to well-intentioned quick fixes that fall flat: for example, they’re bumping up pay or financial perks, like offering “thank you” bonuses without making any effort to strengthen the relational ties people have with their colleagues and their employers. The result? Rather than sensing appreciation, employees sense a transaction. This transactional relationship reminds them that their real needs aren’t being met.”

What would make people stay? They want to feel like they belong, they want to be valued by their leaders, and they want colleagues they can trust and who care about them.

How is this expressed in practice? Through compassion.

Compassion means bringing others along, not alienating them. Compassion means showing that you care, not that you’re apathetic.

---

Related:

Timeless Leadership Episode 42: Lead from the Heart

Lead From the Heart [Timeless Leadership Ep. #42]

---

Gratitude, servant leadership, a celebration of compassion in others — all of these are part of compassion that you can practice every day. If you don’t believe me, believe Harvard Business Review, which says that “Leading with Compassion Has Research-Backed Benefits.”

---

Roger That

As an example of this in action — from someone who wasn’t a leader, but certainly a role model that many looked up to — I give you this story from Marc Haynes, as told online:

As a seven year old in about 1983, in the days before First Class Lounges at airports, I was with my grandad in Nice Airport and saw Roger Moore sitting at the departure gate, reading a paper. I told my grandad I’d just seen James Bond and asked if we could go over so I could get his autograph. My grandad had no idea who James Bond or Roger Moore were, so we walked over and he popped me in front of Roger Moore, with the words “my grandson says you’re famous. Can you sign this?”

As charming as you’d expect Roger asks my name and duly signs the back of my plane ticket, a fulsome note full of best wishes. I’m ecstatic, but as we head back to our seats, I glance down at the signature. It’s hard to decipher it but it definitely doesn’t say ‘James Bond’. My grandad looks at it, half figures out it says ‘Roger Moore’ — I have absolutely no idea who that is, and my heart sinks. I tell my grandad he’s signed it wrong, that he’s put someone else’s name - so my grandad heads back to Roger Moore, holding the ticket which he’s only just signed.

I remember staying by our seats and my grandad saying “he says you’ve signed the wrong name. He says your name is James Bond.” Roger Moore’s face crinkled up with realization and he beckoned me over. When I was by his knee, he leaned over, looked from side to side, raised an eyebrow and in a hushed voice said to me, “I have to sign y name as ‘Roger Moore’ because otherwise…Blofeld might find out I was here.” He asked me not to tell anyone that I’d just seen James Bond, and he thanked me for keeping his secret. I went back to our seats, my nerves jangling with delight. My grandad asked me if he’d signed ‘James Bond’. No, I said. I’d got it wrong. I was working with James Bond now.

Many, many years later, I was working as a scriptwriter on a recording that involved UNICEF, and Roger Moore was doing a piece to camera as an ambassador. He was completely lovely and while the cameramen were setting up, I told him in passing the story of when I met him in Nice Airport. He was happy to hear it, and he had a chuckle and said “Well, I don’t remember but I’m glad you got to meet James Bond.” So that was lovely.

And then he did something so brilliant. After the filming, he walked past me in the corridor, heading out to his car - but as he got level, he paused, looked both ways, raised an eyebrow and in a hushed voice said. “Of course I remember our meeting in Nice. But I didn’t say anything in there, because those cameramen - any one of them could be working for Blofeld.”

I was delighted at 30 as I had been at 7. What a man. What a tremendous man.

Marc Haynes @marchaynes

Here's that Roger Moore autograph on my granddad's boarding pass. Thanks for donating £1000 to UNICEF to see it! justgiving.com/fundraising/Ma…

Better than any role he could have played on screen, Roger Moore played a hero to this boy (and later this man).

He could have gone through the perfunctory motions — the transaction of an autograph that so many celebrities do.

But he showed Marc compassion. Compassion when it was neither required nor expected. And that made all the difference.

As 007, James Bond had a license to kill.

As a leader, you have a license to thrill.

Your secret weapon: compassion.

Thanks, and I’ll see you on the internet.