By: Tre Gabriel
Flawless Fellow
It’s no secret that the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic has left us living in unprecedented times. Never before have we been asked to endure such widespread disruption to our daily lives, as well as deal with many adjustments needed in the workforce. This new era requires a new approach to leading, managing, and participating at work and in life–one that requires compassion for all. In a recent webinar presentation, Donato Tramuto led a discussion on the need for Compassionate Leadership as we enter our new normal. He offered wisdom that is so well-timed to our present circumstances.
Donato Tramuto is a renowned healthcare and social justice activist, philanthropist, and founder of Health eVillages and the Tramuto Foundation. During this webinar presentation, he was joined by Governor John Baldacci, St. Joseph’s College President Jim Dlugos, and Thistle Farms founder Becca Stevens. Here are our takeaways from this Flawless event!
Compassionate Leadership is NOT Weak Leadership!
Donato Tramuto kicked off the discussion by emphatically stating that compassionate leadership is NOT weak leadership. Instead, he emphasized, “Compassion is your power.” By showing other people compassion, even in the smallest of doses, you are making a change in this world, and change is something that we are all capable of. Additionally, Donato highlighted that taking the time to listen is the biggest step towards compassionate leadership. It’s time to replace the notion that being a good leader requires being “tough” and overly demanding. Instead, a good leader is understanding, caring, and empathetic to the needs of those they manage. Each person has different needs, and, as President Dlugos said, “When you walk into a room as a leader, you have to understand that everyone is not aligned.”
We’re all in this together
Part of evolving into a more compassionate world is realizing that we’re all in this together. Becca Stevens explained a quick discovery of hers: “The lesson that I learned [is that] we have to continue to stay together if you want this compassionate world where we’re coming together.” What makes us different from each other are the same things that make us special in our own ways. We often say that being Flawless is seeing the perfection in everyone and that we’re all perfectly imperfect. Governor John Baldacci echoed a similar message of inspiration: “We have to treat people as people, and recognize that we’re all in it together.”
Compassion requires Action
Leading with compassion takes more than having the right mindset–it takes action. Donato described this by saying, “Compassion is the umbrella. Empathy is one of those spokes of compassion, and empathy’s twin sister is action.” This is a process that evolves and turns compassion into empathy, and then again into action. This is a meaningful process we can all adopt. It’s not that any singular person is equipped to drastically change the world, but rather that we all have a part in making change. We can change the world by being the change we wish to see in the world.
In the closing moments, Governor John Balducci shared three things to be successful in life. Lessons that were instilled in him by his parents. These lessons include:
- Treat people the way you want to be treated
- Don’t think you are better than anyone else
- Work hard
It’s important that we take these lessons, along with all of the others that were presented to us by these speakers of this webinar, and put them into action. Then we can move closer to a more compassionate and Flawless World. The change won’t happen overnight, but if we each take action, we can live in a Flawless World full of compassion and hope!
