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

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.

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.

Compassion can change lives and it can change

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

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.

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.

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).

In the ethical decision-making, compassion is critical in directing an individual on how to go forward with a situation (Killinger, 2010). When a person understands someone’s pain, it becomes easy for that person to feel the need to help. Conversely, a decision maker who does not have compassion for other people’s lives and the situation at hand, cannot be sensitive to their decisions (Killinger, 2010).

I hope to speak to both an academic and practitioner audience. For example, I co-authored a chapter in the book Developing Leaders for Positive Organizing (to be published later this month) that discusses the role of care in scaling social enterprise organizations, based on the data from the environmental social enterprise that I’m studying. This book is meant for not only to academics but also practitioners who are searching for ways to have a positive impact on their organizations and beyond. Thus, I hope that my research will provide an example of the ways in which caring can be incorporated into effective business models and add value not only to the work life of employees but also to the

"Leadership is about inspiration. It's about having a vision, believing in that vision, and being willing to sacrifice for that vision in a way that inspires others to join you." The doctors and nurses on the front lines of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa and their boundless courage and resilient have been an inspiration to me. Despite working in conditions of severe workforce shortages, inadequate facilities and major personal risk, these health workers were able to provide the necessary care that will save lives and help to end the outbreak. To me, all of these staff made huge personal sacrifices. A majority of them worked within the red zone on a day-to-day basis, and that's what's provided the clinical capacity to support the health system.

I learned that compassion could turn someone's life around. Ed Thomas summed it up best when he said, “I talk about leaders setting an example, the responsibility of being a leader, and the idea of being a servant and a giver. I talk about standing up to do what is right when nobody else will and letting other players know when they’re doing something wrong. I also explain the importance of being a role model—that leaders have to set the tone for other players to follow. I talk about the respect that they have to gain with other young people.

Compassion represents an “acknowledgement of another’s suffering and is accompanied by the expression of a desire to ease or end that suffering.” (Van der Cingal, 2009, p. 124) This is a fundamental characteristic usually found in health care workers and nurses especially. In one twelve hour shift, a nurse’s job can change from taking vitals and administering medications to performing life saving measures

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

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.