The Two Keys to Being a Compassionate Manager

You probably grew up with the old-fashioned image of a manager as a hard, unyielding boss whose underlings were always afraid to cross yet somehow managed to retain a healthy amount of respect for. Unfortunately, as evidenced in today's workplace, the reality is far from this simplistic view of hierarchy. As a manager, it's necessary to prove to your employees that you, too, are human, and that you're concerned with their well-being inasmuch as it affects their ability to do their job.

So what exactly constitutes a "compassionate" manager? They create bonds of respect with those around them, earning the respect of the staff who in turn work harder to assist them in making the company as successful as possible. A compassionate manager will perform their job with the acknowledgment that their job is mainly to ensure the employees under them are doing the best they can. This isn't a dependent relationship as too many managers have complained--it's a solid foundation upon which to build a strong business without dissent among the ranks.

Managers who lack compassion when dealing with their employees find themselves in a bind when the time comes to rely on those same people, simply because no one trusts them to look out for the needs of the workers. Their subordinates consider them to be only concerned with their own well-being and unconcerned about the company as a whole (and probably wouldn't be far off), while their bosses assume they aren't as reliable as they could be and are more interested in self-promotion and selfish goals than the needs of the business. This, in turn, can not only hurt the company's bottom line, it can also severely affect your own employment negatively when you're consistently passed over at promotion time for being a "burden" more than an "asset".

How can you become the compassion-driven manager that your employees turn to in difficult situations? There are two keys to solving this question. First, consider your own behavior and your reactions to the problems that pop up over the course of the workday. How do you treat your staff in your conversations? Do you actively listen, or brush off their concerns as nothing important? This is the first step in developing a compassionate profile. Second, determine which employees are the most responsive to your compassionate work style and try to develop a friendly relationship with them; they are the ambassadors who will act as your representative to the other employees.

Even if you feel it's too late to change your management style, you'll be surprised to find just how positively people will react when you add the key element of compassion to the office. Employees who know their boss is actually listening to them are infinitely happier than the ones under that old-fashioned sticker for formality.