The premise at the heart of Wonder Drug: 7 Scientifically Proven Ways That Serving Others Is the Best Medicine for Yourself by Stephen Trzeciak, M.D. and Anthony Mazzarelli, M.D. is straightforward: By serving others, the authors say, “your life will crack wide open in only the best ways.” The book is clearly well titled. If serving others can do all this, it is truly a wonder drug.

The journey of life and leadership is a never-ending series of cycles, requiring different optimal action depending on the circumstances. There are two constants central to the work of every compassionate leader: self-compassion and the recognition of our shared common humanity. These two provide a powerful foundation for compassionate leaders to act, and guide their choice of the approach to use.

No one gets a pass. Not world-class athletes, CEOs, essential workers, parents, teachers, or our kids. We all suffer. We also have a choice about how we respond to suffering through our leadership. We can choose to work together to find a response, or we can turn away. What kind of culture are you modeling and creating in your organization?

Right now, it seems harder than ever to talk to each other. Taking the initiative to communicate is important, even though it may be uncomfortable. When we bring awareness, empathy, and compassion to difficult conversations, positive outcomes follow. Use these three steps to guide you.

Psychological safety has been shown to be the single most valuable characteristic contributing to team performance. Compassionate leaders have an important role to play for the benefit of their teams and their organizations through the creation of psychologically safe environments. Here are three compassionate leadership principles to lay the foundation of safety in your organization.

How will your organization emerge from the current crisis? Resilient organizations emerge from difficult circumstances stronger than before the challenging times. These three evidence-based practices will equip you to lead your organization so that it emerges from this crisis stronger than ever.

Welcome to the 2020s, The Decade of Compassion! Three key attributes of this moment point to this being the right time, the critical time for this decade to become The Decade of Compassion.

The holidays can bring out the best and the unintended worst in many of us. Try showing up with good intentions, stay grounded, and pay attention to your language. Although the challenges might reach back through generations, and have felt impossible to overcome in the past, you might just discover that you feel more at ease with a positive language and mindset.

Compassion is contagious. We have a choice as to what impact we would like to create in the world as a result of our actions. We can offset the violence and anger in the world by acting compassionately towards others.

Many people think that leadership and compassion don’t belong together. In reality, they strengthen and complement each other. Leaders who lead with compassion get better results, and the compassion we so profoundly need in this world will be developed most effectively if our leaders are acting compassionately and spreading compassion.