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Dr Todd Mei

Editor & Founder of Philosophy2u

Content for March 2024

Our focus this month is Compassion.

1. What is Compassion?

2. Practice: Unlocking Organizational Success through Compassionate Leadership

3. Ideation: Compassion & Justice

4. What Is Meaningful Work? Interview with Vanessa Dew (co-founder Health-Ade Kombucha)

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“[C]onnecting with others and saying out loud what it is that individually gives you joy goes a long way. It’s one thing for a person to know what individually makes them feel joy in the work, but if other people can hear it, it means something.”

What Is Compassion?

“[L]ove is the ultimate principle of justice. Love reunites; justice preserves what is to be united . . . . Justice in its ultimate meaning is creative justice, and creative justice is the form of reuniting love.”
 

Paul Tillich, Love, Power, and Justice

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Compassion means suffering with another. It derives from the 12th-century Latin compassionem, which was itself a translation of the ancient Greek sympatheia.
 

Both roots focus on sharing an experience.

This distinction is important, especially in today’s business climate where empathy is often a key buzzword and focus. Compassion, when strictly defined, is not empathy.
 

Compassion, like sympathy, is the capacity to share an experience with another person; to share their suffering. Moreover, it is do be able to do so without knowing exactly or even mostly what the suffering person is experiencing. Think of the phrase we often use when expressing compassion: “My thoughts are with you” or “I’m here for you”.

Being available to someone when they are vulnerable does not require an understanding of what the person is enduring. In fact, being compassionate can be the first step in trying to understand. It can also be the first step in recognizing that one can’t possibly understand; yet one is nonetheless there for the hurt person.
 

Empathy, in contrast, is the ability to understand what the other person is experiencing. It’s a thorny subject amongst academics as to what this exactly entails and what meets the criteria of being empathetic.

For our purposes let us just note a practical distinction.
 

Empathy implies a more intense relation to the hurt person. However, it is not necessarily better. One could argue the opposite – i.e. that compassion (or sympathy) is better. Why?

On the one hand, compassion assumes a mode of unfamiliarity as well as being open. One does not know what has happened except that someone is suffering due to an event. But finding out how that person is feeling and how they might be helped . . . well, that’s what we can call the work of being compassionate.

On the other hand, empathy may not require any work at all since one understands the other’s position. This is why philosophers love to complicate the role of empathy with a counter-example. If we tend to think empathy is a good quality, imagine the case of the empathetic torturer who knows exactly what their victims feel in order to be efficient, expedient, and efficacious.

Philosophical debate aside, in this issue we’ll be covering the practical benefits of compassion, sympathy, and empathy in organizational development and leadership, as well as theoretical nuances to how compassion fits with the other key concern of individuals – i.e. justice.

Practice:

Unlocking Organizational Success through Compassionate Leadership

In today's fast-paced and dynamic work environments, the role of leadership extends far beyond just achieving objectives; it's about nurturing a culture of compassion and empathy that drives individual and organizational success.

Compassionate leadership, as elucidated by the King's Fund and championed by renowned figures like Professor Michael West, offers a transformative approach that prioritizes human connection, understanding, and support.

At its core, compassionate leadership entails more than just orchestrating tasks; it's about fostering meaningful relationships through active listening, empathy, and genuine care for others' well-being. By creating an environment where every individual feels valued and supported, leaders can unlock the full potential of their teams.

Research by Professor West highlights the tangible benefits of compassionate leadership, demonstrating its correlation with heightened employee engagement, motivation, and overall well-being. Remarkably, studies even suggest a direct link between compassionate leadership and improved healthcare outcomes, underscoring its profound impact on organizational performance and quality of care.

But what does compassionate leadership look like in practice?

It begins with embracing a multi-dimensional perspective—shifting from a first-person viewpoint to empathetically understanding the experiences and emotions of others. This entails actively listening, seeking to comprehend challenges, and celebrating successes alongside team members.

The framework proposed by Atkins and Parkham offers a roadmap for embodying compassionate leadership:

1. Attending: Being fully present and engaged, listening with genuine interest, and understanding the joys and struggles of team members.

2. Understanding: Delving deeper into situations, asking probing questions, and striving to comprehend the complexities of individuals' experiences.

3. Empathizing: Connecting emotionally with team members, acknowledging their feelings, and sharing in their joys and frustrations.

4. Helping: Providing meaningful support, whether by removing obstacles, offering resources, or offering guidance, to empower individuals to thrive.

True compassionate leadership transcends mere empathy; it involves taking decisive action to alleviate suffering, nurture growth, and cultivate a culture of trust and collaboration. It requires leaders to navigate tough conversations with honesty and integrity, always prioritizing the long-term well-being and development of their team members.

While some may perceive compassionate leadership as a soft approach, it's anything but. It requires the courage to address difficult issues, challenge individuals to grow, and hold them accountable for their actions. Like a caring parent guiding their child, compassionate leaders are willing to make themselves unpopular in the short term for the sake of long-term growth and success.

In essence, compassionate leadership isn't just a leadership style; it's a philosophy—a commitment to fostering human connection, empathy, and support within organizations. By embracing compassionate leadership principles, leaders can inspire, empower, and elevate their teams to unprecedented heights of success and fulfillment.

As we navigate the complexities of the modern workplace, let us heed the call of compassionate leadership, recognizing its power to transform organizations, enrich lives, and drive sustainable success.

Joseph Smart 

OD&D Consultant, Smart Joseph Consulting

joe@smartjoseph.com 

Ideation:

Compassion & Justice 

Compassion is a form of love. 

In the Western tradition, as we saw earlier, it is a form of love seeking to share in another person’s suffering as a way of helping them cope; and thereby, to make the compassionate person better able to understand the injured party.
 

What one of my favorite philosophically-minded theologian, Paul Tillich (1886-1965), points out is that forms of love are not only powerful, but they are fragile. Romantic, compassionate, agapic (selfless), familial, Platonic, philial (friendship) forms of love are ones we tend to remember or associate with powerful, positive experiences. But relations informed by love can easily be broken, disrupted, or corrupted. Moreover, it may even be the case that love is impossible if the relation is not somehow whole or mutual.

In his book, Love, Power, and Justice (1952), Tillich focuses on the later and demonstrates how the prerequisite for the flourishing of love is justice. He actually goes so far as to say justice is itself a form of love. But that is another story!

 Key to Tillich’s theoretical insight is a practical correlate:
 

Love is not possible where any institution, organization, or personal relationship is not just.

What counts as just will differ according to the circumstance. 
 

So, for example, a romantic relationship is not just if one person in the relationship sees the other as inferior. When lovers refer to each other as friends, or even the best of friends, this is a way of acknowledging equal standing.

Institutionally, we can say that compassionate leadership is not possible if employee relations remain unjust, where bullying, a lack of transparency, and disrespect are significant. Any compassionate act will have minimal effect and might even create resentment amongst employees who feel their own misfortunes have been ignored.
 

Moving forward in life and in work, if you are seeking to be a compassionate leader or to have compassion as an organizational virtue, one of the first tasks is to assess how goes justice in your relationships.

Justice is more than just corrective measures and deterrents, it essentially involves equality according to:

• diversity (equality as unique individuals)

• inclusion (acceptance of each as a unique individual)

• restoration (repairing cultures that are not whole)

• contribution (equal participation in the common good)

If you want to carry on this conversation, please feel free to reach out!

Dr Todd Mei

Founder and Consultant for Philosophy2u

tsmei@philosophy2u.com

What Is Meaningful Work?

Interview with Vanessa Dew

Vanessa is an entrepreneur, investor, and advisor. In 2012, she co-founded Health-Ade, and, today, it is one of the most successful kombucha brands in the United States, with products sold in over 50,000 stores approaching $300 M in retail sales. 

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Beyond Health-Ade, Vanessa is an active investor and advisor to other entrepreneurs in consumer-packaged goods. She has helped launch and grow a number of successful emerging brands with a deep desire to uplift and empower other founders and entrepreneurs, particularly those who are female and Asian American.

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Originally from Los Angeles, Vanessa received her BS in Biochemistry from UC San Diego and an MBA from the University of Southern California. She’s an active board member of the Asian Business Association (ABA), Naturally LA, and has spoken about her entrepreneurial journey from Singapore to NYC. She sits on the Advisory Council for Goldhouse and has been awarded the A100 Most Impactful Asians and NextGen Innovation Award.

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As a new-ish mom of two, her activities lately include toddler music classes and playgroup but would typically include traveling, tennis, cooking, and dancing.

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How did you first become interested in the topic of meaningful work?

Meaningful work evolved over time where the day in and day out operational nature of business began to take a toll on my mental health. Even with the success of a growing and strong brand, I sought something deeper in what I was doing in my business and other areas of life that fulfilled me.

This also came alive for me as we started to hire more people in the business and it was no longer a rah-rah moment, it was about creating an environment for our employees that felt meaningful.

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What to you are the most important features or qualities for making work meaningful?

There are many different factors that can contribute to making work meaningful, but I think the 3 most important ones include autonomy in one’s work, purpose or connection to the larger goal or mission, and seeing one’s impact come to life.

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What to you are the most important obstacles to meaningful work?

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Individually the obstacles could vary; but generally speaking, I believe the biggest obstacles include lack of purpose or understanding to the greater goal or mission, lack of autonomy to fulfill one’s part of their work or job, and not seeing the growth opportunities or impact of the work come to life that is able to propel that individual forward.

What individual steps are necessary for nurturing meaningful work?

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The biggest step is reflection and self-awareness about one’s own values and goals. Whatever it is that matters most to the individual needs to be front and center. From there, the work and jobs agreed to or taken on should be fully in line with those values and purpose. There are probably many steps to help nurture meaningful work, but I believe the learning and developing of one’s skillset is huge. This gives confidence and it shows evolution and progress in the exact thing that gives purpose. Lastly, connecting with others and saying out loud what it is that individually gives you joy goes a long way. It’s one thing for a person to know what individually makes them feel joy in the work, but if other people can hear it, it means something.

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What institutional steps are necessary for nurturing meaningful work?

I do believe meaningful work really comes from the individual, but institutions can help foster and create environments that allow individuals to flourish in what makes for joyful work. Culture is a huge element to company dynamic and is often the intangible force that allows someone to feel meaning in their work. The culture at Health-Ade was second to none and our team ran through walls for the business because they felt ‘it’. Providing opportunities for growth and development are huge—now this has to be within a realistic range for the company and the person/job, but without growth the people and the company will stay stagnant. Additionally, this idea of fostering community is so important. This shouldn’t be confused with fostering a ‘family feel’, where everyone is too nice to each other. This community connection is about support and care in the person, to hold them accountable and nurture them through the process. Lastly, recognition is HUGE. Big deal. How employees feel when they accomplish something is magnified once their peers and executives know and respect the work. There is a sense of accomplishment. But, again, all of this begins with the individual and knowing what intrinsically motivates them to feel connected.

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Do you see any drawbacks for trying to make work meaningful?

For the individual, it could be overwhelming to find this nirvana-like state in the work. Sometimes meaning and that higher purpose are a journey; and people want a finish line. But it’s not like that; and people can become frustrated. Burnout is a real issue, as well as disillusionment, when you are on this quest to do the work that is deemed meaningful and it doesn’t materialize in actually being meaningful. For an institution, a big drawback could be resources devoted to individuals who may not be worth the investment or the efforts; and money could be better used elsewhere to allow for more productivity.

What practices or changes have you adopted to help make your work more meaningful?

I’m at a cross roads where my journey of finding purpose in the work goes deep. I’m doing a lot of self-reflection and slowing down. I think about what makes me happy and how I want to spend my time. It’s a luxury I know that I have, but I’m in search of a different fulfillment now.

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Can you share a life lesson involving what to do or what not to do when trying to find a fulfilling career or job?

In business school, I observed a ton of my friends going into consulting. It seemed like the jet-setting lifestyle paid well. They were strategic in thinking and overall very dynamic people to work with. 10 years later, I probably have 1 friend left in that world from sheer nature of burnout and disillusionment with the whole system. A lot of them chased the money and compensation and some chased the clout or title of the work. It was all superficial and nothing actually gave them a career.

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Do you have any book, film, podcast, or article recommendations for our readers that might help them better understand work or how to go about making a career change?

E-Myth is a book to help new entrepreneurs stuck in the work and its technical aspects to look outside of themselves and work on the business, not in the business.  

Killing It by Sheryl O’Loughlin – really helps to put meaning in perspective for founders, especially women.

What question have you wanted to be asked (but never have been)?

If I had no fear of failure or losing money, what would I be doing?

And what is your response to this question?

I would start another company that helps celebrate Asian culture (not sure on the product or idea but that is the gist). Additionally, I would start a fund that would invest in women and specifically Asian American founders.

What is the best way for our readers to follow you?

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-dew-023489a/

Instagram: @v_dew

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Thank you for being our guest on Philosophy2u! We wish you the best in your future (meaningful) work!

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