It Takes Heart to Be a Leader

Nearly anyone can become a manager, but to be a true leader you must have compassion.

I was reminded of this last evening when I ran into a “dog acquaintance.” He immediately asked where our pooch was and we told him our tragic news.

He’s a teacher in a private elementary school and just that day his principal had commented to him, “Can you believe it? [A teacher] called in this morning to ask for the day off because her pet died.”

My friend said, Yes, he could believe it because he’d do the same. “If my dog dies, you won’t want me at work that day.”

This is the kind of scenario we brought up in the newsletters I used to oversee. We counseled readers on the soft skills of leadership—that is, the skills required to deal with and coexist with people in a workplace setting. An astonishing number of people in supervisory positions need to be reminded or taught that sensitivity is a critical element to earning trust and loyalty from employees.

The principal is a key example. Not only does he reveal his lack of compassion to another employee, he also reveals his lack of knowledge about the marketplace. Pets are a $45.5 billion industry and growing. Pets affect how people shop for cars, homes, landscaping, and jobs. A little awareness of how serious this bond is could go a long way with his staff.

The principal doesn’t even need to be an animal lover to show his compassion to the teacher. Surely he can draw on his own experience of loss to understand this employee’s emotional state. But if that’s not the case, then his responsibility as a leader is to first see the situation from the perspective of the employee before taking action. The principal had no excuse for discussing the issue with other employees, but that’s a separate matter deserving of its own post.

Bereavement policies are tricky ones to draw up. They’re a positive benefit for employers to offer, but they will no doubt fall short of many employees’ needs. These policies usually cover only immediate family members. Yet the loss of a best friend or animal companion may have a far greater impact on some employees than the loss of a sibling or parent. Without a policy to cover these circumstances, a manager’s response is not only personal but also—from the employee’s viewpoint—embodies the organization’s stand on the subject.

Funny, isn’t it? What some folks read newsletters to learn, my pooch had innately in spades.

[Art by Jim Dine.]