Compassionate leadership in times of crises
A healthcare crisis
The ongoing crisis has shed light on the fragile nature of healthcare systems, where unsafe patient-staff ratios, inadequate personal protective equipment, and staff burnout are rife. This system will ultimately fail if healthcare leaders do not make a seismic change in management — including adopting compassionate leadership.
What is compassionate leadership?
The King’s Fund, a respected UK-based think tank, defined compassionate leadership as cultivating an open, non-blaming, innovative and caring culture [1]. It is an environment where inappropriate behaviours or abuse of power will be called out and challenged regardless of hierarchy. Unsurprisingly, effective compassionate leadership has led to improved patient and staff outcomes like higher job satisfaction, teamwork and lower absenteeism [2].
Currently, many top-down national policies are created remotely. Such policies tend to ignore day-to-day realities of care and are therefore not implemented effectively [3]. Given the dire situation in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare leaders in both managerial and clinical roles will have to step up to the challenge. It will certainly be no easy feat.
How do I practice this?
The distilled essence of The King’s Fund ABC guide is, “What can I do to alleviate the challenges faced by my team members?” [3]:
A: Autonomy and control
Healthcare leaders need to be open and transparent about shortfalls in policies and resources, but show that they are actively listening to their team members and are working hard to fill the gaps.
Letting voices be heard empowers staff with autonomy and tells them that someone is listening to their own concerns, uncertainties and anxieties. That someone is doing their best to solve it with them, rather than for them. That someone is striving to give them the capacity (and right) to recuperate and care for their own wellbeing.
Cleveland Clinic has set the tone by developing Code Lavenders, a rapid response team formed solely to attend to healthcare professionals who are experiencing emotional distress [4]. In the UK, Schwartz Rounds allow clinicians to open up about emotional burdens, whilst building a community which fosters learning from other’s mistakes. It also helps to cultivate a non-judgemental and supportive work environment for all [5]. We need to see more of this.
B: Belonging
Creating safe and supportive working environments are integral in fostering a sense of belonging. This involves initiatives which boost team morale during the toughest of times. Whether it is via celebrations of mini-milestones, or staff appreciation events, clinical leaders need to make members of team feel like they are a collective whole. A unit where differences are set aside, and everyone is treated with mutual respect.
As such, policies which discipline inappropriate behaviours such as discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying in the workplace should be implemented. Protocols on escalation of concerns should also be ingrained amongst the team members so that they know who to turn to in confidence when mishaps occur.
C: Competence
The pandemic saw clinicians from differing specialities redeployed into COVID-19 response teams. With a mix of expertise hailing from different disciplines, clinical leaders could initiate short term daily roundups, where the team shares their reflections on what they have learnt, or creative ideas that streamline care processes.
In addition, regular supervision and reviews assess the competency of the healthcare team and ensures that every member of staff feels confident and comfortable performing assigned tasks. By listening to members, work can also be reassigned based on capacity and competence, reducing the risks of burnout.
How can students practice compassionate leadership?
Compassionate leadership comes in many forms. Although students may not have the ability to make organisational changes (yet), there are plenty of ways to hone this leadership trait and contribute to the fight against the pandemic of burnout.
For example, launching initiatives such as offering childcare and grocery services to burdened healthcare workers or setting up a donation drive for personal protective equipment, so staff feel safe at work [6]. These fundamentally listen to, and address, key concerns faced by healthcare staff.
Time for change
No doubt healthcare systems around the world need to make space for more compassion within the workplace. In order to do so, leaders need to have the courage to listen to honest feedback from the ground. Voices need to be heard and changes need to be made. Fast.
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About the author
Jaclyn Tan is a fifth year medical student at UCL with a particular interest in healthcare leadership and policy. She hopes of one day being able to empower healthcare professionals by getting them a seat at the Board table, making their voices heard, and impacting real change from within the healthcare industry. During her spare time, she serves as a freelance journalist and takes painting, poetry, and jazz pretty seriously!
References
1. West M, Eckert R, Collins B, Chowla R. Caring to change: How compassionate leadership can stimulate innovation in health care. The King’s Fund. [Internet]. 2017. [Accessed date Jan 2021]. Available from: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/sites/default/files/field/field_publication_file/Caring_to_change_Kings_Fund_May_2017.pdf
2. O’Neill OA, Rothbard NP. Is love all you need? the effects of emotional culture, suppression, and work–family conflict on firefighter risk-taking and health. AMJ 2017; 60:78–108. doi:10.5465/amj.2014.0952
3. Bailey S, West M. Covid-19: why compassionate leadership matters in a crisis. The King’s Fund. [Internet]. 2020. [Accessed date Jan 2021]. Available from: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/blog/2020/03/covid-19-crisis-compassionate-leadership
4. Gregoire C. The amazing way this hospital is fighting physician burnout. Huffington Post. [Internet]. 2013. [Accessed from Jan 2021]. Available from: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-amazing-way-this-hosp_n_4337849
5. Lown BA, Manning CF. The Schwartz center rounds: evaluation of an interdisciplinary approach to enhancing patient-centered communication, teamwork, and provider support. Acad Med 2010; 85:1073–81. doi:10.1097/ACM.0b013e3181dbf741
6. Med supply Drive. [Internet]. 2021. [Accessed date Jan 2021]. Available from: https://www.medsupplydrive.org.uk/
