Leadership - Leading through self-compassion

To be an effective leader, you need to think about yourself. This is not about being “selfish”, but is about understanding your behaviour, choices and needs. Leaders with too low a sense of self simply tend to respond to situations when they occur and may struggle to support staff when they need it the most. Leaders with too great a sense of self risk alienating colleagues and allies who could have benefitted from their input and been a valuable source of support in return. Neither results in good leadership, especially when faced with a challenge such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Both can create a vicious circle that not only affects your organisation, but also the children, young people and families you work with. Learning “self-compassion” is a good start. It’s about seeing value in your actions and words – not least because they have an impact on others.