Compassionate Leadership in Healthcare

Healthcare is likely one of the current buzzwords and most frequently searched topics about leadership. For most of us in managerial positions, this is a common subject however we should ensure the message reaches everyone, and more importantly we “practice what we preach”. But how do we do that? How do can we ensure we are compassionate when most environments in the healthcare industry are so hierarchical and this has been embedded in the system for years and years?

Look closely at hospitals, trusts, and more, hundreds and thousands of staff members are aiming to provide excellent care to the patients. Great minds, intelligent people, and great ideas make it an ideal place to transform and implement a culture that fuels employee performance. But is that happening? No, it is not. Most surveys show exactly the opposite. Staff are tired, morale is low and people feel undervalued. So where are the barriers? What is slowing us down? Healthcare faces significant challenges, especially in this day in age. The increased aging population, financial issues, shortages of staff, and many other factors place constant pressure on our systems. This leaves our colleagues in operations with difficult decisions to make regarding bed capacities, cancelations, patients’ moves, etc. The frontline staff face the immense pressures of higher patient-staff ratios and increased demand for discharges; sometimes on the verge of what is safe. From a leadership perspective the dozens of reporting levels per organization, and the hierarchical systems are major players in this subject.

But how do we tackle these issues? Being reactive instead of proactive is not the solution. If anything, reaction leads to a hole that may be hard to fill if we don’t do something right now. Data shows that stress is rising and mental health is declining across the healthcare workforce, we also know this leads to increased levels of sickness, staff leaving their jobs, and increased chances of errors. 

What data also shows is that all these pressures relate to the lowered ability of staff to be compassionate with each other and with the patients.

We need to actively listen and get the views and feedback from staff working at the frontline, empathize with them, and compassionately address what we can. When staff feel they have been heard and supported, performance levels increase. A workplace where people feel they are heard, can speak up, and share ideas, concerns, and even their mistakes—this is the definition of physiological safety. No, that does not mean a place with no disagreements or conflict, it means exactly the opposite, a place where different views are heard, discussed, and addressed, and together seek a solution. 

One last important point is to mention that compassion is not only towards our patients, but towards our colleagues and most importantly towards ourselves, and this is so easy to forget. Compassion is also the capacity to be aware of our feelings and understand why are we feeling like that at that moment in time. That sometimes requires us to stop for a moment and take a deep breath without underestimating the importance of being aware of what we can and cannot do, and what we can and cannot control. And perhaps at the end of that day go home and do something that we like without feeling guilty for our own choice to look after ourselves.