Now I'll be writing about my work as a teacher and educational researcher here!
I tend to pounce with delight at these articles promoting the use of compassion. In my view, it is a skill that has long been overlooked in the world in which we live, especially in terms of leadership and our current definition of success, so it is good to find an increasing number of article in the HBR promoting these values.
Having recently left a job I loved, overseeing learning and teaching at a small international school serving Cambodian children, because my values were at odds with those of the administrative head of the school, I have been thinking a lot about this issue. Just among the teaching staff, there was a turnover of 75% (only 4 stayed on). While reasons for this were complicated and varied, there was a large sense of demoralisation and lack of inspired loyalty, despite the school overall making huge progress in terms of student learning outcomes. For a long time, I struggled with the decision over whether to leave or not. I believed entirely in the value of my work there and knew I had and was still able to make a difference to the learning experience of children at the school. However, I'd also reached a point where to be working in an environment where my personal and professional values differed entirely from those of the people making the administrative decisions was becoming a deeply uncomfortable experience. For a while, I felt I was to blame. That I had let myself be walked over and therefore it was my own fault. That if I was tougher and better at putting my own needs first, if I was less concerned with the well being of the whole and more competent at looking out for myself and my own interests, then I would not be feeling so frustrated and would be able to carry on. But I'm finally beginning to realise that, actually, I was simply working in the wrong place. It was right in that I could do a lot there and I value the experience I had and believe I contributed a lot; but it was wrong in that it was being led with a mindset in which compassion and its sister altruism was seen as unprofessional, overly personal and weak - a model inspired and informed by attitudes moulded by a survival-of-the-fittest, individualist mindset. That doesn't make me wrong, it just makes my decision to move on right. I am sad to have left the school and the children, but I am banking the amazing experience I had with the kids, the school and the process of developing a whole system of learning, and looking forward to moving on to other environments, where hopefully I can match a wonderful job with an environment in which compassion, along with empathy and guidance and care, are values that are prioritised. It doesn't mean compromising quality - in fact, the crux of this article is that it is being proven that compassionate leadership improves company performance through the care of the individuals that make up that organisation. Just like the Whole-Child movement in education, why would that not apply to everyone working in schools? I believe it is the way towards the world I believe in. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
January 2014
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