By Jonathan H. Westover, PhD
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Abstract: This article explores why compassion is a more effective managerial approach than toughness for eliciting peak performance from employees, defining compassionate leadership as treating people with dignity and respect, fostering belongingness, support for growth, and care through difficult times, and establishes a research foundation demonstrating how compassion activates reward pathways in the brain and positively impacts employee engagement, commitment, performance and resilience, drawing from over 130 leadership studies correlating compassion most strongly with inspiring followership and findings that even the perception of compassion from leaders boosts job attitudes, then presents two case studies, the first examining how Marriott Hotels exemplified responding to COVID-19 challenges with caring communications that bolstered morale and satisfaction, and the second profiling how Buffer fosters autonomy through transparent problem-solving, flexible schedules and unlimited paid time off, overall arguing compassion cultivates discretionary effort by fulfilling innate human needs for connection, autonomy and contribution, and signaling stability and hope in unpredictable times to steer organizations to sustainable success through empowered and committed employees performing at their peak.
In the fast-paced, competitive world of business, it's easy for managers to take the tough approach—striving for results above all else through directives, deadlines, and discipline. While such tactics may achieve short-term gains, research shows that compassion elicits far better long-lasting outcomes by unlocking creativity, collaboration, and commitment in others. As consultants and organizational leaders, we've witnessed firsthand how caring leadership cultivates peak performance.
Today we will explore the research foundation for compassion in management and shares real-world examples of how showing you care empowers people and propels positive change.
Defining Compassionate Leadership
Before diving into research findings, it's important to define compassionate leadership. At its core, compassion is caring about others and desiring to help them(Dalai Lama). For managers, this means showing empathy, validating emotions, and supporting others through difficult times(Kahn). It also involves communicating care through active listening, acknowledging humanity in workers beyond productivity, and giving space for personal lives outside of work(Dutton et al.).
Some key facets of compassionate management include:
Treating all people with dignity and respect
Fostering a sense of belonging and connection in the workplace
Providing opportunities for growth, learning, and empowerment
Expressing gratitude and celebrating successes
Showing flexibility and understanding individual circumstances
Solving problems collaboratively rather than dictating solutions
While seemingly "soft," research proves a compassionate approach cultivates hard results by unlocking discretionary effort in teams. The following sections explore these findings and provide real-world examples.
Research Foundation: How Compassion Boosts Performance
A growing body of studies links compassion to improved business outcomes. A few compelling findings:
Neuroscience research finds compassion activates the brain's "reward pathways," releasing dopamine and oxytocin that foster positive emotions, motivation, and prosocial behavior(Singer and Klimecki). In turn, positive affect enhances job performance, productivity, innovation(Amabile and Kramer).
Several studies associate compassionate leadership with heightened employee engagement, commitment to change initiatives, and willingness to exceed expectations(Dutton et al.; Kahn). People are simply more willing to go above and beyond for caring bosses.
A meta-analysis of 137 leadership studies correlated compassion most strongly with inspiring followership(Anderson and Sun). In times of turmoil, compassion signals stability and hope, fostering resilience in teams (Glynn and Kleinknecht).
Even perceptions of compassion pay off—research found simply believing leaders demonstrate empathy boosts job attitudes like satisfaction, trust, and motivation to perform well (Lilius et al.).
With this research foundation in mind, real-world companies are embracing compassion to realize tangible benefits. The next section profiles two examples.
Practical Application: How Companies Win with Compassion
Marriott Hotels: A Class Act in Caring
Founded on principles of respect, Marriott is often lauded for its compassionate culture. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, CEO Arne Sorenson wrote heartfelt letters to associates, thanking them for sacrifices made and pledging support(Marriott). He personally called over 2,000 associates to listen and offer reassurance.
Such caring actions paid off—in difficult times, associates felt valued. Morale remained high and guest satisfaction soared, even as thousands were furloughed or laid off with severance. Now recovering, Marriott leads its industry, thanks to the goodwill built through compassionate leadership when it mattered most.
Buffer: Providing Psychological Safety through Caring Policies
Startup Buffer makes transparency and work-life integration top priorities through caring HR policies. Leaders avoid dictating solutions and instead coach teams to solve challenges collaboratively(Buffer). The approach fosters autonomy and ownership—core to Buffer's flat, self-managed structure.
Flexible schedules and unlimited paid time off also provide psychological safety. Combined with transparent communications from caring leaders, these Compassionate policies unleash discretionary effort. Buffer sustains over 90% employee happiness ratings and revenue doubling annually—proof that compassion pays off, even for hyper-growth companies constantly pushing boundaries.
In challenging times, companies depending on strict control and discipline floundered. But Marriott and Buffer thrived by cultivating caring cultures where people feel valued, supported and empowered—unlocking their best selves. Compassion emerged as a competitive differentiator.
Conclusion: The Compassion Advantage
In the never-ending quest to optimize performance, some managers cling to tough tactics, fearing compassion shows weakness. But research clearly shows that caring elicits better long-term results by fulfilling innate human needs for connection, growth and contribution. People simply do their best work for empathetic leaders who acknowledge the whole person beyond job tasks.
As the future of work evolves, the 'compassion advantage' will only become more pronounced. Technologies may automate transactional work, but human connection, judgment and innovative problem-solving will remain invaluable—and activated most by compassionate leadership. Caring managers who empower others to develop and perform at their best will steer organizations to sustainable success. This brief identifies research foundations and provides examples of companies realizing benefits from putting compassion at the core. By bringing our humanity to the forefront of management, we can not only achieve results but foster fulfillment, community and social good in the process. That is an outcome worth aspiring to in business and beyond.
References
Amabile, T. M., & Kramer, S. J. (2011). The progress principle: Using small wins to ignite joy, engagement, and creativity at work. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press.
Anderson, H., & Sun, P. Y. T. (2017). Reviewing leadership styles: Overlaps and the need for a new ‘full-range’ theory. International Journal of Management Reviews, 19(1), 76–96. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12116
Buffer. (n.d.). Happiness engineering at Buffer. https://buffer.com/happiness
Dalai Lama. (2005). How to expand love: Widening the circle of compassion. Atria.
Dutton, J. E., Workman, K. M., & Hardin, A. E. (2014). Compassion at work. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 1(1), 277–304. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-031413-091221
Glynn, M. A., & Kleinknecht, K. J. (2019). Managerial and organizational drives of consciousness through compassion at work. Academy of Management Perspectives, 33(3), 339–356. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2017.0091
Kahn, W. A. (1990). Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work. Academy of Management Journal, 33(4), 692–724. https://doi.org/10.2307/256287
Lilius, J. M., Worline, M. C., Dutton, J. E., Kanov, J. M., & Maitlis, S. (2011). Understanding compassion capability. Human Relations, 64(7), 873–899. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726710396250
Marriott. (2020, March 12). Letter from Arne Sorenson, president and CEO, on COVID-19. https://news.marriott.com/2020/03/letter-from-arne-sorenson-president-and-ceo-on-covid-19/
Singer, T., & Klimecki, O. M. (2014). Empathy and compassion. Current Biology, 24(18), R875–R878. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.06.054
Jonathan H. Westover, PhD is Chief Academic & Learning Officer (HCI Academy); Chair/Professor, Organizational Leadership (UVU); OD Consultant (Human Capital Innovations). Read Jonathan Westover's executive profile here.
Suggested Citation: Westover, J. H. (2024). Compassion as a Cornerstone: Why Caring Leadership Elicits the Best from Others. Human Capital Leadership Review, 13(2). doi.org/10.70175/hclreview.2020.13.2.14
