Practise Compassion to Boost Productivity

Practise Compassion to Boost Productivity

Kind Managers, Lead Better

By Dr. Sathya Menon

That the UAE topped the United Nations list of Happy Arab nations is largely due to a new trend of compassionate management that is on the rise in this region. Managers are increasingly looking at developing human resources and utilizing it as their ‘conscious’ working capital.

Business productivity, profitability and customer loyalty are all enhanced when employees feel cared for and supported at work and there is an increasing acceptance about this doctrine, particularly in a resurgent, post recession economy in the Middle East.

Unmitigated self interest and bare-knuckle competition is being discarded in favour of a more progressive management style that is already yielding profits.

Even economists – the traditional torchbearers of self-interest – have begun to incorporate more than self-interested behaviour into their theoretical models. Some are studying happiness – and finding that altruistic behaviour is among the most effective means of increasing it.

What separates sustainable companies (particularly those that sailed through recession) from the rest of the pack, is the compassion of its leaders, according to a new study conducted by the Australian School of Business. The best managers tend to be great motivators and promoters of success, but compassion may have a far greater underlining impact. In the 77 organizations studied, researchers saw a direct relationship between compassion and productivity translating into profits.

But being compassionate doesn't mean avoiding difficult situations. As leadership expert, Geoff Aigner found in his own research, the biggest roadblock, managers encounter is their reluctance to engage in tough conversations for fear of being unkind.

Linkedin CEO, Jeff Weiner noted : “Managing compassionately doesn’t come naturally to most managers. It requires spending the time to walk in someone else’s shoes — to understand his stress, strengths and weaknesses.”

In high-pressure environments, time investment might be difficult. This is actually synonymous to the work of a carpenter who carefully measures a piece of wood three times before cutting it once.

However, spending such compassionate time with an employee, Weiner says “pays off”. It’s not just altruism: as it turns out, companies that practise ‘conscious capitalism’ perform ten times better than companies that don’t.

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Handy Hints

·         Compassion increases productivity translating into profits.

·         Employees work better when they are cared for and supported at work.

·         It is profitable to take time to talk to employees and understand their stress.