Where can you find the role models, both individual and organizational, that embody the qualities and positive results of compassionate leadership? With its many powerful case studies, program launches, and committed leadership, the healthcare industry is at the forefront of developments in the field.
We had the privilege of attending the 2019 Compassion in Action Conference hosted by the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare September 8-10 in Boston. We were inspired to be among so many individuals and institutions committed to growing compassion in our world. Over the coming days, we’ll be posting additional stories about our learnings, and we wanted to start with an overview with our four major takeaways.
Takeaway 1:
The single intention of one individual can change the world.
Kenneth Schwartz, diagnosed with advanced lung cancer at age forty, understood what every patient who has been anxious about their health knows: “the smallest acts of kindness” from healthcare professionals make “the unbearable bearable.” And even though he lived less than a year from the time of his diagnosis, he decided to act based on his experience. Days before his death, he founded the Schwartz Center to ensure that all patients receive compassionate and humane care. Today, the Schwartz Center provides education and training to its members in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, ultimately supporting more than 301,000 healthcare professionals each year.
Takeaway 2:
The healthcare industry provides a model for all sectors in developing compassionate leadership.
At the Center for Compassionate Leadership, our perspective is broad. We believe leaders come in all shapes and sizes and operate in all fields. The progress that has been made in healthcare is an inspiration for leaders everywhere. Speakers at the conference demonstrated that the healthcare industry has recognized the importance of compassion as well as its benefits. Using evidence-based approaches, they’ve developed strategies to strengthen compassion, and the industry is committed to ongoing research. Finally, organizations where the commitment to building compassion goes all the way to the top are the organizations showing the greatest progress.
Takeaway 3:
Compassion is a uniquely human act. Systems and networks must be designed that create environments and space that support “the smallest acts of kindness.”
Technology has been miraculous in terms of the advances that it has brought to medicine. Yet, it has also made it more challenging to offer fully human interactions as providers’ attention is directed to electronic health records and pervasive technology. During the panels and workshops, the moment we witnessed that had the strongest emotional reaction from the audience actually came when a panelist said, “The worst thing you can do is deploy new technology to customer facing employees and not design it with their participation.” The room broke into spontaneous applause.
Large healthcare systems deliver the most sophisticated and powerful technologically enabled healthcare, yet their size creates challenges to creating environments that foster “the smallest acts of kindness.” And the means of overcoming those challenges were on full display at the conference, including the Schwartz Rounds program, the Relationship Centered Curriculum developed and offered by Northwell Health, the research of Dr. Helen Riess and her organization’s E.M.P.A.T.H.Y. program, and the nurse-centered work of the DAISY Foundation.
Takeaway 4:
The movement toward compassion has momentum and is meeting a great need in our world of ever increasing technological change.
How powerful is it to see 600 committed healthcare professionals come together, all in the pursuit of compassion in action? Mindful leadership has been a mainstream corporate activity in many sectors for over a decade, and it has led to many productive strides in how companies operate. Compassion feels like the natural next step, helping us move ourselves from awareness (mindfulness) to action. In our work at the Center for Compassionate Leadership, we see efforts taking root in many places. This conference is only one example, albeit a very strong and developed example, of how compassionate leadership is making a difference.
Stay tuned for more from our experience at the Compassion in Action Conference. And, if you’re aware of any examples of compassionate leadership springing up in unexpected places, or you’d like to share a story about your experience in the healthcare sector, please share it in the comments.