Empathy Is Having The Ability Of Place Yourself At The Position Of Others

Purpose Statement: To inform my audience about the nature of compassion, positive effects of being compassionate, and compassion meditation.

Compassion, which is an extension of empathy, is having the desire to help those who are suffering or in a crisis. Compassionate leaders are also humble leaders, displaying humility as they put the needs of others before their own. Leaders who possess a high level of compassion encourage healthy relationships and promote an emphatic work environment. Servant leaders are humble, focusing on doing good for others and ensuring the well-being and growth of others over their own personal needs (Neubert, Hunter, & Tolentino, 2016).

Sawbridge and Hewison (2015) believe that compassion is important to the delivery of patient care. However, professionals are working in environments that are increasingly targeted which can take the professionals away from delivering compassionate care (Baverstock and Finley 2016). This assignment aims to discuss how important and how realistic it is for health and social care leaders to balance compassion with effective and efficient service delivery. It aims to do this by exploring what is meant by the term compassion and the influence that it has on patient care. The author will then move on to discuss the impact compassion has on service delivery, considering if professionals need to balance compassion with effective and efficient care delivery including the if compassion is in fact required to deliver effective care.

Compassion can change lives and it can change

An effective leader focuses on people and therefore empathises with them. Empathy is the tool of emotional intelligence which successful leaders apply. When individuals realise that their feelings and concerns are being acknowledged they develop a sense of trust which fosters a strong relationship based on loyalty to the leader - that way people’s hearts are worn to the cause of the leader. Thus, shared values are identified that sustain the quest of vision and purpose as Gill (2006:82) alludes to. He further mentions that all visioning, strategic thinking and goal setting without effective emotional intelligence are impotent.

Compassion has little to no boundries. In almost every great story there is a specific character or a group of characters that help the protagonist because they feel bad for them. Compassion is the most important aspect of a functioning society; therefore, Elie Wiesel’s Night, 12 Angry Men by Reginald Rose, and the generosity of spirit shown by the average citizen after the recent shooting in Las Vegas are all perfect examples.

We talk a lot about empathy at Moz, and that’s because the value of empathy cannot be overstated — in marketing or in life. Empathy is a super power. Dr. Brené Brown describes that super power as “feeling with people,” and it creates a spark of connection for the person being empathized with. That spark can be fanned into the burning passion

To empathize is to understand what another person is feeling, and to be able to view the world from their perspective. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem and Scout Finch learn how to display empathy under the influence of their father. Atticus Finch teaches Jem and Scout to empathize through his demonstrations, advice, and encouragement, so that they may influence the future of Maycomb County to know the difference between right and wrong.

In the reading, Encouraging the Heart by James Kouzes and Barry Posner, they seek to explore one of the most indescribable leadership skills of all caring. Caring is said to be an essential skill to be a successful leader, yet one of the most difficult to master. Kouzes & Posner propose that caring leadership is composed of seven essentials: setting clear standards, expecting the best, paying attention, personalizing recognition, telling the story, celebrating together, and setting the example. The book seeks to describe how and why caring leadership works, and goes beyond outlining practices and principles associated with this type of leadership. This book is an inspirational and uplifting blend of theory and principle, true-life stories of caring leadership, and self-reflecting questions.

Although this life-altering, experience serves as a catalyst for my desire to give back and make a difference, it was not until my leadership roles at Florida State that I understood true passion and humility. My junior year, I was honored to serve on the executive committee for Relay For Life at Florida State as the Panhellenic Recruitment Chair. Having little leadership experience and much trepidation, I knew this would be a challenge. Fortunately, the same semester I enrolled in a leadership course that provided me with the framework of effective leadership and gave me the motivation that I needed to excel. The various leadership tests, group activities and classroom conversations in this course and others, heightened my passion for not only leading and serving but accepting and appreciating the diversity that surrounds the world

After completing the two readings, “Why People Follow” and “Salsa, Soul, and Spirit”, I now have a better understanding of leadership techniques that could strengthen communities as well as the performance of companies. I wasn’t very surprised when seeing the four needs of followers from “Why People Follow”: trust, compassion, hope, and stability. I thought that those were all characteristics that were ideal to any strong and effective leader. Of the four, I felt the most surprise with compassion. I didn’t know how much being compassionate could have a lasting impact to those that follow you. I thought before that leaders would focus more on instructing their workers rather than give love to those that listen. I saw on the reading that those that have compassionate leaders are far

The majority of humanity proceeds through life at an unfluctuating or even mundane pace. It is not until we experience a noteworthy event in our personal or professional lives that, we pause and contemplate the impact. For some individuals, this crucible event provides clarity to the point that life becomes more meaningful. For others, the impact of the experience alters the course of their life forever. I experienced such an event in my professional life during a moment in which an elderly World War II Veteran quietly revealed to me that unassuming heroes inconspicuously walk among the rest of us every day. This realization forged within me a sense of duty, purpose, and values, which has strongly influenced my leadership style.

My background in customer service, general office and working in the non-profit field, has given me the opportunity to have compassion

Healing. “One of the great strengths of servant-leadership is the potential for healing one 's self and others. Many people have broken spirits and have suffered from a variety of emotional hurts. Although this is part of being human, servant-leaders recognize that they also have an opportunity to "help make whole" those with whom they come in contact” (Spears,

Social Justice is defined as “the equal distribution of opportunities, rights, and responsibility despite differences in physical traits and/or beliefs and behavior. It is an international and multifaceted issue that fights for better treatment and equality of people.” (“Pachamama Alliance,” 2017). According to this definition, my understanding of social justice is that it is a way to advocate for other individuals in order to assist their needs in society. For example, I would want to advocate for Hispanic mothers and children who have been through abuse. My empathy towards this group started because of my personal history with an abusive father who suffered from alcoholism. “Empathy involves thinking about a person and the challenges he or she is facing and coming to understand what it is like for that person to have that experience.” (Cameron & Keenan, 2013, p. 72).